Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
---|---|---|
God name "Nediyon" | Early Dravidian / Tamil / southern India | Creator god. Equates with a syncretization of VISNU and KRSNA. The name implies a deity of tall stature. Sangam texts describe him wearing a golden robe. Attributes: conch, prayer wheel and lotus. Also Neduvel.... |
God name "Mayon (the black one)" | Early Dravidian / Tamil / southern India / Sri Lanka | Creator god. Animistic high god of the pastoral regions, found in Sangam literature and thought to reside in trees. Perhaps equating with VIS'NU or KRSNA.... |
"KRSNA" | Hindu | Incarnation of Vishnu known as the dark one Hindu / Puranic / Tamil / Epic |
Deity name "Muruga" | Hindu | Is the most popular Hindu deity amongst Tamils of Tamil Nadu state in India and in the Tamil diaspora. |
God name "Valli" | Hindu | The name of prominent Hindu god Murugan's consort, according to Tamil traditions. She is depicted as a the daughter of a tribal chief. |
Goddess name "Mari Mai (mother death)" | Hindu | Plague goddess. The sister of SITALA, åśśociated with cholera. Her Tamil counterpart is MARIYAMMAN.... |
Goddess name "Mata (great mother)" | Hindu | Primeval mother goddess. The archetypal progenitrix of all living things. She becomes the tutelary goddess of every village in northern India, but is also seen as a plague goddess åśśociated with smallpox, in which case her epithet becomes Maha Mai. Her Tamil counterpart is Amman.... |
God name "Munisvara" | Hindu | Deified saint. Technically a demigod but worshiped as a deity by Dravidians in southern India. Also Municami (Tamil).... |
Goddess name "Ankalamman" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil | Guardian goddess. Known particularly in southern India where she wards off demons. Alternatively she is an aspect of KALI.... |
God name "Cankilikkaruppan (the black man of the chain)" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil | Local god. Worshiped in southern India.... |
Goddess name "Cenaaianiyammai (lady of the red paddyfield)" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil | Local goddess. Guardian of paddyfields in southern India.... |
God name "Gajavahana" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil | God. A form of SKANDA who has an elephant as a vehicle. Mainly from southern India. Attributes: çõçkerel and spear.... |
Goddess name "Nappinnai" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil | Local goddess. Consort of KRSNA. Mentioned in the Vaisnavite and Saivite literature, the Krsna-Nappinnai cult was prominent in Tamil-speaking areas of southern India in the seventh to ninth centuries. According to tradition Krsna wed Nappinnai after a bullbaiting contest during which he took on and defeated seven bulls. Nappinnai may be a localized form of Sri-Laksmi. Also Pinnai.... |
God name "Palaniyantavan" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil | Local god. Known only from southern India and considered to be a form of SKANDA or of MURUKAN, who is an old Tamil tribal snake god.... |
Goddess name "Satyabhama (with true luster)" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil | Goddess. Known particularly from southern India as the second consort of KRSNA, who stands on her left; also as the secorid consort of V ISNU. Attribute: a flower.... |
Goddess name "Ellaman (lady of the boundary)" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil / southern India | Goddess of påśśage. A goddess guarding boundaries of villages and fields. One of the NAVASAKTI or astral deities. Also Ellaiyamman.... |
God name "Gal Bapsi (hook' god)" | Hindu - Dravidian / Tamil / southern India | Local god. Worshiped particularly by the Bhils. To expiate sins, the penitent thrusts a hook into his back and is suspended from it on the day when the Sun enters Aries.... |
God name "Venkata" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Form of the god V ISNU. According to the Aditya Purana, Venkata is a deity of considerable importance in southern India. The name does not occur in the north. He is worshiped extensively by Hindus but particularly in the Tamil shrine of Tirupati where there is argument that the deity depicted is SIVA or KARTTIKEYA. The image appears to carry attributes of Vis'nu on the left and Siva on the right. Also Venkatesa.... |