In Hinduism, Virabhadra is a super being created by Shiva who eventually blinded Bhaga. The super being was created after Shiva's wife, Sati was not invited to a great sacrifice given by her father Daksa. Sati, being greatly humiliated, went to the banquet and self immolated, by invoking yogic flames. When Shiva heard about his wife's death, he tore a hair out of his head and threw it on the ground. From this hair rose a great warrior and hero -- Virabhadra. Virabhadra and his army destroyed Daksa's sacrifice and killed Daksa.<

Read more here: » Virabhadra: Encyclopedia - Virabhadra

Virabhadra:

Virabhadra: the demon created by Lord Shiva to destroy the sacrifice of Maharaja Daksa.

(See also: Virabhadra, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Virabhadra (Sanskrit). A thousand-headed and thousand-armed monster, "born of the breath" of Siva Rudra, a symbol having reference to the "sweat-born ", the second race of mankind

(Secret Doctrine, II., p. 182).

(See also: Virabhadra, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

In Hinduism, Bhaga is an ancient god of wealth and marriage, and one of the Adityas. Virabhadra, a monster created by Shiva, once blinded him. Other related archivesAdityas, Hinduism, Shiva, Virabhadra, god, marriage, wealth

Read more here: » Bhaga: Encyclopedia - Bhaga

In Hinduism, Gowrī or Dākshāyani is the Goddess of marital felicity and longevity; she is worshipped particularly by ladies to seek the long life of their husbands. An aspect of Devi, Dakshayani is the consort of Shiva. Other names for Dakshayani include Gowrī, Umā, Satī, Aparnā, Lalithā, Sivakāmini and over a thousand others; a listing is to be found in the Lalithā Sahasranāmam. Dakshayani - Legend. The Goddess Umā, a personificatio ...

Including:

• Dakshayani - Legend
• Dakshayani - Dakshayani weds Shiva
• Dakshayani - Dakshas arrogance
• Dakshayani - Dakshayani's self-immolation
• Dakshayani - Shiva's rage
• Dakshayani - Aftermath

Read more here: » Dakshayani: Encyclopedia - Dakshayani

Nityananda (Bangla: শ্রী নিত্যানন্দ) (b 1474 CE) was a Vaishnavite saint. His importance in Vaishnavism, and especialy Gaudiya Vaishnavism in Bengal, is central. Nityananda was Chaitanya's friend, disciple and spiritual mate. They are often mentioned together as Gaura-Nitai (Gaura, "golden one", referreing to Chaitanya) or Nimai-Nitai (Nimai referring to Chaitanya). Followers often refer to Nityananda as Sri Nityananda, Including:

• Nityananda - Life
• Nityananda - The Jagai-Madhai episode
• Nityananda - Legacy

Read more here: » Nityananda: Encyclopedia - Nityananda

Shiva (Sanskrit: शिव or श्रीशिव (when used to distinguish lordly status), and written Śiva in the official IAST transliteration, pronounced as "shιvə") is a form of Ishvara or God in the later Vedic scriptures of Hinduism. Adi Sankara interprets the name Śiva to mean "One who purifies everyone by the utterance of His name" or the Pure One. That is, Śiva is unaffected by the three gunas (characteristics) of Prakrti (matter): Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Śiva is "the destroyer", ...

Including:

• Shiva - Introduction
• Shiva - Consorts and the Burning of Kamadeva
• Shiva - Other Legends
• Shiva - The Sons of Shiva
• Shiva - Attributes of Lord Shiva
• Shiva - Other Forms and Legends
• Shiva - Schools and Views of Śivaism
• Shiva - Origin Theories
• Shiva - Names of Śiva

Read more here: » Shiva: Encyclopedia - Shiva

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (also transliterated Caitanya, IAST caitanya mahaprabhu) (Bangla চৈতন্য মহাপ্রভূ) (1486 - 1534), was an ascetic Hindu monk and social reformer in 16th century Bengal, India (present-day West Bengal and Bangladesh). A great proponent of loving devotion for God bhakti yoga, Chaitanya worshiped the Lord in the ...

