Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

RELIGIONS

THE DIVINE RISHIS A rishi is an inspired poet or sage, the inspired persons to whom the hymns of the Vedas were revealed and under whose names they stand. When Brahma wished to populate the world, he created seven "mind- born sons" like himself. In the Satapatha Brahmana their names are given as Gotama, Bharadwaja, Viswamitra, Jamad-agni, Vasishtha, Kasyapa, and Atri. The Mahabharata gives them as Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya and Vasishta. The Vayu Purana adds Bhrigu to this list making eight. The Vishnu Purana adds Bhrigu and Daksha and calls them the nine Brahmarishis. The names of Gautama, Kanwa, Valmiki, Vyasa, Manu and Vibhandaka are also included among the rishis by different authorities. The name Manu is given to 14 mythological progenitors of man- kind and rulers of the earth, each of whom holds sway for the period called a Manwantara, the age of a Manu, a period of no less than 4,320,000 years. The first of these Manus was Manu Swayambhu. (The self-bom Manu). Manu was born directly of the god Brahma and was a hermaphrodite. From the female half of his body he bore three sons and two daughters, from whom descended a series of Manus. To the first Manu is ascribed the law book, the code of Manu, a collection or digest of current laws and creeds, which is the foundation of Hindu law. The human race is descended from the seventh Manu who was the sole survivor of the great flood which submerged everything and who was rescued by Vishnu in his first avatar, when he took the form of a fish. Narada's name is not found in the list of Brahma's sons in the Vishnu Purana but he is generally regarded as one. He is the messenger of the gods and is often described as imparting information that is known only to them. It was he who persuaded the sons of Daksha not to beget offspring and who was cursed for his interference. It was he who informed Kamsa of the approaching birth of Krishna which led that king to slay the children of Vasudeva. In later times he is connected with the legend of Krishna as his friend and companion. The name Narada is frequently employed as a term of abuse. It is used to describe a quarrelsome and meddling person. He is the inventor of the vina and was chief of the Gandharvas or heavenly musicians. Kubera, the god of riches, does not occupy a very conspicuous position in Hindu mythology. That distinction goes to Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, wife of Vishnu. He performed austerities for thousands of years and received as a boon from Brahma that he should be the god of riches and one of the guardians of the world. At the suggestion of his father Visravas, he took possession of Lanka as his abode. Kubera on Ravana’s demand yields Lanka. Asuras : In the oldest parts of the Rig Veda this term is used for the supreme spirit. In the sense of “god” it was applied to several of the chief deities - Indra, Agni and Varuna. It afterwards acquired an entirely opposite meaning and came to signify a demon or enemy of gods. Most immediately dangerous to men were the Rakshasas, most famous of whom was Ravana, the ten-headed demon king of Lanka whom Rama defeated and killed.

The goddess Aditi, unlike most other Vedic deities, is not associ- ated directly with some natural phenomenon. She is the mother of the gods, including Indra, although she does not have a male consort in the Rig Veda. The goddess Vac whose name means ‘speech’ is the personifica- tion of speech which enables one to hear, see, understand and then express oneself in words. She is also associated with creation as the partner of the primeval man, Prajapati. Sarasvati is the goddess associated with the Sarasvati river, which is called mighty and powerful. In later times Sarasvati is the consort of Brahma. She is the goddess of inspiration, speech and learning. In this aspect she is similar to Vac with whom she is consistently identified in the Brahmanas. Prithvi is the earth goddess. There are several goddesses men- tioned so infrequently in the Rig Veda that no clear idea can be formed as to what they represent. While some of the Vedic goddesses like Sarasvati survive in post- Vedic times, many others simply disappear. A galaxy of powerful female deities take their place in the Hindu pantheon. Female divini- ties, the spouses of the gods, began to the worshipped. The chief form of the Mother goddess is that of the wife of Shiva. In her benevolent forms she is known as Parvathi, Mahadevi, Sati, Gauri and Annapurna. In her grim aspect she is known as Durga and Kali. Parvathi has been identified as a reincarnation of the goddess Sati, Shiva's first wife who committed suicide because of an insult to her husband. Shiva is a god of extremes, both ascetic and sexual and Parvathi plays the role of modifier. She is a model of devotion to Shiva. Parvathi is usually worshipped in her fierce aspect as Durga ("the inaccessible") and Kali ("the black"). It is in this form that sacrifices are offered to her. As Durga she is represented as a beautiful woman with ten arms, each of which has a weapon. She is shown piercing the buffalo-demon Mahisha with a spear. She rides a lion. In Bengal the worship of this goddess forms the most popular of all the Hindu festivals. Kali is represented as a black woman with four arms. In one hand she has a sword, in another the head of the giant she has slain, with the other two she is encouraging her worshippers. For earrings she has two dead bodies. She has a necklace of skulls, her only clothing is a girdle made of dead men's hands and her tongue protrudes from her mouth. In relation to Shiva, she appears to play the opposite role from that of Parvathi. Parvathi calms Shiva. It is Shiva who tames Kali. Kali is a central figure in Tantricism and in Bengali Sakta devotionalism. Lakshmi, also known as Sri, is the goddess of wealth, prosperity and fortune. She is the wife of Vishnu. She is seated on a lotus, and has a lotus in her hand. She is one of the most popular and widely venerated deities of the Hindu pantheon. She is worshipped throughout the year in a variety of festivals, the most important being Diwali (Deepavali). Saraswati, wife of Brahma, is the goddess of learning and music. She is shown seated on a lotus, astride a swan, a vina and a book in her hand. She is the creator of Sanskrit and the Devanagari script.

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