Deity of the Week

Asterope

Santoshi Mata (Hindi: संतोषी माता) or Santoshi Maa (संतोषी माँ) is venerated as "the Mother of Satisfaction",[1] the meaning of her name. Santoshi Mata is particularly worshipped by women of North India and Nepal. A vrata (ritual fast) called the Santoshi Maa vrata performed by women on 16 consecutive Fridays is believed to win the goddess' favour.

Goddess of satisfaction
Affiliation Devi
Abode Ganeshloka
Mantra Om shri santoshi mahamaye gajanandam dayini shukravar priye devi narayani namostute
Weapon Sword, golden pot of rice and Trishula (trident)
Mount Tiger or Lion

Worship:The vrata
The Santoshi Mata vrata is to be observed on 16 successive Fridays or till one's wish is fulfilled. The devotee should perform a puja (worship) of Santoshi Mata and offer her flowers, incense and a bowl of raw sugar and roasted chickpeas (gur-chana). The devotee should have only one meal during the day and not eat or serve bitter or sour food to others. When one's wish is granted, one should organize a udyapan ("bringing to conclusion") ceremony, where eight boys should be served a festive meal.[1]

The film Jai Santoshi Maa links the birth of Santoshi Mata to the festival of Raksha Bandhan, where a sister ties a rakhi string bracelet on her brother's wrist and the brother gifts his sister sweets, gifts and a promise of protection. When Ganesha's sister Manasa celebrates the festival with him, his sons ask Ganesha to grant them a sister. Although Ganesha initially refuses, upon the repeated pleas of his two wives Riddhi and Siddhi, sons, sister and the divine sage Narada, Ganesha creates Santoshi Mata through two flames rising from his wives' breasts. Narada decreed that this mind-born daughter of Ganesha will always fulfil everyone’s desires and thus, would be called Santoshi Maa, the Mother of Satisfaction.[1][2]
The film then shifts from the heavenly abode of Ganesha to the earth, where the story of the goddess's devotee Satyavati is told. Satyavati, prays to the goddess, to get her married to Birju and after her wish is granted, she undertakes a pilgrimage of the temples of Santoshi Mata with her husband. The mischievous Narada incites the jealousy of the goddesses Brahmani, Lakshmi and Parvati (Ganesha's mother, thus Santoshi Mata's grand-mother)—wives of the Hindu Trinity of gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively—towards the "new" goddess Santoshi Mata. The goddess triad unleash their wrath on Satyavati. Like the vrata katha, Birju leaves to make a fortune. The goddess triad spread the rumour that Birju is dead and the lone "widow" Satyavati is tormented by her sister-in-laws. Birju forgets about Satyavati, but on the fulfilment of the Friday vrata by Satyavati, Santoshi Mata appears in Birju's dream and reminds him of his wife. Birju returns home a rich man and establishes a separate household with Satyavati. At the udayan ceremony, Satyavati's sister-in-laws mix sour food in the ritual meal, to be served to eight boys. Santoshi Mata punishes the sister-in-laws by crippling them and their sons who have the ritual meal, fall dead. Satyavati is blamed for this misfortune. But, finally when Satyavati prays to the goddess, the goddess appears before Satyavati and restores the boys and their mothers. Satyvati's kin then ask for the goddess' forgiveness. Ultimately, the goddess triad also repent and say that they were just testing Satyavati's devotion. Narada finally asks the goddess triad, their husbands and Ganesha to bless Santoshi Mata, which Lutgendorf interprets as an explicit confirmation to the new goddess's incorporation in the Hindu pantheon.[1][2]

From: Wiki

Maa Santoshi is an emblem of love, contentment, forgiveness, happiness and hope. It is so believed that fasting and praying for her for 16 consecutive Fridays brings peace and prosperity in ones family.

Santoshi Maa inspires an individual to cherish family values and to come out of the crisis with one's determination. Santoshi Maa is also considered to be an incarnation of Mother Durga and is widely worshipped through out India and by Indians residing outside India.

From: here

(A Hymn to Santoshi mata)
English Wording:
jai yuga-yuga ki adi sakti I jaga mem pracalita hai tava bhakti II
adi, madhya aura avasana I teri gati vidhi koi na jana II

English Meaning:
Glory, all glory to you, O Primordial Power, worshipped in every age. Devotion to you is now a universal phenomenon. Without a beginning, a middle and an end as you are, your movements and activities are mysterious and incomprehensible.

II
English Wording:
nirmala sraddha mem khusa hoti I thoRe mem samtusta ho jati II
kali mem nama dharyo santosi I agni tulya pratyaksa-visekhi II

English Meaning:
Selfless and an unblemished regard shown to you pleases you most; a trifling faith in you is enough to satisfy you. Although you are bright as fire and visible, you are called Santoshi in this Kali age.

III
English Wording:
kala jnana bala vidya datri I tuma sama sarala sukhada nahim dhatri II
sakala caracara tuma se calate I bhuta preta yamaduta simharate II

English Meaning:
To you we owe the arts, knowledge, strength, and learning, for there is no foster-mother as simple and comforting as you; and to you owes everything, moving and unmoving, its existence; but you are a big terror to ghosts, fiends, and Death’s messengers.

IV
English Wording:
dusta dalana samhara karini I mata tuma brahmanda dharini II
sarasvati laksmi aura kali I amita sakti ki khana nirali II

English Meaning:
While you kill and destroy the wicked, you sustain and uphold the universe. As Sarasvati, Laksmi and Kali you are a mysterious and unique reservoir of immeasurable power.

V
English Wording:
tumhare sarana gahe jo koi I manokamana purana hoi II
tuma ganesa ki mam kanya I tumase dharati ho gai dhanya II

English Meaning:
Whosoever seeks your protection, finds all his desires fulfilled. You are the virgin mother of Ganesa, and it is you who made the earth a supremely favoured place.

VI
English Wording:
rddhi siddhi hai tumhari mata I mamgalamaya varadana ke data II
brahma visnu mahesa trimaya I usaka bala tujhamem hai samaya II

English Meaning:
O Mother, you are the daughter of Rddhi and Siddhi, the two most munificent bestowers of propitious boons, and embody the triple wisdom (extraordinary or supernatural power, saktisor energies) of Brahma, Visnu and Mahesa.

VII
English Wording:
sira para kamcana mukuta suhata I sundara ratnasamuha dikhata II
madhura-manohara mukhaRa komala I puspamala aura syamala kuntala II

English Meaning:
On your head is a beautiful golden coronet studded with a cluster of splendid jewels, your soft, tender face possesses the beauty of mingled sweetness and charm aided by a beautiful wreath of flowers and a lock of black hair.

VIII
English Wording:
alamkara sohita haim amga mem I navya divya tana geru ramga mem II
sundara vastra mem mala rakhati I darsaka ke mana vasa mem karati II

English Meaning:
Your young divine body, decked out with ornaments, looks elegant in its red ochre as does the wreath on your beautiful garments which bewitch the minds of all who behold them.

IX
English Wording:
padma trirekha dhare do hatha I caturbhuji ko tekahu matha II
sanmukha amrta bhari surahi I satha kamadhenu manacahi II

English Meaning:
Bow to the four-armed goddess who holds a lotus and conch-shell in two of her hands. In front of her is a flagon filled with nectar and beside her the much-covered cow of plenty.

X
English Wording:
svarna kalasa rahata hai age I bhaktom ke saubhaga haim jage II
tumhare bhaktibhava jo pave I ajara amara jaga mem ho jave II

English Meaning:
Before you is kept a golden pitcher for blessing the devotees with good fortune. (The presence of the pitcher is an evidence of Santoshi’s readiness to bliss; the blessed urn is easily accessible for blessing whosoever wins her favour.) O Mother, age does not wither him nor Death kill the person whom you bless with disinterested love and devotion.

XI
English Wording:
namo namo jaga tarana hari I duhkha daridra taro mahatari II
sukravara dina ati anukula I santosi vrata mamgala mula II

English Meaning:
I bow to you again and again. O deliverer of the world, and entreat you to be so good a mother as to relieve me of my penury and misery. Fridays are all favourable to you for the observance of Santoshi vrata–the vow kept in hanour of you; it is the root of all blessings.

XII
English Wording:
bahuvidha mata ki puja kara I Santoshi ki katha sravana kara II guRa auracna prasada caRhave I
nirahara eka juna manave II savadhana usa dina yaha rakhe I bhula se khatta deve na cakhe II
nahim to matu kupita ho jati I vamsa sahita samtana nasati II

English Meaning:
Let the devotee worship the Mother in as many ways as possible and listen to the story of her miraculous acts; let him offer her jaggery and unfried gram and forgo one meal. He should be particularly careful not to offer nor taste anything sour. Failure to observe this rule so enrages the Mother that she, in her fury, destroys the family of the transgressor.

XIII
English Wording:
sukravara solaha vrata rakhe I udyapana utsaha manave II
phira to iccha purana hoi I matu krpa se dera na hoi II

English Meaning:
Continuously for sixteen Fridays should the vrata be observed and with great pomp and ceremony must it close. If these instructions are followed, every desire of the devotee will be fulfilled without delay.

