Lecture 13-15 Flashcards
Linga myth story
Siva destroyer the world already
Brahma Vishnu and siva arrive from the ocean
Brahma and Vishnu tell siva that he is the supreme god who can create the world
Siva dives into the water, but Vishnu tells Brahma in sivas a sense to create the world.
Siva returns angry and says he will destroy everything
The two gods now to siva and siva offer them a boon
Brahma asks for the return of the world
Siva asks what he should do with all the power he used to create the world - out the energy into the sun
Strips Away his penis (linga)
Similar to dwarf story
A voice in the sky tells the other gods to worship the linga and that worship will grant all desires
Themes of the linga myth
- Siva as supreme god
- most powerful god why don’t you create the universe
- other gods beg for his mercy
- they worship his linga - Siva as destroyer
- he is laughing and there is fire
- pralaya imagery
- the destruction of the world is distributed to siva - Siva can be pacified
- he takes mercy on the other gods and grants them a boon
- siva is dangerous and scary but if a person enters into the relationship correctly he becomes a protector - Linga symbol
- object of worship
- represents creativity, sexuality
Pine forest sages myth
There are forest dwellers
Siva arrives disguised as an ascetic himself
No one knows who he is or where is from
He performs odd behaviour
As he performs the wives of the Ascetics become bewitched
Bewitched by his dissolutions the sages try to curse him but it bounces off siva and harms the other gods
Wanted his linga to fall off but only he can remove it
Sages go to Brahma and he said you have to ask for forgiveness and worship the linga
They do this, and the linga is reattached
Siva offers a boon
Then the world returns to the golden age (krta age)
Themes of the pine forest sages
- Siva as supreme god
- sages curse him but it hurts the other gods
- he is immune - Siva as erotic ascetic
- appears naked
- dances erotically , linga decorated
- asceticism is so severe that he is ong to cut off his own penis - Siva can be pacified
- siva is someone to be terrified of
- ability to pacify him when worshipped
- offers a boon - Siva as creator
- siva is identified with vishnu
- during the dissolution the lord destroyed all embodied creatures
- he alone creates all things - Siva maintains the universe
- when he loses his linga and disappears there is confusion and the universe is not maintained
- this suggests that he is responsible for the order
- sivas own power is responsible for the flourishing of the universe
The killing of Kama
Kama is like Cupid
Taraka the demon gets a boon from Brahma
Asks for more power
The other gods who are oppressed by taraka go to see Brahma
The story that Vishnu has been battling taraka for years but can’t defeat him
Granted the boon to stop taraka from destroying the world
Brahma says he was concerned that he would destroy the world so it is better that he rule the world instead of destroying it
One of the boobs he receives is that he cannot he killed by the gods
-except a child born from siva
Sivas wife did not count as a deity so the son would not be a god
They come up with a plan
Kama appears to siva and arouses him so he can have sex with his wife
Siva senses his presence and incinerates him
Without Kama there can be no attraction between men and women
Siva offers her a boon, and she asks for Kama to be born
They end up having the son that kills taraka
Themes for the killing of Kama
- Siva as supreme god
- does what Vishnu and others can’t
- he is the only way to defeat taraka
- greater than other gods - Siva as erotic ascetic
- destroys Kama
- represents the destruction of desire
- siva is guarded and immune to desire
- his sexual power is key to saving the world - Siva as maintainer of the universe
- the child of siva is the only one who can kill taraka
- not well maintained before siva gets involved
Devi
Goddess
Durga
The goddess identified as the heroin slaying of the demon Mahisa Most dependent Defends the world Battle queen Durga
Birth story of Devi
Diti= demon
Her demon sons were killed by the gods
Tells her daughter to practice extreme austerity so she can have a son who can destroy the gods
Takes for of a Buffalo
Granted a boon by a safe to distract her from what she’s doing
The sage offers the daughter to quit her austerity
But she accumulated so much power she became dangerous
No man can kill mahisa (prophecy)
Demons have heard about mahisa, ask for help to defeat the gods
She agrees and takes over the three worlds
Gods tell Brahma
Vishnu and siva get angry and put their energy together to create a woman who is described as more dangerous than all gods combined
Enticement story of Devi
The gods are oppressed by the demons and they go directly to a goddess named gauri for help.
Tell her what the demons are doing
Durga tells them that she will grant them protection and takes the form of an enchantress in the forest
Stations 4 guards , tells them only a traveler can come in
Some demons turn into birds and tell mahisa about her
Wants to marry her but the gods come and they give her weapons
Takes the form of the rooms day fire
Mahisa runs away but they make a plan to lure him back
Devi slaughter story
Oldest part of the story, the two came later
She destroys his army and then mahisa
Mahisa destroys her army
It becomes a one on one battle
Scene of intoxication wine=blood
Mahisa tossed the mountains
But devi cuts off his head
Themes of Devi’s 3 stories
- Devi is supreme
- only she can kill demon
- more powerful than the gods
- gods give her energy - Independence/unconventionality
- she fights the demon alone and defeats him
- not as traditional role for women
- competing images of the goddess - one is the dutiful wife, and the other is not
- un submissive to aggressive males - Maintains dharma
- restores righteousness in the world by killing mahisa
- return power to the gods - Destroyer of the world
- she is referred to as taking the form of the “dooms day fire”
Radha
Krsna’s lover
Krsna has many lovers but she can be seen as his wife
Their relationship will become the supreme model of separation
No mention of Radha
Krsna has a favourite cow herd girl (shadow of Radha)
Radha mentioned by name
One of many Krsna lovers Weeps when Krsna leaves Consumed by grief Bhakti (attachment) of separation Highly emotional
