VL 3 Goddesses of breast and goddesses of tooth: Hindu and Tantric

Question 1

Focus on brahmanical hinduism and ‘classical Hinduism’

Answer 1

ca 300-ca 1300 CE
Prominently Sàinism and Vaiṣṇavism

Question 2

Plurality of gods and goddesses already mentioned in Vedas

Answer 2

Gods: Vāsudeva-Kṛṣṇa * Viṣṇu-Nārāyaṇa * Śiva
Goddesses: * Durgā * Kālī * Śrī

Vișņu
reincarnates as 10 different avatāras everytime the world is in crisis for the benefit of the world (i.e. fish, turtle, Rāma, Krșna)
His vehicle is the eagle
Wife is lakshmi

Śiva: ascetic deity, yogin, no clothes, snakes as ornaments, fountain on top of his hair: Ganga river (as another wife)
Can be benevolent but also fierce
A Deity with different faces
Wife: Was seduced by Parvati out of meditation so she could conceive a child

Question 3

Narratives and iconography

Answer 3

• Narrative / “mythology”: stories of creation, manifestations of God / Goddess in the world, etc.
• Symbols / iconography: depiction of divine appearance in cult images in the temple etc.

Question 4

Cosmological monotheism

Answer 4

God / Goddess is “highest”:
– “Ruler”(īśvara īśvarī) over the gods (deva)=> ruler over the cosmos
– “Highest Self “(parama-ātman)=>salvation from the world

Question 5

Basic elements of Hindu monotheism

Answer 5

1. Cosmic omnipotence of God / Goddess:
   - Creation of the world (sṛṣṭi)
   - Preservation of the world (sthiti)
   - Destruction of the world (saṃhāra)
2. God / Goddess is the “Highest Being” and the “Highest Self”: eternal, free and transcendent.
   - “Individual self” (jīva-ātman) is part of the divine “self”
   - Salvation: the individual self attains immortality with God / Goddess through -
   - bhakti (“devotion“)
3. dharma: the cosmic order and the social and ritual regulations of the Veda are part of the world created by God
4. God grants the devotees both “welfare” (bhukti) in the world and “salvation” (mukti, mokṣa) and provides the means of liberation (through revelation)
5. God/Goddess appears in the world in various forms (avatāra, mūrti etc.) => Temple cult
6. other gods exist in the various areas of the world created by God / Goddess and have certain responsibilities, but are subordinate to the “Highest”

Question 6

God / Goddess and the world

Answer 6

• Side facing the world (pravṛtti): Creator and guardian of the world (order)
• Side facing away from the world (nivṛtti) Liberation, asceticism
  God => mukti-bhukti-pradā
  (= grants salvation and pleasure)

Question 7

Purāṇa

Answer 7

Cosmological monotheism text base:
* Textual genre from ca. the 3rd-4th c. AD until the 12th c. AD.
* Content: Myths about gods, ritual texts, theological teachings and religious practices, cosmology and cosmography.
* Basis for the individual Hindu tradition in different theological schools and religious communities (sampradāya)
* Recited by itinerant reciters as well as ascetics

Question 8

Goddesses and Purāṇas

Answer 8

Several Purānas dedicated to goddesses:
* Durgā => Devīmāhātmya, a part of the Mārkaṇḍeya-Purāṇa
* Devī or Ambā => Devībhāvagatava-Purāṇa; Devī-Purāṇa
* Kālī => Kālika-Purāṇa

Question 9

Origin of cult of the goddess or Śaktism:

Answer 9

• indian mother goddesses yaksī
  -lotus headed mother goddess in birthing position, fertility goddess, found around the ancient world, possibly not only Hindu
  -derived from medieval mother goddess cult

Question 10

The Indian mother goddess yaksī

Answer 10

1. -mother goddesses yaksī
   -lotus headed mother goddess in birthing position, fertility goddess, found around the ancient world, possibly not only Hindu
   -derived from medieval mother goddess cult
   N. N. Bhattacharyya (1973:1).
   “In its present form Śāktism is essentially a medieval religion, but it is a direct offshoot of the primitive Mother Goddess cult which was so prominent a feature of the religion of the agricultural peoples who based their social system on the principle of mother-right. The origin of the anomalous position of the male principle in the Śākta religion can presumably be traced to the anomalous position of the males in a matriarchal society.”

Question 11

Śrī-Lakṣmī

Answer 11

Śrī-Lakṣmī alreadyinVedictexts:
Goddess of agriculture, prosperity, growth,
happiness, fame and dominion Emblems: lotus, bilva tree, elephants

Very early deity:
Goddess of agriculture, wealth, happiness, fame, dominion
Emblem: lotus, bilva tree, elephants (royal symbol, and symbol of fertility)
Śrī: king protects order (dharma) and also the earth (bhūmī)
King guarantees with the help of laksmī
Laksmī is king-maker and
She chooses Visnu as her husband during ‚churning of the ocean of milk‘ Visnus 2nd reincarnation as tortoise happens and srī can choose her husband and chooses him
Relationship of god and goddesses for the salvation of the earth
Srī becomes the emblem of the perfect wife devoted to her husband
Today: goddess of traders and entrepreneurs in modern India, worshipped during Duvali