XIV
English Wording:
adbhuta devi camatkarini pala mem cinta piRa harani II
japara krpa matu ki hoi I jita sake na usako koi II

English Meaning:
Endowed with miraculous powers, the wonderful goddess relieves her votaries of their anxieties and suffering in trice. Whosoever is blessed by the compassionate mother becomes invincible.

XV
English Wording:
dhana viveka sukha santi pradayini I isa yuga ki navaprana vidhayini II
tuma sama devi kou nahim I dekha liya maim tribhuvana mahim II

English Meaning:
She doles out wealth, knowledge, happiness, and peace to her supplicants, for she is the harbinger of new awakening (renewed vitality) in this age. I am convinced that there is none in the three spheres comparable to her in might and compassion.

XVI
English Wording:
dukha ati pai bahu becari I pati viyoga ki vaha dukhiyari II nariyala khopara pikara pani I
bhusa ki roti khai abhagini II Santoshi ka vrata jo kinha I pati sahita vaibhava pa linha II

English Meaning:
A poor hapless housewife, bereaved of her husband, was extremely distraught and was so unlucky that she had a coconut shell from which she drank water and eased her hunger by eating bread made of husks and chaff. When she observed the vow consecrated to Santoshi, she was blessed with prosperity, and her husband was restored to her.

XVII
English Wording:
pira cinta katahu mata I asta siddhi nau nidhi ke data I
Santoshi upavasa kare jo I sukha sampati ka bhoga kare vo II

English Meaning:
O Mother, you are the gracious donor of the eight accomplishments and nine treasures. I supplicate you to relieve me of my worries and sufferings. He who observes fast (as a ceremonial rite to please Santoshi), enjoys both wealth and happiness.

XVIII
English Wording:
yaham vaham saba thaura samai I tumhari mahima kahi na jai II
manavamchita vara pavai kvari I paye suhaga sadhava sannari II

English Meaning:
Your glory, which permeates all space, beggars description. Maidens, if chaste and devoted to you, get husbands of their choice and married women, if faithful an virtuous, receive the boon of lasting coverture.

XIX
English Wording:
sukha dhana jana saba manokamana I purna hogi satya janana II
patha sava sau karai jo koi I mitai kasta sukha-sampati hoi II

English Meaning:
Consider it an indubitable truth (law, principle) that devotion to Santoshi leads to the fulfilment of all desires and yields happiness, prosperity and large family. He who repeats this hymn a hundred and twenty-five times is relieved of all his afflictions and is blessed with great felicity and riches.

Doha
English Wording:
santosi samkata harana I he camatkara ki murti II
graha badha ko dura kara I karo kamana purti II

English Meaning:
Santoshi, a vetitable embodiment of miraculous feats, is the dispeller of all crises and obstructions caused by evil stars. I entreat her to fulfil my cherished hopes.

From here: Santoshi Mata Chaalisa

Also see:
Jai Santoshi Maa
Santoshi Maa Aarti I
Santoshi Maa Aarti II
Article: Santoshi Ma: The Goddess Through Popular Film
Puja info

Video, Youtube:
Jai Santoshi Maa (1975) Full Movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xVKZm1VGY4

Asterope

Hārītī (Avestan Harauhuti), is a Gandharan ( Peshawari ) ogeress and Bactrian mythological figure who was later transformed in to a symbol for the protection of children, easy delivery, happy child rearing and parenting, harmony between husband and wife, love, and the well-being and safety of the family. Women without children sometimes prayed to her to help them become pregnant.

Unlike her Indian cognante Saraswati ( the Sanskrit version of the Avestan word Harauhuti both words meaning the Indus River), who was to the Indians, a goddess, Hariti to the Iranic Gandharans was originally a cannibalistic daeva or demon. Bactrian mythology describes Hariti as having hundreds of children whom she loved and doted upon but to feed them, she abducted and killed the children of others. With the arrival of Buddhism to Gandhara from across the Indus River, this mythology takes a new twist. That is, the bereaved mothers of Hariti's victims begin to plead to Śākyamuni Buddha to save them.

Śākyamuni steals Aiji, youngest of Hariti's sons, and hides him under his rice bowl. Hariti desperately searches for her missing son throughout the universe. Finally, she pleads with Shakyamuni for help. The Shakyamuni Buddha then points out that she is suffering because she has lost one of hundreds of her own children, and asks her if she could imagine the suffering of those parents whose only child she has devoured. Hariti replies contritely that their suffering must be many times greater than hers, and vows to protect all children. She repents, converts to Buddhism and from then on, only feeds upon pomegranates as a substitute for children's flesh. So after the arrival of Buddhism in Gandhara, Hariti is transformed from an Iranic demon to the Buddhist figure of easy birthing as well as that of protection and parenting of children. More likely though, the alteration in the story of Hariti and her successful conversion to Buddhism seems to be an early strategy with which to convert the predominantly Iranic Gandharans from Zoroastrianism, and Animism to Buddhism.

And so the legend of Hariti, though originally Iranic in origin, became incorporated in to Buddhist lore after the arrival of Buddhism to Bactria, and with it, spread to the far reaches of east Asian lands such as Japan; a country where the Gandharan Hariti is today known as Kishimojin.

More recent stories of East Asian origin also describe Hariti as an aspect of Kannon. In actuality, Hariti appears to be the progenitor of the pre-Zoroastrian Iranic goddess Hurvatat.

Hārīti though Iranic in origin, has also been linked (falsely), to the Greek goddess Tyche by Eurocentrist historians. Her origin sometimes, is also falsely depicted as "hindu", either by Indocentrist historians or by those historians who do not understand that her incorporation in to Buddhist lore was a much later development which was most likely a conversion-to-Buddhism strategy for Iranian speaking Gandharans. Later Buddhist lore also describes Pancika who fathers her children as her loyal consort. He is one of the 28 Yakṣa generals in the army of Vaiśravaṇa (Bishamonten). The legend of Hariti also points towards the immense Bactrian contribution to Buddhist Mythology which spread by way of Western Pakistan and Eastern Afghanistan in to Tibet (and later throughout Asia) . In appearance, Hariti is often depicted as holding a cornucopia and being surrounded by children. More often, she is dressed in Iranic toga-like attire. This attire is also seen on Parthian relief in Iran.

From: Wiki

Hariti (green or stealing) is a Hindu mother goddess, mentioned Vedic and Puranic texts. She is among the mataras, mothers, who are patrons of children. She is considered by some to be identical with the goddess Vriddhi. Her consort is Pancika, alternately Kubera. In her destructive aspect, she steals and eats children. She is particularly from the north and northwest of India. Her attribute is a child which may be held at the hip, sometimes being eaten.

Hardual, as a Buddhist goddess, is regarded as a plague deity, especially smallpox. In some texts, she also is regarded as a goddess of fertility.

From: here

Hariti is a popular goddess in early Buddhism. According to myth, she was once a malevolent ogress who had vowed to eat all the babies in ancient Rajgir. On hearing the complaints of the residents of this city, the Buddha hid one of Hariti's children. Hariti was grief-stricken and, understanding the suffering that she had caused, converted to Buddhism. She was then accepted as a Buddhist goddess, particularly as a protectress of children. She is often found with her consort, Pancika. Together, they are associated with wealth and productivity.

From: here

In Buddhist lore, the demoness Hariti was originally a child-eater like Lilith. The Buddha cured her of child-eating by teaching her to sublimate her forbidden desire by eating, instead, crunchy bloody pomegranates. She became thereafter a protectress of little children. In Japan, where she was called Kishimojin, she was called upon by infertile women to bring fertility to their wombs. She is depicted as suckling an infant & holding a pomegranate aloft.

From: here

Also see:
History and iconography of Kishimojin
The Goddess Hariti-Ogress earlier and Goddess Later
Images
Hariti: The Unchaste Goddess
Hariti Temple of Swayambhu
The HARITI SUTRA

A Modern Greco-Buddhist Festival for Tykhe Hariti by Astalon
The Syncretism of Tykhe Hariti by Astalon
The Redemption of Tykhe Hariti by Astalon

Google Book's Preview: Buddhist goddesses of India By Miranda Eberle Shaw (Chapter on Hariti)

Book -- From ogress to goddess Hariti: a Buddhist deity

Asterope

In the Vedic times in Indian Mythology, Kubera was a being associated with evil. He was envisaged to be the chief of all evil creatures living in darkness. It was only after Hinduism consolidated into what it is today that this hideous dwarf began to get acknowledged as a god and as one of the eight guardians of the world. He still remained the king of the Yakshas. Today, in the Hindu pantheon, Kubera is widely known as the god appointed the guardian of the treasures of the gods. He often rides in his airborne magic chariot Pushpak and showers jewels and other precious objects onto the lands he passes over to succor the poor.

