Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
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Demon name "Hayagriva (horse neck)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | (1) The most significant minor incarnation of the god VIS'NU. He probably originated as a horse god and later became an avatara åśśociated with wisdom and knowledge. At the behest of BRAHMA, Hayagriva rescued the Vedas, stolen by two demons, from the bottom of the primeval ocean. Depicted in human form with the head of a horse and, according to the texts, eight hands. Attributes: Book (Veda), horse's mane and rosary. Also the attributes of Vis'nu. Also Hayasirsa, Vadavavaktra.(2) Patron god of horses. Buddhist-Lamaist [Tibet]. One of a group of DHARMAPALA with terrible appearance and royal attire, he is considered to be an emanation of AKSOBHYA or AMITABHA. His SAKTI is MARICI. Color: red. Attributes: horse heads, staff and trident, but also arrow, ax, banner, bow, club, flames, flower, image of Aksobhya or Amitabha on the crown, lotus, noose, prayer wheel, skin, snakes, sword and trident. Three-eyed.... |
Demon name "Hiranyagarbha" | Hindu | Creator god identified in the Rig Veda, the demon king who proclaimed himself king of the universe Hindu / Vedic |
Goddess name "Indrani" | Hindu | The goddess of wrath and jealousy, and a daughter of Puloman, a demon who was killed by Indrani's future husband, Indra. She is beautiful and has one-thousand eyes. She is åśśociated with lions and elephants. Hindu |
Goddess name "Indrani" | Hindu / Vedic / Puranic | Goddess of wrath. Daughter of Puloman, a demonic figure killed by the god INDRA, and the SAKTI and consort of Indra. One of seven MATARAS (mothers) who in later Hinduism became regarded as of evil intent. Also one of a group of eight ASTAMATARAS personifying jealousy (also named Aindri in this capacity). In another grouping one of nine NAVASAKTIS or astral deities who, in southern India, rank higher than the SAPTAMATARAS. Her attendant animal is either an elephant or a lion. Attributes: hook, rosary, Santana flower, staff and waterjar. One thousand-eyed. Also Aindri; Mahendri; Paulomi; Saci; Sujata.... |
Demon name "Kabandha" | Hindu | The chief demon of the Ramayana. Indra zapped him with a thunderbolt. Hindu |
Demon name "Kacchapesvara (lord of the tortoise)" | Hindu / Puranic | God. An epithet of S IVA. In certain artworks, particularly those inscribed on linga stones, VIS NU, in his aspect of KURMA(VATARA), the tortoise, is depicted worshiping S iva. These illustrations were designed by Saivites as part of a propaganda exercise to demonstrate the superiority of S iva over Vis nu.... |
Goddess name "Kadru (russet)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Goddess. One of the daughters of DAKSA, consort of KASYAPA and mother of the nagas (snake demons).... |
Demon name "Kaitabha and Madhu" | Hindu | Kaitabha and Madhu were two horrible demons who, according to Mahabharata and the sprang from the ear of Vishnu while he was asleep. Hindu |
Demon name "Kasyapa (deriving from the Sanskrit for tortoise)" | Hindu / Vedic / Puranic | Primordial god. In Vedic literature a Divine demiurge and father of mankind, snake demons, DEVAS etc. His name stems, arguably, from the notion of the cosmos as a giant tortoise. He has had thirteen consorts. In other texts he is the father of the god NARADA who consorted with one of the daughters of DAKSA. Also PRAJAPATI.... |
Goddess name "Khandsba" | Hindu / late | Form of the god SI IVA. Khandoba is believed to have emerged as a deity with a distinct cultic following no earlier than the thirteenth or fourteenth century, mainly in western India and centered on Jejuri, near Poona. The god is generally regarded as one of several martial forms which SI iva took to combat demons. His consort is the goddess MHALSA, considered to be a form of PARVATI. He is depicted bearing four arms and is usually mounted on a horse, but may also be accompanied by a dog. Attributes: bowl, drum, sword and trident. Also Makhari; Mallari; Martland.... |
Demon name "Kurma" | Hindu / Puranic / Epic | Avatar of Visnu. In the form of a tortoise he placed himself at the bottom of the sea of milk, and made his back the base or pivot of the mountain Mandara. The gods and demons twisted the great serpent Vasuki round the mountain' and, dividing into two parties, each took an end of the snake as a rope, and thus churned the sea until they recovered the desired objects. Hindu / Puranic / Epic |
Demon name "Kuvalayapida" | Hindu | An immense elephant, or a demon in elephantine form, belonging to Kansa, and employed by him to trample the boys Krishna and Balarama to death. The attempt failed and the elephant was killed. Hindu |
Demon name "MON (great god)" | Kafir / AfghanistanHindukush | warrior god and hero. Mon is a senior deity in the Kafir pantheon who challenges and defends mankind against demons and giants. He is the first offspring of the creator god Imra. He is also a weather god who controls clouds and mist. Mon is perceived as a deity of vast size and vigor who creates glaciers with his footprints. He is also a god of flowing water. Some legends place him as a creator of mankind and law-giver, but only mirroring the actions of the supreme creator IMRA. He appears as a mediator between heaven and earth.... |
Demon name "Mahisa" | Hindu | demonic god Hindu / Puranic / Epic |
Goddess name "Mahisa (buffalo)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | demonic god. Depicted most frequently in the form of a buffalo, but he also confounds the gods by changing himself into many other animal guises. He is eventually slain by the goddess DEVI in the form of MAHISASURAMARDINI.... |
Goddess name "Mahisasuramardini (slayer of the buffalo demon)" | Hindu / Puranic | Form of the goddess DEVI. Appearing from the fourth century AD onward, this goddess is a DURGA form of Devi. She possesses up to twelve arms holding an åśśortment of weapons and may be seated on a lion. According to legend, the form arose in response to the threat from the demonic MAHISA who was eventually slain by the goddess Devi with his own sword. Attributes: ax, banner, bell, bow, club, conch, drum, hook, lizard, mirror, noose, prayer wheel, shield, sword, staff and trident. Three-eyed.... |
Demon name "Matsya" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god VIS'NU. In this first avatara Vis'nu appears as a fish which, according to one legend, tows a ship carrying the law-giver MANU to safety after the primal flood. Matsya engages in an epic battle with the demon HAYAGRIVA who stole the Vedas from a sleeping BRAHMA. Usually depicted with a human torso carrying symbols, e.g. wheel and conch, on a fish's body.... |
Demon name "Mohini (illusion)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Minor incarnation of VIS'NU. Mohini is an avatara who appears in the form of an enchantress whose form Vis'nu adopted briefly to deceive demons attempting to remove the ambrosia created by churning the primeval ocean of milk (see also GARUDA). Vis'nu used the same guise to dupe and seduce the god SIVA.... |