Including:

• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Chaitanya's life
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Chaitanya's tradition
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Cultural legacy

Read more here: » Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: Encyclopedia - Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Virabhadra (Sanskrit) Heroically beneficent or benevolent; an avatara of Siva, the patron of occult study and achievement. Ancient Indian myth represents him as a monster to human vision, being a thousand-headed and thousand-armed entity born of the breath of Siva-Rudra -- Siva under his form of Rudra, and therefore the great destroyer because regenerator. In the Mahabharata, Siva commissions this entity "to destroy the sacrifice prepared by Daksha. Then Virabhadra, 'abiding in the region of the ghosts (ethereal men). . . . created from the pores of the skin (Romakupas), powerful Raumas, (or Raumyas): (SD 2:182-3). This allegory refers in human history to the evolution of the "sweat-born" or second root-race and the destruction of the remnants of the first root-race.

Cosmically Siva-Rudra is the active force of mahat (cosmic mind), both regenerative and destructive; and following the same line of thought Virabhadra in his human application has reference to the incessant effort of the manasaputras to break forth through the veils of maya to bring mind to the mentally somnolent or imperfectly awakened earliest human races. Hence, the reference to Virabhadra as thousand-headed, -eyed, or -armed may likewise be applied to mind -- for mind is not only all seeing but all performing and all wise.

(See also: Virabhadra, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Ishta Devata: (Sanskrit) "Cherished or chosen Deity." The Deity that is the object of one's special pious attention. Ishta Devata is a concept common to all Hindu sects.

Vaishnavas may choose among many Divine forms, most commonly Vishnu, Balaji, Krishna, Radha, Rama, Lakshmi, Hanuman and Narasinha, as well as the aniconic shalagrama, a sacred river rock.

Traditionally, Smartas choose from among six Deities: Siva, Shakti, Vishnu, Surya, Ganesha and Kumara (or any of their traditional forms).

For Shaktas, the Divine is worshiped as the Goddess, Shakti, in Her many fierce forms and benign forms, invoking the furious power of Kali or Durga, or the comforting grace of Parvati,

Ambika and others. Saivites direct their worship primarily to Siva as represented by the aniconic Siva Linga, and the human-like murtis, Nataraja and Ardhanarishvara. In temples and scriptural lore, Siva is venerated in a multitude of forms, including the following 23 additional anthropomorphic images: Somaskanda, Rishabarudra, Kalyanasundara, Chandrashekhara, Bhikshatana, Kamadahanamurti, Kalari, Jalandara, Tripurari, Gajari, Virabhadra, Dakshinamurti, Kiratamurti, Nilakantha, Kankala, Chakradana, Gajamukhanugraha, Chandesanugraha, Ekapada, Lingodbhava, Sukhasana, Uma Maheshvara and Haryardha.

See: murti, Shakti, Siva.

(See also: Ishta Devata, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Raumas or Raumyas (Sanskrit) [from roma hair]

Hairy; a race or tribe of the early third root-race said to have been created from the pores of Virabhadra, a distinguished hero and one of the avataras of Siva, commonly stated to have had a thousand heads and a thousand arms and who destroyed Daksha's sacrifice. An allusion to the sweat-born races, they were called Raumas because their origin was from the romakupas (hair- or skin-pores).

(See also: Raumas, Raumyas, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Daksha Daksa (Sanskrit) (from daksh to be able, strong)

Adroit, able, intelligent, clever; used as a proper noun, intelligent power or ability. One of the chief prajapatis, cosmic creative intelligences, spiritual entities; the synthesis or aggregate of the terrestrial progenitors, including the pitris.

Daksha signifies the intelligent or competent, but usually carries with it the idea of creative or evolving power. "He is a son of Brahma, and of Aditi, and agreeably to other versions, a self-born power, which, like Minerva, sprang from his father's body. . . . the Rig-Veda says that 'Daksha sprang from Aditi and Aditi from Daksha,' a reference to the eternal cyclic re-birth of the same divine Essence" (SD 2:247).

As the progenitor of real physical man, Daksha was son of the Prachetasas and Marisha, the first of the "egg-born." He "establishes the era of men engendered by sexual intercourse. But this mode of procreation did not occur suddenly, as one may think, and required long ages before it became the one 'natural' way. Therefore, his sacrifice to the gods is shown as interfered with by Siva, the destroying deity, evolution and progress personified, . . . Virabhadra, 'abiding in the region of the ghosts (etherial men) . . . . created from the pores of the skin (Romakupas), powerful Raumas, (or Raumyas).' Now, however mythical the allegory, the Mahabharata, which is history as much as is the Iliad, shows the Raumyas (hairy ones)

and other races, as springing in the same manner from the Romakupas, hair or skin pores. . . .