There are two versions of how Kubera was elevated to the stature of a god. The first version postulates that Kubera performed stringent austerities for thousands of years and, as a reward, was promoted. Another rather more romantic version is that one day Kubera had gone to rob a temple of Shiva, who is the king of robbers. During the robbery Kubera's taper had somehow been blown out. No matter how hard the dwarf tried he could not relight the taper. Nevertheless, he persisted with his efforts no matter how nefarious they were and, on the tenth attempt, he succeeded. Shiva is a benign god who is often pleased by the most illogical of efforts. This perseverance of Kubera's in his attempt to rob the god's temple won him much admiration from Shiva who subsequently granted the dwarf access to the Hindu pantheon of gods.

Kubera is physically envisioned as a dwarf with an ugly and deformed body. His skin is white and he has three legs. He has a set of only eight teeth. Why this is so is rather mysterious, as are so many physical features of the other Hindu gods. Since Kubera was so deformed, he had difficulty in moving around. Brahma took pity and ordered Vishwakarma, the architect of the gods and a god in his own right, to build the disabled god a chariot. Vishwakarma conceived and built Pushpak, an aerial chariot which moves of its own accord and which is so large that it can contain a whole city. Kubera flies in this fantastic chariot and throws down jewels and other precious objects to people on the ground to aid them with averting poverty.

Kubera has three famous half-brothers, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Bivhishana. All three find mention in the great Indian epic story Ramayana and are relatively better-known than Kubera, especially to Indian children. This association has spawned many interesting tales and here are some of them.

It was Ravana, the eldest of Kubera's half-brothers, who stole Pushpak from him and made use of it to further his nefarious activities. The accounts of his misdeeds with the aid of the magic chariot are amply narrated in the Ramayana. First, Ravana abducted Sita, Rama's wife, from her cottage in a forest to his capital in Lanka where he held her captive. When Rama attacked Lanka to rescue his wife, Ravana used Pushpak to parry Rama's forays until Rama, Vishnu's seventh incarnation, at last overcame the evil king's forces and used Kubera's magic chariot to transport himself with his wife back to his kingdom in Ayodhya. After that the fantastic contraption was back in the hands of the dwarf god who again began going about his usual business of consolidating the wealth of the worlds.

The tale of how Ravana and his other two brothers were conceived is also an interesting story. The fabulous city of Lanka was built by Vishwakarma and the Rakshasas, the demons of Indian mythology, got hold of it. For some reason or another, the Rakshasas annoyed Vishnu who decided to attack the city. The evil ones fled because, although Lanka was the best fortified and richest city in the world at that time, they feared that it was still not safe enough against an attack by a god of Vishnu's stature. At this time Kubera, always the opportunist, took over the ghost city and settled there with his own attendants. This was not for long for as soon as Vishnu was pacified, the Rakshasas became determined to get their city back from the deformed god. They sent a beautiful maiden to seduce Kubera's father. She succeeded and from their union was born the three half-brothers of Kubera. Ravana, like quite a few notorious Rakshasas before and after him, performed stringent austerities which earned him the boon of invincibility from Shiva. With this boon he ultimately defeated his own half-brother Kubera and got back the city of Lanka for his people, the Rakshasas. After the loss of this luxurious asset Kubera approached Vishwakarma with the request of creating a residence for him. The builder god conceived for him a palace on Mount Kailash, in the Himalayas. The opulent palace was an appropriate abode for Kubera as it was in the north, the portion of the globe of which he was the guardian. Of course, as guardian of the treasures of the gods and the nine Nidhis, special treasures of indefinite significance, Kubera had for himself the most splendid city in the world on Mount Mandara, a mythical mountain in the Himalayas. Within this city, Alakapuri, is the most beautiful garden in the world, Chaitraratha. Both are a part of the many sybaritic possessions of Kubera.

Kubera is assisted in his duties by his constant attendants, the Kinnaras, male creatures, and their female counterparts, the Kinnoris.

From: here

Affiliation Deva, Lokapala, Guardians of the directions (Dikpala)
Abode Alaka
Mantra Oṃ Shaṃ Kuberāya Namaḥ
Weapon Gadā (Mace)
Consort Riddhi or Bhadra/Kauberi/Charvi
Mount Man/elephant

Kubera (Sanskrit: कुबेर, Pali/later Sanskrit: Kuvera, Tamil/Thai: Kuperan), also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North (Dik-pala), and a protector of the world (Lokapala) His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted as a fat man, adorned with jewels and carrying a money-pot or money-bag, and a club.

Originally described as the chief of evil spirits in Vedic-era texts, Kubera acquired the status of a Deva (god) only in the Puranas and the Hindu epics. The scriptures describe that Kubera once ruled Lanka, but was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, later settling in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas. Descriptions of the "glory" and "splendours" of Kubera's city are found in many scriptures.

Kubera has also been assimilated into the Buddhist and Jain pantheons. In Buddhism, he is known as Vaisravana, the patronymic used of the Hindu Kubera and is also equated with Pañcika, while in Jainism, he is known as Sarvanubhuti.

Kubera is often depicted as a dwarf, with fair complexion and a big belly. He is described as having three legs, only eight teeth, one eye, and being adorned with jewels. He is sometimes depicted riding a man.[1][2] The description of deformities like the broken teeth, three legs, three heads and four arms appear only in the later Puranic texts.[3] Kubera holds a mace, a pomegranate or a money bag in his hand.[1] He may also carry a sheaf of jewels or a mongoose with him. In Tibet, the mongoose is considered a symbol of Kubera's victory over Nāgas—the guardians of treasures.[4] Kubera is usually depicted with a mongoose in Buddhist iconography.[2]

In the Vishnudharmottara Purana, Kubera is described as the embodiment of both Artha ("wealth, prosperity, glory") and Arthashastras, the treatises related to it—and his iconography mirrors it. Kubera's complexion is described as that of lotus leaves. He rides a man—the state personified, adorned in golden clothes and ornaments, symbolizing his wealth. His left eye is yellow. He wears an armour and a necklace down to his large belly. The Vishnudharmottara Purana further describes his face to be inclined to the left, sporting a beard and mustache, and with two small tusks protruding from the ends of his mouth, representing his powers to punish and to bestow favours. His wife Riddhi, representing the journey of life, is seated on his left lap, with her left hand on the back of Kubera and the right holding a ratna-patra (jewel-pot). Kubera should be four-armed, holding a gada (mace: symbol of dandaniti—administration of justice) and a shakti (power) in his left pair, and standards bearing a lion—representing Artha and a shibika (a club, the weapon of Kubera). The nidhi treasures Padma and Shankha stand beside him in human form, with their heads emerging from a lotus and a conch respectively.[5]

The Agni Purana states that Kubera should be installed in temples as seated on a goat, and with a club in his hand.[6] Kubera's image is prescribed to be that of gold, with multi-coloured attributes.[7] In some sources, especially in Jain depictions, Kubera is depicted as a drunkard, signified by the "nectar vessel" in his hand.[8]

The exact origins of the name Kubera are unknown.[7] "Kubera" or "Kuvera" (कुवेर) as spelt in later Sanskrit, means "deformed or monstrous" or "ill-shaped one"; indicating his deformities.[7][9] Another theory suggests that Kubera may be derived from the verb root kumba, meaning to conceal. Kuvera is also split as ku (earth), and vira (hero).[10]

As the son of Vishrava ("Fame"), Kubera is called Vaisravana (in the Pali language, Vessavana) and as the son of Ilavila, Ailavila.[11] Vaisravana is sometimes translated as the "Son of Fame".[7] The Sutta Nitapa commentary says that Vaisravana is derived from a name of Kubera's kingdom, Visana.[10] Once, Kubera looked at Shiva and his wife Parvati with jealousy, so he lost one of his eyes. Parvati also turned this deformed eye yellow. So, Kubera gained the name Ekaksipingala ("one who has one yellow eye").[6] He is also called Bhutesha ("Lord of spirits") like Shiva. Kubera usually is drawn by spirits or men (nara), so is called Nara-vahana, one whose vahana (mount) is nara. Hopkins interprets naras as being water-spirits, although Mani translates nara as men.[6][12] Kubera also rides the elephant called Sarvabhauma as a loka-pala.[11]

Kubera also enjoys the titles "king of the whole world", "king of kings" (Rajaraja), "Lord of wealth" (Dhanadhipati) and "giver of wealth" (Dhanada). His titles are sometimes related to his subjects: "king of Yakshas" (Yaksharajan), "Lord of Rakshasas" (Rakshasadhipati), "Lord of Guhyakas" (Guhyakadhipa), "king of Kinnaras"(Kinnararaja), "king of animals resembling men" (Mayuraja), and "king of men" (Nararaja).[7][11][12] Kubera is also called Guhyadhipa ("Lord of the hidden"). The Atharvaveda calls him the "god of hiding".[12]

From: Wiki (also has more info available)

In Hinduism, Alaka (Sanskrit:अलक), which is also sometimes called Alakapuri, is a mythical city. It is the home of Kubera, the king of Yakshas and the lord of wealth, and his attendants called yakshas.[1] The Mahabharata mentions this city as the capital of the Yaksha Kingdom. This city rivals the capital of Indra the king of the Devas in its architecture, opulence, and overall splendor.

