Other Hindu Dieties
AdiBuddha: This was the Primordial Buddha (Kungtu Zangpo, Samantabhadra) who rose to prominence in the 11th century as a result of an attempt to transform Mahayana Buddhism into a monothesitic religion in the far east, inspired by a line in the Prajanaparamita concerning a Buddha who existed before time began. In Nepal, AdiBuddha came to be seen as infinite, omniscient and the supreme mandala of creation. He gives rise to the five Tathagatas or Dhyani Buddhas. The Nyingma teachings of Tibet held all as primordially enlightened and spontaneously present in the Primordial Buddha's mandala. Adibuddha in this context is called Kungtu Zangpo who emanates Vajradhara, the Celestial Buddha. His shakti consort is Adidharma.
Aditi: She is a Hindu mother goddess, regarded as the personification of earth. Her breasts are its center. Her name means "Infinity" or Free of Bounds. She is symbolized by the immortal cow and is said to embody unlimited light, consciousness and unity. Aditi is usually depicted as the mother of the Great God Vishnu. As she appears in the Vedas, she is the consort of Brahma, the Creator. She is also the mother of the Adityas, the deities who protect the world from chaos and ignorance. She rules over the divine ordering of the world and is said to be able to free all those who believe in her from sickness and sin. Whereas Aditi corresponds to the universal and divine in humankind, her sister, Diti, corresponds to all that is individual, human, and divided.
Adityas: They were the offspring of Aditi, the Hindu mother goddess. They are usually said to number seven or eight deities, including Mitra and Varuna. However in later times, there were sometimes said to be 12 Adityas, each of whom was associated with the sun as a source of life, and each connected with a month of the year. The Adityas are believed to offer salvation from all ills. Martanda, the eighth son of Aditi, is sometimes regarded as the divine ancestor of humanity.
Agastya: He was a great Hindu sage who was said to have been conceived when the beautiful Urvasi, one of the Apsaras slept with both Mitra and Varuna together. Agastya caused any obstacle standing in the way of universal harmony to move. When a range of mountains threatened to grow so high they would block the sun, Agastya willed it to shrink down. On another occasion Agastya helped the hero Rama, an Avatar of Vishnu. He gave Rama a magical weapon in order to destroy a terrible monster, Ravana. The magic weapon’s point was made of sunlight and fire, and it weighed as much as Mt. Meru and Mandara put together. The arrow struck Ravana, killed him, and then magically returned to Rama.
Agni: Also known as Fire. He is one of the chief deities of the Rig Veda, the sacred Hymns of Hinduism. He is both the protective god of the hearth and the god of the sacrificial fire. In the latter role, he mediates between deities and human beings by taking sacrifices to the gods. Agni appears in the sky as lightning and is regarded as both cruel and kind. Although he dispels darkness, he consumed his parents as soon as he was born and comsumes the bodies on the cremation pyre. He is referred to as the son of heaven and earth, and is usually said to emerged from either the sun or from lightning. Other sources regard him as the son of Aditi and Kasyapa and he is sometimes said to have been born from stone or wood rubbing together. One of the guardian gods of the world, Agni can grant immortality and purify people after death. He looked after the monkey god Hanuman when the demon King of Lanka, Ravana set light to his tail. The god is portrayed as red in color, with two or three heads, several arms, a long beard and clothes of flames.
Airavata: This was the great white elephant ridden by Indra, the king of the gods. One myth tells how the goddess Paravati invited all the gods to a great party held to celebrate the birth of her son, Ganesha. Sani, the planet Saturn, at first refused the invitation, but Paravati insisted that he accept. When Sani looked at the child the baby's head was reduced to ashes; Vishnus went in search of another head for the child and returned with the head of the elephant Airavata. As the chariot of the sky god, the clouds are often said to be Airavata's body. The elephant is called the thunderer sometimes in relation to this myth.
Akshobya: He was one of the five dhyani Buddhas or "Great Buddhas of Wisdom who rules over the Pure Land Paradise Abhirati. His name means unmovable and he represents perfect body; he subjugates the passions, and as Vajrasattva, enjoys mirror like awareness wisdom.
Amitabha: One of the five meditation Buddhas; dhyani meaning meditation. They are Amogosiddhi, Aksobya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Vairocana. The enlightened Buddha family mandala.
Amoghasiddhi: One of the five meditation Buddhas; dhyani meaning meditation. They are Amogosiddhi, Aksobya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Vairocana. The enlightened Buddha family mandala.
Amrita: The soma or nectar of the gods conferring visions and immortality upon the drinker.
Bodhisattvas: Buddhas to be, enlightened warriors on the path to full enlightenment. Bodhisattvas are interconnected into the enlightened matrix of being.
Chacrasamvara: A popular tantric Deity of Tibetan Buddhism, meaning "Lord of the Bliss Wheels" that was brought from India to Tibet during the second dissemination of Buddhism by the Mahasiddhas, mainly by Naropa and Marpa. Chacrasamvara is the elaborate version of Samvara; he is in union with his consort Vajrayogini and has twelve hands holding twelve implements: a severed head of Brahma, a trivangha (ritual trident), a lasso, an axe, a vajra, a bell, an amrita pouch, a khatvanga (ritual staff), a damaru drum, a vajra cutter and his elephant skin garment.
