Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
---|---|---|
Goddess name "Badi Mata" | Hindu / northern Indian | Mother goddess. A SAKTI and one of the seven SAPTAMATARAS (mothers) who in later Hinduism became regarded as of evil intent, attacking children during puberty. Particularly recognized in Bengal.... |
Goddess name "Bera Pennu" | Northern Indian | vegetation goddess. Worshiped by the Khonds in Bengal. She was the recipient of human sacrifice to ensure good harvest, particularly of the spice turmeric, and as a protection against disease and infirmity. The sacrificial victim or meriab was youthful, often kept for years as a holy person before death and was always either the offspring of a previous sacrificial victim, or purchased from impoverished families for the purpose. He or she was generally strangled, sometimes in the fork of a tree, after days of festivities. In other instances the victim was cut up alive.... |
Goddess name "Bharat Mata (Mother India)" | Modern Hindu | Mother goddess. Evolved from the writings of the nineteenth century Bengali, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Shrines are designed in the form of a map of India.... |
Goddess name "Cunda" | Buddhist / eastern Bengal / Tibet | Goddess. An emanation of Vajrasattva or Vairocana. A female BODHISATTVA or buddha-designate. Also seen separately as a deification of literature, one of a group of twelve DHARANIS. She may stand upon a man. Color: white or green. Very large variety of attributes. Also Aryacunda.... |
"Daini" | Bengal | A witch. Bengal |
Goddess name "Gulsilia Mata" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Mother goddess. A SAKTI who in later Hinduism became regarded as of evil intent, inflicting sickness. Particularly known from Bengal.... |
God name "Jvaraharisvara (lord of fever)" | Hindu | Plague god. Associated with malaria, particularly in Bengal.... |
Goddess name "Kankar Mata" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Mother goddess. A SAKTI who in later Hinduism became regarded as a SAPTAMATARA (mother) of evil intent. Known particularly from Bengal as a goddess who spreads disease.... |
Spirit name "Lau" | Andaman Islands / Sea of Bengal | spirit beings. Generally invisible but perceived in human form and living in the jungles and the sea. When an Andaman islander dies he or she becomes a lau.... |
Goddess name "Malhal Mata" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Mother goddess. One of seven SAKTIS who in later Hinduism became regarded as SAPTAMATARAS (mothers) of evil intent. Particularly known in Bengal as a bringer of disease.... |
Goddess name "Manasa" | Hindu | Snake goddess. The daughter of KASYAPA and KADRU and the sister of the lord of serpents, Vasuki. She is also a gracious aspect of PARVATI. Known particuarly from Bihar, Bengal and Assam. She stands upon, or is shaded by, a seven-headed snake. Attributes: snake and waterjar.... |
God name "Minga Bengale Shongon" | Africa | God of hunters, also taught humans how to make nets Africa |
Spirit name "Morva" | Andaman Islands / Sea of Bengal | sky spirits. Invisible but thought to be of human form.... |
Goddess name "Ola Bibi" | Hindu | Local plague goddess. Worshiped in Bengal where she is åśśociated with cholera.... |
Demon name "Pancanana" | Hindu / Puranic | demonic deity. Regarded as a form of the god SI IVA possessing five faces, each face having three eyes. Depicted with the naked body of an ascetic, wearing a necklace of snakes. Shrines symbolize the god with a stone, its top painted red and usually placed beneath a tree. Pancanana is worshiped extensively in Hindu villages throughout Bengal where women make invocations and anoint the stones, particularly when sickness strikes. There is a belief that children in the throes of epilepsy have been seized by the god.... |
Goddess name "Pansahi Mata" | Hindu | Mother goddess. A SAKTI and one of seven SAPTAMATARAS (mothers) who in later Hinduism became regarded as of evil intent, inflicting sickness on children under the age of seven. Particularly known from Bengal.... |
Goddess name "Phul Mata" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Mother goddess. A SAKTI who in later Hinduism became one of the SAPTAMATARAS regarded as of evil intent, inflicting sickness on children under seven years old. Particularly known from Bengal.... |
Goddess name "Sitala(mata) (possibly meaning mother cold')" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Mother goddess. One of seven SAKTIS who in later Hinduism became regarded as of evil intent, inflicting sickness. Particularly known from Bengal where she may be identified with the goddess KALI. Usually standing naked upon a lotus or riding an åśś. Alternatively symbolized by a stone on which a face is painted. Attribute: waterjar.... |