Alaka in Sanskrit means, 'lock of curly hair'.[2] It is also a common name for Hindu girls.[2]

From: Wiki

Kuber is regarded as the god of wealth, in Hindu mythology. Lord Kubera is also known as the god of yakshas (savage beings). Kubera is always remembered with the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi. Chanting of Kuber Mantra blesses the worshipper with money and prosperity by drawing new avenues and sources of income and wealth. Mantra of Kubera helps to increase the flow of funds and the ability to accumulate wealth. Kubera Mantra is as follows:

"Om Yakshyaya Kuberaya Vaishravanaaya Dhanadhanyadi Padayeh
Dhana-Dhanya Samreeddhing Me Dehi Dapaya Swaha"

Meaning: Kubera, the lord of yakshas, bless us with wealth and prosperity.

One, who worships lord Kubera and Lakshmi, can never fall short of money and material comforts. The special puja of Kubera is performed on Dusshera, Dhan triyodasi and Deepawali, asking for prosperity and his blessings.

From: here

KUVERA. [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] In the Vedas, a chief of the evil beings or spirits living in the shades: a sort of Pluto, and called by his patronymic Vaisravana. Later he is Pluto in another sense, as god of wealth and chief of the Yakshas and Guhyakas.

He was son of Visravas by Idavida, but he is sometimes called son of Pulastya, who was father of Visravas. This is explained by Mahabharata, according to which Kuvera was son of Pulastya, but that sage being offended with Kuvera for his adulation of Brahma, "reproduced the half of himself in the form of Visravas," and had Ravana and other children.

Kuvera's city is Alaka (also called Prabha, Vasudhara, and Vasushtali) in the Himalayas, and his garden Chaitaratha on Mandara, one of the spurs of Mount Meru, where he is waited upon by the Kinnaras. Some authorities place his abode on Mount Kailasa in a palace built by Viswakarma.

He was half-brother of Ravana, and, according to the Ramayana and Mahabharata, he once had possession of the city of Lanka in Ceylon, which was also built by Viswakarma, and from which he was expelled by Ravana. The same authority states that he performed austerities for thousands of years, and obtained the boon from Brahma that he should be immortal, one of the guardian deities of the world, and the god of wealth. So he is regent of the north, and the keeper of gold and silver, jewels and pearls, and all the treasures of the earth, besides nine particular Nidhis, or treasures, the nature of which is not well understood.

Brahma also gave him the great self-moving aerial car Pushpaka.

His wife is Yakshi, Charvi, or Kauveri, daughter of the Danava Mura. His sons are Manigriva or Varnakavi and Nalakubara or Mayuraja, and his daughter Minakshi (fish-eyed).

He is represented as a white man deformed in body, and having three legs and only eight teeth. His body is covered with ornaments. He receives no worship. The name Kuver, as also the variant Kutanu, signifies 'vile body,' referring to his ugliness. He is also called Dhanapati, 'lord of wealth;' Ichchhavasu, 'who has wealth at will;' Yaksharaja, 'chief of the Yakshas;' Mayuraja, 'king of the Kinnaras;' Rakshasendra, 'chief of the Rakshasas;' Ratnagarbha, 'belly of jewels;' Raharaja, 'king of kings;' and Nararaja, 'king of men' (in allusion to the power of riches). From his parentage he is called Vaisravana, Paulastya, and Aidavida or Ailavila. As an especial friend of Siva he is called Isasakhi, etc.

DHANA-DA `Giver of wealth.' Kuvera, the god of riches
DHANA-PATI `Lord of wealth.' Kuvera.
DHANESWARA `Lord of wealth.' I.e., Kuvera

From: here

...Vaishravana - Lord of Wealth in the Buddhist pantheon. He is the Buddhist counterpart of Kubera, the Brahmanical god of riches. According to the Brahmanical tradition, 'Kubera' was the son of a sage 'Vishravas', hence the name Vaishravana.

Vaishravana had performed austerities for a thousand years, in reward of which Brahma gave him immortality and made him god of wealth, guardian of all the treasures of the earth, which he was to give out to whom they were destined. His abode was said to be on Mount Kailas; but when Brahma appointed him god of riches, he gave him Lanka (Ceylon) as his capital, and presented him, as recorded in the Mahabharata, the car pushpaka, which was of immense size and moved at the owners will at the marvellous speed. But later on he was forced to moved to Mount Kailas by his brother Ravana who had captured the throne of Lanka. Ravana also took pushpaka from him.

Kubera is also worshipped by the Buddhists. He is considered as one of the Lokapalas, guardian of Mount Sumeru, as well as one of the Regents of the four cardinal directions. As a Regent of the North he is called Vaishravana and his adobe is Alka in the Himalayas, abounding in wealth and magnificence, where he is attended by Yakshas and Kinnaras.

The Buddhist texts, the Divyavadana and the Lalitavistara provide information pertaining to the legend and iconography of Vaishravana. In Tibet, he has been one of the primary protectors of the Gelupa sect since the fourteenth century A.D. There is a special ceremony in Tibet for imploring Kubera for riches, which is called Yan-Yung, and he plays an important part in Tantra, sorcery and exorcism. In Northern Buddhism he has two main aspects that of a deity of wealth and that of a warrior protector. In the present manifestation he has been shown as the god of wealth. Though Vaishravana holds many attributes, e.g. a sword, a banner, lemon and flat vessel etc., but his most common attribute or insignia is mongoose (nakula), often vomiting jewels, and in all descriptions Vaishravana is said to be fat and pot-bellied in appearance. His female counterpart is Vasudhara, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Here he is seated in an easy posture on a lotus throne. His right foot is slightly pendent and supported by a conch-shell. His left hand holds a jewel-spitting mongoose. There is a precious jewel offering in front of him. He has open eyes, frowning eyebrows and an upturned lower lip. His beard has been designed in the shape of curls. He is wearing a five-jewelled crown, and various ornaments - earrings, necklaces, armlets, bracelets, waist-bands and anklets. There is a snake around his body and he is adorned with flowing scarves.

From: here

Also see:
Kubera
Kubera
His Yantra
Feast of Kubera
Related Japanese deity and associations with Kubera
Lord Kuber
Working with Kubera - The God of Wealth
Statue: Kubera (Vaishravana) - God of Wealth & Kubera (Vishravana) - God of Wealth and Prosperity

Buddhist counterpart:
Vaishravana
Another site
Info and art
Info

Asterope

Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, gāyatrī) is the feminine form of gāyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. Gayatri is a consort of Brahma and the goddess of learning.[1] Brahma married her when there was a need for a companion during a yajna.[1] Brahma had to start the yajna along with his wife.[1] His wife, Savatri, could not be found at the time so Brahma asked Indra to help him find a solution and Indra found Gayatri, who some believe, came from the Gurjar community.[2]. So Brahma married Gayatri to start the yajna in time.[1]

Upset by this act, Savatri cursed Brahma that he would not be worshipped on earth except at Pushkar.

Originally the personification of the Gayatri mantra, and revered by Hindus worldwide, the goddess Gāyatrī is considered the veda mata, the mother of all Vedas and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena. Gayatri Veda Mata is seen by many Hindus to be not just a Goddess, but a portrayal of Brahman himself, in the feminine form. Essentially, the Goddess is seen to combine all the phenomenal attributes of Brahman, including Past, Present and Future as well as the three realms of existence. Goddess Gāyatrī is also worshipped as the Hindu Trimurti combined as one. In Hinduism, there is only one creation who can withstand the brilliance of Aditya and that is Gāyatrī. Some also consider her to be the mother of all Gods and the culmination of Lakshmi, Parvati and Sarasvati.

Gāyatrī is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth or else on a swan or peacock.[1] She appears in either of these forms:

Having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, symbolizing all her reincarnations.[citation needed]
Accompanied by a white swan, holding a book to portray knowledge in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of Education.

It is a Sanskrit word, Ga means to sing, Yatri means Protection. Gayatri has three phases and so it is called tripada. It is also called tripada because it is Vedmata, Devmata and Vishwamata. Vedas have originated from Gayatri mantra and so it is known as Vedmata. It is Devmata because it helps in manifestation of divine virtues (gun), actions (karma) and nature (swabhav).

From: Wiki

Gayatri is a Sanskrit word, made up of two words "Gaa" and "Yatree". "Gaa" means to sing and "Yatree" means protection. Hence it means that those who "worship Gayatri gets protected". Goddess Gayatri is considered as the essence of Upnishads. Gayatri mantra was written and developed by Brahmarishi Vishwamitra. The Puranas mention that only 24 Rishis since ancient time have understood the whole meaning and used the whole power of the Gayatri Mantra. Rishi Vishvamitra is supposed to be the first and Rishi Yajnavalkya the last.

Introduction :-
Gayatri is known as Veda Mata i.e. the mother of all Four Vedas. A person totally devoted to Goddess Gayatri can achieve great success in the path of self advancement as Goddess Gayatri inspires man towards righteous.

