final Flashcards
1
Q
Renuka
A
Goddess with the Transposed Head
2
Q
Lord Parasurama
A
6th Avatar of Lord Vishnu - Parashurama was born to the Brahman sage Jamadagni and the princess Renuka, a member of the Kshatriya class. When Jamadagni suspected Renuka of an unchaste thought, he ordered Parashurama to cut off her head, which the obedient son did. Later, to avenge the murder of his father by a Kshatriya, he killed all the male Kshatriyas on earth 21 successive times (for, each time, their wives survived and gave birth to new generations) and filled five lakes with their blood. In the Ramayana he encounters another avatar, Rama, who wins the bow of the god Shiva, which Parashurama had given to Rama’s father-in-law. Rama later subdues Parashurama when challenged to a fight. Parashurama is the traditional founder of Malabar and is said to have bestowed land there on members of the priestly class whom he brought down from the north in order to expiate his slaughter of the Kshatriyas.
3
Q
Māriyammaṉ
A
- smallpox goddess
- Māriyammaṉ, the smallpox goddess (can give smallpox or take it away), should not reside where she can hear the sound of the grinding stone that women use to grind flour and spices; in other words, people should not build their houses too close to Māriyammaṉ’s temples because it is too dangerous for people to live near her.
- In the past, whenever
an outbreak of small-pox would occur a clay
image of Mariyamman would be made, or a clay pot would be used to call her
down. Blood offerings would be made to her, she would be taken around the
boundary of the village, and then her image would be thrown into the river. If
she were satisfied with the devotions, she would take the pox away from the
village.
4
Q
Bavāniyammaṉ
A
- Devotees use Māriyammaṉ and Bavāniyammaṉ interchangeably.
- She is the Mariyamman of Periyapalaiyam village
- Many of the village temples in Tamilnadu have seven stones that are frequently
interpreted as the Seven Sisters or the Seven Mothers. The particular names of
the seven goddesses differ widely; most of the goddesses named are responsible
for disease and healing. Bavaniyamman devotees most often named Ellamma*
and Gangamma as her sister goddesses; several also named Kali as a sister
goddess. Some devotees told us that what differentiated Bavaniyamman from
Durga or Kali is that she is born in an anthill, but ultimately all three goddesses
are really the same goddess. What seems important is that the goddesses are
linked, and their identities and functions overlap and intersect. - Bavaniyamman typically requires blood sacrifices from her devotee.
5
Q
what does the word Māriyammaṉ mean?
A
The word Māri has a Sangam Tamil origin meaning “Rain” and the Tamil word Amman means “Mother”. She was worshipped by the ancient Tamils as the bringer of rain and thus also the bringer of prosperity
6
Q
Renuka Myth
A
- Renuka sees a male gandharva (celestial being that is a singer) in the reflection of the water and her chastity is lost. Renuka’s husband notices that she forgets to bring water and has lost her chastity so he asks his son Parasurama to kill his mother. His father gives him a boon. Renuka runs into a washerwoman’s house and Parasurama cuts off both of their heads. Parasurama asks his father to bring his mother back to life. He gives her a vessel of water and asks him to attach Renuka’s head to his body and sprinkled her with water. Parasurama attaches the wrong head to the wrong body. Jamadagni doesn’t take his wife back because she has the body of an untouchable. Renuka becomes the goddess Bavaniyamman (now she is everyone’s mother) and the washerwoman becomes Matankiyamman.
7
Q
Jamadagni
A
husband of Renuka.
8
Q
sakti/shakti
A
female power
9
Q
Matangi
A
- emerges from an anthill, out of the earth. She holds the heavens in the left hand and the serpent Adisesha in her right hand.
- associated with pratistha (stable foundation on which all life rests).
10
Q
King Arjuna Kartavirya
A
- Jealous of Jamadagni’s wealth due to owning a cow and steals the cow (Surabhi) and kills Jamadagni.
11
Q
Ekaveera devi
A
separated head of Renuka
12
Q
Ekaveera mata
A
the power present in
the axe of Parasurama. With this power only Parashuama cleansed the Earth 21 times by killing all kshatriyas.
13
Q
lila
A
- divine play
- conveys ananda (bliss)
- the idea of lila shows that the world is constantly in flux and that the world is in God’s play
14
Q
maya
A
illusion
ex) the attraction one feels towards the beauty of apple is maya. The embedding and coexisting of everything in the same apple is leela. Leela are actions.
15
Q
The Three Krishna’s of Vrindavana
A
- The infant subsumed in play
- The rowdy trickster boy
- The mischievous young lover
16
Q
Kamsa
A
Krishna’s uncle that tries to kill him.
17
Q
Putana
A
- demon who is disguised as a lovely woman
- she feeds Krishna and tries to poison him but Krishna sucks the life out of her
18
Q
Indra (from Krishna’s story)
A
- Indra sends a rainstorm on Vrndavana to
chastise the cowherds for
neglecting him - Krsna protects people by holding aloft Mount Govardhana as a huge umbrella with his little
finger for seven days.