Dharmapalas: Dharma protectors; guardian spirits of the dharma taken from indigenous religions such as Bon and Mongolian Shamanism and incorporated into the dharma as protectors.
Dhyani Buddhas: The five meditation Buddhas; dhyani meaning meditation. They are Amogosiddhi, Aksobya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Vairocana. The enlightened Buddha family mandala.
Dipankara: A sea monster which is part hippo and part crocidile; a decorative protector and water spirit.
Durga: She is the completely empowered form of Kali; Durga is a woman god with all attributes of all other deities in the Hindu pantheon. The myth is that she alone could destroy a terrible Buffalo Headed demon that was ravishing the land so all the devas and devis gave her their powers and weapons to use in battle.
Ganga: This was the holy river of Hinduism, running throughout India. The Ganges was a reflection of the Celestial River, the Milky Way in the sky. The Ganga's stars were the yogis who meditated on the river. The world was said to come from the river, its waterfalls running down the head of Shiva from his sunspot. The holy waters of the Ganga are said to heal and purify all obscurations of body and mind.
Garuda: This was a mythical bird that was spontaneously self-born and able to fly. The Garuda came to represent the yogi of Dzockchen, the Great Perfection in that it was a natural adept at flight and can go the highest of any bird, even out into the furthest reaches of the cosmos. The Garuda was the vehicle of Krishna when he went into battle and it is said only the Garuda can properly digest the serpent of hate in order to turn hatred into enlightenment purifying all negative afflictions.
Gautama Buddha: The historical Buddha who attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Also known as Siddhartha.
Maya: The beautific illusion of reality that is transcended by meditation and the dharma. Maya-Devi “illusion of the gods” is said to be the mother of Buddha. She passes away at his birth.
Meru: The mythical mountain of Hindu cosmology where all the gods and anit-gods would live.
Nagas: Serpent people who live under water and in rivers; they usually guard great treasures
Nandi: The sacred bull of Shiva, reminiscent of the cosmic bull of Sumeria.
Padmasambhava: The great Master Padmasambhava was invited and proved able to subjugate the demons, malicious spirits, enemies of Buddhism, including the Bon preists, making it possible to establish the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye (Bsam Yas) in 779 A.D. Padmasambhava was given one of the King’s wives as a consort. She was named Yeshe Tsogyal, who also became a Buddha Dakini due to the tantric teachings of Padmasambhava. Padmasambhava firmly established the dharma in Tibet with 24 main disciples as well as thousands of minor ones. Tantric treasures were left all over Tibet for later generations to read and become empowered by. When discussing lineage, Padmasambhava, usually refered to as Guru Rinpoche, the Precious One, and Second Buddha, holds a monumental significance as the first disseminator of Tantra in Tibet. The stories of Padmasambhava's tantric defeat of the local spirits and demons of Tibet are pervasive and popular, and they figure prominently in the ontological myths of many pilgrimage sites across Tibet. Buddhism is famous for its ability to accomodate local deities into its pantheon. In the case of Tibet, most of the local deities became regarded as "mundane gods" ('jigs rten pa'i lha), that is, deities who are subject to the law of karma and cycle of rebirth, who after a lifetime as a particular god will take rebirth in some other form. The vast pantheon of deities imported from India included such gods, as well as “supramundane gods “ ('jigs rten las das pa'i lha), that is, deities, who, although they appear in horrifying forms, such as the protector of the Dalai Lama, the goddess Pelden Lhamo, are in fact enlightened beings already liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
Pandavas: The family of protagonists in the epic Mahabarata who are victorious by the end of the story against their evil worshipping foes. Many magical beings and weapons are used by them.
Purusha: The cosmic first man who is sacrificed to the gods in the Vedas so that reality can come into being. Purusha is akin to Adam Kadmon in the Garden of Eden
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Shiva: The “destroyer” god of Hindu mythology. "Ever gracious, ever blissful Lord whose compassion is like the ocean of nectar; whose body shines white as camphor and the jasmine flower; purest truth, robed in space, omnipresent; loving and beloved Lord of yogis, whose coiled and matted dread-locked hair is drenched from the spray of the celestial Ganja river; adorned with ashes, garlanded with snakes and human skulls; three eyed Lord of the triple world: trident in one hand, in the other, blessing; embodiment of Gnosis; giver of Nirvana; everlasting, pure, flawless; amiable, benefactor to all that lives, God of Gods." (verse 6-10 Mahanirvana Tantra, Brahmasamaj, Calcutta, 1876). So the tantric poet describes Shiva, consort and husband of the goddess. As Mahakala, the Great Energy, he dances for Her pleasure, he is also her Lord.
Vairochana: One of the five meditation Buddhas; dhyani meaning meditation. They are Amogosiddhi, Aksobya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Vairocana. The enlightened Buddha family mandala.