Gayatri on swan and lotus:-
It is said that Goddess Gayatri resides in each and every human heart in the form of a swan. If a person meditates deep within he sees a swan which is considered as goddess Gayatri. The swan is the symbol of God realization. The lotus is considered as seat of Goddess Gayatri which means the presence of Divinity and wealth.

From: here

Gayatri Devi is an incarnation of Saraswati Devi, consort of Lord Brahma, symbolising the "shakti" (strength) and "dev" (quality) of Knowledge, Purity and Virtue. Saraswati Devi is held to be the patronness of the Arts, being a poet and musician, as well as skillful composer. In the form of Gayatri Devi, with the blessings of Lord Brahma, she is believed to have given the four Vedas to mankind.
Goddess Gayatri

Gayatri is depicted seated on a lotus. She is depicted with five faces representing the pancha pranas /pancha vayus(five lives/winds): prana, apana,vyana, udana, samana, of the five principles/ elements (pancha tatwas) earth, water, air, fire, sky (prithvi, jala, vayu, teja, aakasha). She has 10 hands carrying the five ayudhas: shankha; chakra, kamala, varada, abhaya, kasha, ankusha, ujjwala utensil, rudrakshi mala.

Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati are three goddesses representing the presiding deities of the famous Gayatri mantra chanted thrice a day. Gayatri is the presiding deity of the morning prayer and rules over the Rigveda and the garhapatya fire. Every grihasta (householder) was expected to keep 5 or 3 sacred fires ( Five fires: ahavaneeya, dakshagni, garhapatya, sawta, aavasadha.) in his house to perform Vedic rituals.

From: here

Gayatri is the name of one of the most important Vedic hymns consisting of twenty-four syllables. This hymn is addressed to Lord Surya (Sun) as the supreme generative force. The hymn says, "We meditate on that glorious light of the divine Surya, may he, the lord of light illuminate our minds".

One of the sacred texts says, "The Gayatri is Brahma, Gayatri is Vishnu, Gayatri is Shiva, the Gayatri is Vedas" Gayatri later came to be personified as a Goddess. She is shown as having five heads and is usually seated within a lotus. The four heads of Gayatri represent the four Vedas and the fifth one represents almighty God. In her ten hands, she holds all the symbols of Lord Vishnu. She is another consort of Lord Brahma.

From: here

The Gayatri is the divine power that transforms the human into the divine and blesses Man with a brilliant light of the highest spiritual illumination. The nature of the Gayatri Mantra is such that you can repeat it while meditating on any form you like. It is generally conceived of as a female deity by the majority of devotees. One who worships God as mother adheres to this belief. But in it's true light, the Gayatri never speaks of a female at all. You cannot find a single word in the entire Gaytri Mantra, which speaks of a female.

The feminine form of the word Gayatri cannot make it's deity a female. Gayatri is discribed as having five faces. She is worshipped as a Panchamukhi, Five-Faced Goddess. The first is "Aum". The second is "Bhoorbhuvassvah". The third is "Thathsavithur Varenyam". The fourth is "Bhargo Devasya Dheemahie". The fifth is "Dheeyo yo nah prachoedayaath". Gayathri represents these five faces the five Pranas (life forces). She is the protector of the five Pranas in Man. Gayathri is the embodiment of all deities. It is not related to any particular sect, caste, idol or institution.

From: here

The five faced and ten armed Gayatri is one of the popular Brahmanical female divinities, though she is neither one the seven Matrikas nor one of the ten Mahavidyas. Puranas attribute to her a myth or two, personalise and associate her with Brahma as one of his consorts, many scholars, however, and perhaps more reasonably, opine that Gayatri personifies the Shakti energy, of the Vedic 'mantra' of the same name, not a goddess as is Parvati or Lakshmi. The Vedic Gayatri 'mantra' is revered as the supreme of all 'mantras' and the 'shakti' that it generated as the apex of 'mantra-shakti'. In all probabilities India's visual culture humanised this 'mantra-shakti' as the goddess Gayatri and gave her the name of the Vedic 'mantra'.

The Brahma Purana alludes to Gayatri as one of Brahma's consorts, though this allusion itself has symbolic dimension. Once Brahma was going to perform a 'yajna'. He wanted his other consort Swara to accompany him in performing it. Swara was not, however, available at that time. As mandated under ritual norms, the 'yajna' could not be accomplished singly without a consort. Brahma hence asked his other consort Gayatri to sit with him and perform the necessary rites. In the meantime Swara came back. She lost her temper as soon as she saw Gayatri seated with Brahma in her place for the 'yajna'. Infuriated Swara cursed her to turn into a river. However, before the curse materialised Gayatri accomplished the 'yajna'. In the Puranic tradition, Gayatri hence symbolises in simultaneity the 'mantra-shakti' for which she initially stood, sacred river by Swara's curse, and accomplishment of 'yajna' for being instrumental in performing it.

Perhaps for her diverse attributes, Gayatri subsequently emerged as one of the most powerful Tantrika deities. She is often meditated on as an aspect of Mahalakshmi. Though in the north not many shrines are devoted to her, she is in live worship all over, and is the presiding deity in various Tantrika practices. However, in South she is one of the most popular female divinities worshipped on par with Padmavati. The five-faced coral complexioned goddess represents multi-faceted female energy and thus embodies in one supreme form all feminine potentials manifesting in different individual goddesses. Though the deity's complexion is all over the same, her all five faces have different colours suggestive of energy's different constituents. She is required to deliver various goods and hence her ten hands, carrying different attributes disc, mace, wine cup, lotuses, conch, goad and cane, besides, two hands in the posture of 'Abhaya' and 'Varada' assuring fearlessness and bestowing bliss. In her usual iconography she carries also a whip and noose and hardly ever imparts 'Abhaya' and 'Varada'. The artist in the painting has substituted with 'Abhaya' and 'Varada' at least two instruments of war, perhaps for perceiving in her a more benevolent protective and bliss-bestowing mother, not much of a chastiser. Alike, not splendour, the painting strives at attaining a kind of cosmic mysticism, which its background reveals. From its oceanic depths and against its darkness she illuminates like rising sun which the colour of her body, costume and lotuses symbolises. Tantrikas revere Gayatri as the most auspicious and as one whose bare presence accomplishes all desired.

From: here

Also see:

Painting One
Painting Two
Painting Three
More paintings
Shri Gayatri Yantram

Also, because the Gayatri mantra is so closely linked to her, here are tons of links about it (meaning, interpretation, signifigance, etc)--
Wikipedia
Gayatri Mantra - Detailed Meaning and Exposition
Gayatri by Words - A detailed explanation behind each word
Meaning
Mantra
Importance of Gayartri Mantra
Gayarti
THE POWER AND THE POTENCY OF THE GAYATRI MANTRA
Gayatri Mantra - गायत्री मंत्र
The Gayatri Mantra - Inner Meaning & Analysis of the Most Popular Hindu Hymn
Mantra
Gayatri Mantra - Meaning and Translation
The Gayatri Mantra
The Mantra with meaning, etc
Gayatri Mantra

Asterope

Copyright Lisa Hunt. Website.
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Ushas (उषः; uṣás-), Sanskrit for "dawn", is a Vedic deity. She is the chief goddess (sometimes imagined as several goddesses, Dawns) exalted in the Rig Veda. She is portrayed as a beautifully adorned, sexually attractive young woman riding in a chariot. She is the daughter of Dyaus "Heaven", divó duhitâ (e.g. RV 6.64.5).
Twenty out of 1028 hymns in the Rig Veda are dedicated to Dawn: Book 7 has seven hymns, books 4–6 have two hymns each, and the younger books 1 and 10 have six and one respectively.
E. g. RV 6.64.1-2 (trans. Griffith):
1. The radiant Dawns have risen up for glory, in their white splendour like the waves of waters. She maketh paths all easy, fair to travel, and, rich, hath shown herself benign and friendly. 2. We see that thou art good: far shines thy lustre; thy beams, thy splendours have flown up to heaven. Decking thyself, thou makest bare thy bosom, shining in majesty, thou Goddess Morning. The name is an s-stem, i.e. the genitive case is uṣásas. It is from PIE *h₂ausos-, cognate to Greek *Ηως and Latin Aurora.
From: Ushas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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If you catch the light just before the sun appears, early in the morning, be sure to greet her. Her name is Ushas. The Goddess of Dawn.

The night is dark and deep when Ushas rises and her mother, the sky, begins to adorn her. She uses hope to cloth her, life to anoint her with and light for her ornaments. Her sister, the night, lends her the magic while retaining the mystery. Ushas has the magic of looking at everybody at the same time.

It is then that the sun catches sight of her. Resplendent is golden hue, the sun falls in love with this young maiden born anew everyday, keeper of time and youth. As Ushas appears above the sky, riding a hundred chariots, the sun, madly in love with this beautiful maiden, chases her. She spreads her love and his light across the sky bringing a new day for mankind smiling to herself for she knows well that the sun is racing her. The romance of the day makes the birds chatter, the streams gurgle, the lotus blossom and the bee gets more intoxicated with the nectar he sucks in.

She dances and sings and spreads cheer all around. Darkness runs away and bad dreams die at the opening of the day. Evil spirits rush to hide for all is visible now.

And suddenly the sun catches up with her and holds her in embrace as the day is all light and sunlight to finally surrender once again to the night.

Ushas is a Rig Vedic deity who is the most beautiful maiden personifying the charm of dawn. Since she precedes light, she is also called the Mother Goddess. In the Rig Veda the description of the break of dawn, of the emergence of Ushas, is perhaps the most beautiful passage. She is described as the one who untiringly rises every morning as though born anew to bring life to mankind, to satisfy all their longings and give new strength to every spirit.

The changing colours at dawn are likened to the different robes of a dancing girl while the golden tipped clouds that appear just before sunrise are like bridal jewellery. Ushas is portrayed as a shy maiden, conscious of her beauty but modest and entering society under the protection of her mother. Even mythology is fascinated by the chauvinist model and over thousands of years the readers of the Vedas have drawn great pleasure in imagining the shy maiden being followed by the macho sun and finally her surrender. The story of this romance which all of us see everyday, but often fail to heave that deep sigh of longing, caught as we were in the nitty gritty affairs of the sunlit day, brings gifts for all mankind; wealth for those who seek it, education for those others, contentment to some and salvation to yet others.
From: Ushas, Mother Goddess, Goddess of Dawn

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In the Rig Veda the goddess Usha is consistently associated with and often identified with the dawn. She reveals herself in the daily coming of light to the world. She has been described in the Rig Veda as a young maiden drawn by one hundred horses. She brings forth light and is followed by the sun who urges her onwards. She is praised for driving away, or is petitioned to drive away, the oppressive darkness. She is asked to chase away evil demons. As the dawn she is said to rouse all life, to set all things in motion and to send people off to do their duties. She sends the curled-up sleepers on their way to offer their sacrifices and thus render service to the other gods.

Usha gives strength and fame. She is that which impels life and is associated with the breath and life of all living creatures. She is associated with, or moves with cosmic, social and moral order. As the regularly recurring dawn she reveals and participates in cosmic order and is the foe of chaotic forces that threaten the world. Usha is generally held as an auspicious goddess associated with light and wealth, and is often likened to a cow.

In the Rig Veda she is also called 'the mother of cows' and like a cow that yields its udder for the benefit of people, so Usha bares her breasts to bring light for the benefit of human kind. Although she is usually described as a young and beautiful maiden, she is also called 'the mother of the gods and the ashwins'. Considered as mother by her petitioners she tends to all things like a good matron and goddess of the earth. She is said to be 'the eye of the gods' and is referred to as 'she who sees all', but is rarely invoked to forgive human transgressions. It is more typical to invoke her in times of need to drive away or punish one's enemies.

Usha is known as the goddess, reality or presence that bears away youth. She is described as 'a skilled huntress who wastes away the lives of people'. In accordance with the ways of Rita she wakes all living things but does not disturb the person who sleeps in death. As the recurring dawn, Usha is not only celebrated for bringing light from darkness, she is also petitioned to grant long life, as she is a constant reminder of peoples' limited time on earth. She is the mistress or marker of time.

The ancient Vedic tradition has viewed Usha as the harbinger of light, awareness, activity. People divided time into the form of day and night. At night all creation rests and in the day the whole of creation is active. The transformation which takes place from night to day is known to be the attribute of Usha, the awareness that stirs up the activity of creation, the light that gives sight to the eyes, that gives power to the senses, that gives power to the mind and intellect, Usha has been regarded as the light, or the dawn of human consciousness.
From: Vedic Gods & Goddesses

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HYMN LIL Dawn.
1. THIS Lady, giver of delight, after her Sister shining forth, Daughter of Heaven, hath shown herself.-
2 Unfailing, Mother of the Kine, in colour like a bright red mare,
The Dawn became the Asvins' Friend.
3 Yea, and thou art the Asvins' Friend, the Mother of the Kine art thou:
O Dawn thou rulest over wealth.
4 Thinking of thee, O joyous One, as her who driveth hate away,
We woke to meet thee with our lauds.
5 Our eyes behold thy blessed rays like troops of cattle loosed to feed.
Dawn hath filled full the wide expanse.
6 When thou hast filled it, Fulgent One! thou layest bare the gloom with light.
After thy nature aid us, Dawn.
7 Thou overspreadest heaven with rays, the dear wide region of mid-air.
With thy bright shining lustre, Dawn

Asterope

वरुण
God of:Order (ṛta), Law, the Sky and the Ocean
Affiliation: Aditya, Asura but later on as a Deva, Guardians of the directions
Abode: Celestial ocean (Rasā)
Mantra: Oṃ Vaṃ Varuṇāya Namaḥ
Weapon: Pasha (Lasso) or Varunastra
Consort: Varuni
Mount: Makara (Hindu mythology)
Planet: Venus

Though he only has about a dozen hymns addressed to him in the Rig Veda, Varuna seems to be one of the most important of the Vedic gods. In pre-Vedic times, he was the supreme lord of the cosmos, the keeper of divine order, the bringer of rain, the enforcer of contracts. He is called omnipotent and omniscient; he is responsible for the sun to move in the sky, for day and night to stay separate, and for the earth to keep its form; he watches the flight of every bird, is present at every gathering, and knows every thought.

His name means "he who covers", and this probably refers to the sky. Varuna is the keeper of the cosmic order, a force called rta. It is rta which keeps everything working as it should, and Varuna's role as the one who governs rta makes him very important indeed. He is very closely linked to the god Mitra. Varuna is one of the Adityas and considered to be an asura, when those beings were still god-like and had not yet degenerated into demons. He is also associated with the moon and Soma, in Soma's incarnation as the drink of the gods. Varuna is seen as a white man in golden armor riding a Makara (a sea monster), holding a noose or lasso made from a snake.

Varuna is the keeper of the celestial waters, those which flow from the openings in the sky in the form of rain. He was worshiped with veneration and a healthy amount of fear, for as an asura Varuna did have his sinister aspects and was known to punish mortals who did not keep their word. He was the cosmic hangman and his usual method of punishment was to capture the offender with his noose. He was also a lord of the dead, a position he shared with Yama, and could confer immortality if he so chose.

In Vedic times, the worship of Varuna fell off as he was supplanted by Indra as king of the gods. One possible reason for this may go back to Indra's most famous exploit. When Vritra stole all the waters of the universe, the waters which Varuna was in charge of, it was Indra who had to fight the demon and get them back. It may have been because of this that Indra was able to supplant the overlordship of Varuna and become lord of the gods himself. Varuna then became god of the oceans and rivers; still important, but with hardly the grandeur he once had. The souls of those who drowned went to him, and he was attended by the nagas.
Varuna faded away with the ascendancy of Shiva and Vishnu. His lofty position may have lived on, however, for he may be the same as the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahura Mazda.

FROM: "Varuna"
© MCMXCV - MMVI Encyclopedia Mythica™. All rights reserved.

One of his hymns in the Rig Veda:

HYMN XXV. Varuṇa.
1 WHATEVER law of thine, O God, O Varuṇa, as we are men,
Day after day we violate.
2 give us not as a prey to death, to be destroyed by thee in wrath,
To thy fierce anger when displeased.
3 To gain thy mercy, Varuṇa, with hymns we bind thy heart, as binds
The charioteer his tethered horse.
4 They flee from me dispirited, bent only on obtaining wealth,
As to their nests the birds of air.
5 When shall we bring, to be appeased, the Hero, Lord of warrior might,
Him, the far-seeing Varuṇa?
6 This, this with joy they both accept in common: never do they fail
The ever-faithful worshipper.
7 He knows the path of birds that fly through heaven, and, Sovran of the sea,
He knows the ships that are thereon.
8 True to his holy law, he knows the twelve moons with their progeny:
He knows the moon of later birth.
9 He knows the pathway of the wind, the spreading, high, and mighty wind:
He knows the Gods who dwell above.
10 Varuṇa, true to holy law, sits down among his people; he,
Most wise, sits there to govern all.
11 From thence perceiving he beholds all wondrous things, both what hath been,
And what hereafter will be done.
12 May that Āditya, very wise, make fair paths for us all our days:
May he prolong our lives for us.
13 Varuṇa, wearing golden mail, hath clad him in a shining robe.
His spies are seated found about.
14 The God whom enemies threaten not, nor those who tyrannize o’er men,
Nor those whose minds are bent on wrong.
15 He who gives glory to mankind, not glory that is incomplete,
To our own bodies giving it.
16 Yearning for the wide-seeing One, my thoughts move onward unto him,
As kine unto their pastures move.
17 Once more together let us speak, because my meath is brought: priest-like
Thou eatest what is dear to thee.
18 Now saw I him whom all may see, I saw his car above the earth:
He hath accepted these my songs.
19 Varuṇa, hear this call of mine: be gracious unto us this day
Longing for help I cried to thee.
20 Thou, O wise God, art Lord of all, thou art the King of earth and heaven
Hear, as thou goest on thy way.
21 Release us from the upper bond, untie the bond between, and loose
The bonds below, that I may live.

FROM: Sacred-Texts.com Rig Vedas section.

This God of the Waves is said to dwell in a house with a 1000 doors so that he is always accessible to men. In the Vedas he is more powerful than all the other gods because he is said to be the creator and sustainer of the universe and the administrator of the cosmic law. Day and night appear at his bidding and rivers are channelised according to his plans. Varuna is supposed to avenge sin and falsehood and his eye is the sun which keeps a watch on all mortals. In his hand he carries a rope to bind sinners with, symbolic of man being fettered by his sins. He is depicted as four-faced, with a 1000 eyes, is the colour of snow and appears wearing a golden mantle.

In the Mahabharata, he is the lord of the waves and of rivers, god of fluidity and movement. He is significant also because he was present at the birth of Arjuna and presented him with his bow, Gandiva, with which Arjuna won the battle against the Kauravas. According to the Puranas he is said to have carried away Bhadra, the wife of the sage Utathya, whose curse caused Varuna's abodes, the oceans and rivers, to dry up. Thus the god was forced to return Bhadra to her husband, who then allowed the waters to flow again, but Varuna was forced to forego his prominence and one does not find any new images of him.

But since his abode is Pushpagiri, the underwater mountain, he is the protector of fisherfolk, who still invoke him when they go out on to the high seas. Being the god of the rivers, he is also propitiated in times of drought.

FROM: MantraOnNet: Varuna.

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Ganga is the goddess who is the incarnation of the Ganges, India's most sacred river. She is the sister of Parvati, and has been linked as a consort of Agni, Vishnu, and Shiva. She is the mother of Jalamdhara through a union with the ocean. Hindus believe that by bathing in her holy waters, one's sins will be washed away. Repeated ritualistic washings in the river will secure one a place in heaven. The ashes of the dead are spread over her. She is usually represented as a beautiful woman with a fish's tail in place of her legs, and she rides on the Makara, a water monster.

Ganga originally flowed only through heaven, where she sprang from the toe of Vishnu, and it was due to a mortal that she came to earth. Saghara, a king, desperately wanted sons. He prayed and performed rituals and penances, so that his two wives both became pregnant. They gave birth to many sons. Some time later, to thank the gods, Saghara made ready to perform a horse sacrifice, a very solemn and powerful ritual, but the horse was stolen. Saghara's sons went searching for the animal, and they began to dig into the earth, thinking it might be underground. When their excavations became too large, Vishnu turned all of them to dust. Saghara learned that his sons would be allowed to go to heaven only when the sacred River Ganges flowed to the earth. The sage Bhagirathi, Saghara's grandson, performed rigid penances, and Brahma agreed to allow the river to fall to earth in the Himalayas and flow through India. Ganga was not at all happy about this, however. She was perfectly happy to stay in heaven. She consented to flow to the earth, but promised she would flood the whole world and destroy humanity. To prevent this, Shiva stood under the spot where she fell from the sky and cushioned her fall. Her stream was divided into seven rivers, which are the Ganges and her tributaries.

FROM: "Ganga"
© MCMXCV - MMVI Encyclopedia Mythica™. All rights reserved.

Geographical sacrality in the Hindu tradition is also dramatically expressed in the reverence shown to almost every river of the Indian subcontinent. This reverence extends all the way back to the Rg-veda, where the idea is expressed that earthly rivers have their origin in heaven. In the Rg-veda the Sarasvati River is praised as a mighty goddess who blesses her devotees with health, long life, and poetic- inspiration.' The earthly Sarasvati River is said to be only a partial manifestation of the goddess Sarasvati, for she is said to exist in heaven as well as on earth. The earthly river is an extension or continuation of divine waters that flow from heaven to earth. In Rg-vedic cosmology the crea- tion of the world or the process of making the world habitable is associated with the freeing of the heavenly waters by Indra. Indra's enemy Vrtra is said to have withheld these waters, thus inhibiting crea- tion. When Indra defeats Vrtra the waters rush onto the earth like mother cows eager to suckle their young (10.9). The rivers of the earth are therefore seen as being necessary to creation and as having a heav- enly origin. They are brought to earth by the heroic act of a god who defeats a demon who has hoarded the waters and kept them from fer- tilizing and nourishing the earth in the form of rivers-38

Reverence for rivers in the Hindu tradition is nowhere more intense than in the case of the Ganges. Like the SarasvatT River in the Vedic tra- dition, the Ganges is said to have its origin in heaven. Many myths con- cerning the descent of the Ganges to earth emphasize this point. The oldest and probably best known concerns the restoration of the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara. According to this myth, Sagara's sons were dull-witted and impetuous, and while searching the world for their father's sacrificial horse they insulted and disturbed the tranquillity of the great sage Kapila. In anger, Kapiia burned them all to ashes with the fire that he had generated as the result of his great austerities. Sagara's descendants, despite their piety and ascetic efforts, were unable to restore their incinerated forefathers until the saintly and mighty Bhaglratha, the great-great-great-grandson of Sagara, undertook the task.

Giving his kingdom ov,er to a trusted minister, BhagTratha went to the Himalayas to do heroic austerities. After he had physically mortified himself for centuries, the Ganges appeared in bodily form and granted his wish: she would descend to the earth, provided that someone could be found to break her mighty fall, which otherwise would destroy the earth itself. Siva was persuaded to receive the Ganges on his head, and so the great heavenly river descended to earth, her mighty fall softened by Siva's massive tangle of hair. In his hair she became divided into many streams, each of which flowed to a different region of earth and sanc- tified that area. Her principal artery emerged from Siva's hair and came to India, and under Bhagiratha's guidance it cut a channel to where the ashes of Sagara's sons were piled. Moistened by her waters, the souls of the sixty thousand sons were purified and freed to undertake their jour- ney fo the land of their fathers, where they could be duly honored by their descendants.'

Other accounts of the Ganges' descent feature Visnu and some- times Krsna. After assuming his dwarf avatara to trick the demon Bali, Visnu strides across the cosmos to appropriate it ior the gods. On his third stride his foot strikes the vault of heaven and breaks it. The Ganges River pours through the hole and eventually finds its way to earth. Falling on Mount Meru, the cosmic axis, the Ganges divides into four parts, and as it flows onto the four world continents it purifies the world in every direction.1"1 In some versions of the myth the god Brahma, who is said to hold the heavenly Ganges in his water pot, pours the Ganges on Visnu's foot when it stretches into the heavenly sphere.1" in still other versions of the myth Visnu becomes liquified when he hears a particu- larly sublime song sung in his praise, and in this form he enters Brahma's water pot, which contains the Ganges, and thus sacralizes her."

In one way or another, these myths about the Ganges' coming to earth stress the river's heavenly origin, her essentially divine nature, and her association with the great male deities Brahma, Visnu, and Siva. Spilling out of heaven from Visnu's foot, containing Visnu's liquified essence according to some myths, and tailing onto Siva's head, where she meanders through his tangled locks, the mighty Ganges appears in this world after having been made more sacred by direct contact with Visnu and Siva. The river then spreads the divine potency of these gods into the world when she flows onto the earthly plane. She gives their sacred presences to the earth in liquid form." The myths make clear that the earthly Ganges is only a limited part of the cosmic river that flows in heaven and descends to other regions and worlds as well as this une. As mighty as the Ganges appears here, the earthly river is only a limited aspect of a reality that transcends this world. The Ganges, these myths insists, points beyond itself to a transcendent, cosmic dimension that locates the source of the river in a divine sphere.

Another important theme in the reverence for rivers in Hinduism is the purifying quality of rivers and of running water in general. The purity-conscious Hindu social system, in which pollution is inevitably accumulated in the course of a normal day, prescribes a ritual bath as the simplest way to rid oneself of impurities. This act consists of little more than pouring a handful of cold water over one's head and letting it run down one's body. Moving, flowing, or falling water is believed to have great cleansing power; d mere sprinkling of water over one's head or a dip in a stream is sufficient to remove most kinds of daily pollution accumulated through normal human intercourse with those in a state less pure that one's own.44 Like fire, the other great natural purifying element in Hinduism,45 water is affirmed to contain intrinsic powers of purification, particularly when in motion.

The most awesome manifestations of moving water in the Hindu context are the great rivers of the Indian subcontinent. Ever moving, ever the same, apparently inexhaustible, such rivers as the Jumna, Cau- very, Narmada, Brahmaputra, and Ganges are revered in particular for their great purifying powers. The myths concerning the heavenly origin of such rivers as the Ganges make the point that the mighty rivers of India are in essence animated by the impurities of the world, that they arise and for the most part fiow in celestial realms before falling to earth. Once descended to earth, however, these same rivers literally wash away the accumulated impurities of the realms they traverse. As a handful of water sprinkled over a person's head cleanses that person, so the river cleanses the entire world when she falls on Mount Meru. The Ganges, Jumna, Cauvery, and countless other rivers and streams are understood to perform a continuous, gracious process of purifying the earth and her inhabitants.

The physical evidence of this continuous process of purification is the clarity of a river's swiftly flowing source compared to its broad, sluggish, murky mouth before it enters the sea. A river may take on an increasingly impure appearance the farther it travels from its source. Rivers like the Ganges are nevertheless held to be equally purifying from source to mouth. While the source of the Ganges and the place where it breaks out of the mountains onto the plains are important pilgrimage sites, the lower Ganges also has many places of great sanctity. Banaras itself, perhaps the most sacred site in all of India, is far downstream on the Ganges. Though great removers of pollution, the rivers remain un- contaminated by what they remove, staying ever pure, ever potent, ever gracious to all those who come to them for purification.

Although all rivers are revered as removers of pollution, the Ganges is preeminent among India's rivers as a purifying power. Hymns extoll- ing the Ganges repeatedly emphasize the miraculously purifying powers of her waters. The Agni-purdna says that the river makes those regions she flows through into sacred ground, that bathing in her waters is an experience similar to being in heaven, that those afflicted with blindness and other ailments become like gods after bathing in her waters, that the Ganges has made pure thousands of impure people who have seen, touched, or drunk her waters.4'' To die while being immersed in the Ganges results in moksa, final spiritual liberation. Being bruslied by a breeze containing even a drop of Ganges water erases all sins accumu- lated over lifetimes.47 In the Brhaddharma-puruna a sinful king is said to have been spared an untimely death because he lived for a while with a merchant who used to bathe in the Ganges.''" The Mahdbhagavata- purana tells the story of a robber who, though sent to hell after death, was subsequently sent to Siva's heaven because his flesh was eaten by a jackal who had drunk Ganges water.

In the Gupta and early medieval periods it was common for the per- sonified images of the Ganges and Jumna to flank the doorways of tem- ples.''' The Ganges' role as threshold figure in these periods probably had to do with both her (and the Jumna's) purificatory powers. The Ganges' heavenly origin and descent to the earth made her an intermediary be- tween the earthly and heavenly realms. She is a continuous, liquid link between the two worlds. Her location at the thresholds of temples was appropriate in that she connected and formed a transition between the worlds of men and gods. Her position at the doorways of temples prob- ably also indicated her role as remover of pollution. Before entering the sacred realm of the gods, which a temple represents, devotees should cleanse themselves of worldly impurities. Crossing the threshold of a temple flanked by images of the goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, devotees probably were symbolically cleansed in the purificatory waters of these rivers.

The Ganges' location as a threshold figure in medieval temples also suggests the threshold function of the physical Ganges River (and other rivers). The most common name for a sacred place in Hinduism is tir- tha, which means a place for crossing over from one place to another, especially a place for crossing a river, a fording place. As applied to sacred places the term signifies a place at which one may cross from one plane of reality to another, in particular, a place where one can cross from the earthly plane to the divine plane, or from the limited human sphere to the unconditioned divine sphere. As a sacred place, as a tsrtha, the Ganges is prototypical. Her waters are affirmed to orginate in heaven and to flow in a continuous stream into the earthly sphere. The Ganges is often called she who flows in the three worlds (Triloka-patha- gamini).50 She is a liquid axis mundi, a pathway connecting all spheres of reality, a presence at which or in which one may cross over to another sphere of the cosmos, ascend to heavenly worlds, or transcend human limitations. As Diana Eck has so nicely put it: "It is because the Gahga descended in her avatarana that she is a place of ascent as a tirtha."51 Flowing out into the world, the Ganges moves according to rhythms and currents that originate in heaven. Her waters have had physical contact with the great gods Visnu and Siva. She is a sacred bridge to those realms from which she has come.

The Ganges' role as a mediator between this world and the divine worlds, as a place at which or in which crossings may be made, is clear in the context of death rituals." A strong and widespread Hindu belief is that to die in the Ganges, or to have a few drops of Ganges water poured on one's lips just prior to death, is to gain immediate liberation.53 Although any part of the Ganges is believed to have this redemptive power, the cult of seeking to die in contact with the Ganges is most active in Banaras, where special hostels for the dying accommodate the thousands of pious Hindus who make a final pilgrimage from all over India to die on the banks of the Ganges there." The Ganges is under- stood to be a particularly accessible bridge from one mode of being to the other, a sure crossing point in the difficult transition from life to death or from bondage to liberation.

Another strong and widespread belief in India is that having their ashes or bones thrown into the Ganges guarantees the dead a safe journey to the realm of the ancestors. Against this background the story of the redemption of Sagara's sons makes sense. Cursed to eternal banishment from the realm of the ancestors, the souls of Sagara's sons can only reach the goal of the dead by means of contact with the Ganges, which provides them a special route to heaven. In this role the Ganges is known especially by the epithet Svarga-sopana-sarani (she who is a flowing staircase to heaven).55 Pious Hindus make a pilgrimage to various points on the banks of the Ganges to cast the ashes of their ancestors and kin onto the waters of the Ganges so that they, like the sons of Sagara, will be ensured a successful transition to the realm of the dead. Just as the mighty waters of the Ganges are envisioned in Hindu cosmology as continuously descending from heaven to earth, so a continuous procession of souls is ascending the Ganges to transcendent realms.

The Ganges as the surest access between the worlds of the living and the dead is also seen in sraddha and tarpana rituals, which are per- formed in honor of ancestors. These rites frequently stipulate Ganges water as desirable. The intention of these rites is to nourish the ancestors, the pitrs, in the heavenly sphere. The use of Ganges water may be understood both as nourishing the ancestors directly and as representing the means by which the other offerings to the ancestors will reach the desired realm. The use of Ganges water guarantees the efficacy of the rites by making the Ganges present as a tirtha, a crossing point from the world of the living to the world of the dead.

A particularly strong motif in reverence to the Ganges is her presence to her devotees as a mother. Ganga Ma, "Mother Ganges," is probably the river's most popular epithet. Like a mother or as a mother the Ganges is here in the world to comfort her children. She is tangible, approachable, and all-accepting. All who approach her for comfort and blessing are enveloped by her yielding, redemptive waters. She is the distilled essence of compassion in liquid form. No one is denied her blessing, Jagganatha, the author of the Ganga Lahan. probably the most famous hymn in praise of the Ganges, was outcast by his fellow Hindus for having a love affair with a Muslim woman. He says that he was even shunned by untouchables and madmen. He declares that he was so despicable, so polluted, that none of the tirthas was able to cleanse him'? The Ganges alone was willing to accept him and cleanse him, and he in gratitude praises her as a loving mother:

I come to you as a child to his mother.
I come as an orphan to you, moist with love.
I come without refuge to you, giver of sacred rest.
I come a fallen man to you, uplifter of all.
I come undone by disease to you, the perfect physician.
I come, my heart dry with thirst, to you, ocean of sweet wine.
Do with me whatever you will.

The Ganges' maternal aspect is seen especially in her nourishing qualities. Her waters are sometimes likened to milk or amrta, the drink of immortality." "The concept of the river in India is that of a sustaining mother. The stream of the river carries payas. The word payas stands for both water and milk. Appropriately this has been used in relation to the river as the stream that sustains the people, her children, with water, as a mother sustains her babies with her milk.""0 Her waters are life- giving, nourishing to all those who bathe in or drink them.^' Her waters have miraculous vivifying powers. The ashes of Sagara's sons, and the ashes of the dead in general, are enlivened, invigorated, or otherwise made strong enough by the touch of her waters to make the journey to heaven.

As a mother, the Ganges nourishes the land through which it flows, making it fertile. Historically, the land along the banks of the Ganges has been intensely cultivated. It is particularly fertile because of the sediment periodically deposited by the flood waters of the river and because of irrigation. Images of the Ganges often show her carrying a plate of food and a purnakumbha, an overflowing pot.'"' Mother Ganges is depicted as a being overflowing with food and life-giving waters, as one who continually nourishes all she comes in contact with. As giver of food and as water that makes fields rich with crops, the Ganges bestows her blessings concretely in this world. She makes the earth abundant with crops and thereby sustains and enriches life. As the bestower of worldly blessings the Ganges is particularly approached to en- sure healthy crops and to promote fertility in women. "Today in Bihar, at the start of the plowing season, before the seeds are sown, farmers put Ganga water in a pot and set it in a special place in the field to ensure good harvest. Among those who live along the river, a newly married woman unfolds her sari to Ganga and prays for children and the long life of her husband."

© 2005 Cerebrum Tech, All Rights Reserved
FROM: MantraONnet's "Ganga"

Other links:
The Ganges River
Ganga
Ganges - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Makara is a mythical creature and Varuna's and Ganga's mount: Makara
Ganga The River Goddess - Tales in Art and Mythology
The Hare Krsnas - Transcendental Art Gallery - Srimati Ganga Ma Gallery --pics
Ganga in Hinduism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sacred Ganga
Various Aspects Of Ganges
River Goddess Ganga --painting
The Descent of Ganga
Ganga Basin, The

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