"In the Vayu Purana's account of Daksha's sacrifice, moreover, it is said to have taken place in the presence of creatures born from the egg, from the vapour, vegetation, pores of the skin, and, finally only, from the womb.

"Daksha typifies the early Third Race, holy and pure, still devoid of an individual Ego, and having merely the passive capacities. Brahma, therefore, commands him to create (in the exoteric texts; when, obeying the command, he made 'inferior and superior' (avara and vara) progeny (putra), Bipeds and quadrupeds; and by his will gave birth to females. . . . to the gods, the Daityas (giants of the Fourth Race), the snake-gods, animals, cattle and the Danavas (Titans and demon Magicians) and other beings.

". . . 'From that period forward, living creatures were engendered by sexual intercourse. Before the time of Daksha, they were variously propagated -- by the will, by sight, by touch, and by Yoga-power'" (quotes from the Vishnu-Purana)

(SD 2:182-3).

(See also: Daksha, Daksa, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Śiva's consort is Devi, God's energy or God as the Divine Mother who comes in many different forms, one of whom is Kali, the goddess of death. Parvati, a more pacific form of Devi is also popular. Śiva also married Sati, another form of Devi and daughter of Daksha, who forbade the marriage. Sati disobeyed her father. Daksha once held a Yajna (ritual sacrifice) to Vishnu, but did not invite Śiva. In disgust, Sati burned herself through yogic meditation (or, in another version, in the same fire Daksha used in his sacrifice). When Śiva's at ...

See also:

Shiva, Shiva - Introduction, Shiva - Consorts, and the Burning of Kamadeva, Shiva - Other Legends, Shiva - The Sons of Shiva, Shiva - Attributes of Lord Shiva, Shiva - Other Forms and Legends, Shiva - Schools and Views of Śivaism, Shiva - Origin Theories, Shiva - Names of Śiva

Read more here: » Shiva: Encyclopedia II - Shiva - Consorts, and the Burning of Kamadeva

Dākshāyani was reborn as Pārvatī, daughter of Himavan, king of the mountains, and his wife, the apsara Menā. This time, she was born the daughter of a father whom she could respect, a father who appreciated Shiva fulsomely. Naturally, Pārvatī sought and received Shiva as her husband. This legend appears in detail in Tantra literature, in the puranas and in Kālidāsa's lyrical Kumārasāmbhavam, an epic that deals ...

See also:

Dakshayani, Dakshayani - Legend, Dakshayani - Dakshayani weds Shiva, Dakshayani - Dakshas arrogance, Dakshayani - Dakshayani's self-immolation, Dakshayani - Shiva's rage, Dakshayani - Aftermath

Read more here: » Dakshayani: Encyclopedia II - Dakshayani - Aftermath

The Goddess Umā, a personification of the divine "Omkāra", took human birth at the bidding of Brahmā. She was born as a daughter of Daksha Prajāpati, a son of Brahmā himself, and his wife Prasuti. She was named Gowri, the turmeric-hued one, since she was of the fair, golden complexion of auspicious turmeric. As the daughter of Daksha, she is also known as "Dākshāyani". Daksh ...

See also:

Dakshayani, Dakshayani - Legend, Dakshayani - Dakshayani weds Shiva, Dakshayani - Dakshas arrogance, Dakshayani - Dakshayani's self-immolation, Dakshayani - Shiva's rage, Dakshayani - Aftermath

Read more here: » Dakshayani: Encyclopedia II - Dakshayani - Legend

Śiva's consort is Devi, God's energy or God as the Divine Mother who comes in many different forms, one of whom is Kali, the goddess of death. Parvati, a more pacific form of Devi is also popular. Śiva also married Sati, another form of Devi and daughter of Daksha, who forbade the marriage. Sati disobeyed her father. Daksha once held a Yajna (ritual sacrifice) to Vishnu, but did not invite Śiva. In disgust, Sati burned herself through yogic meditation (or, in another version, in the same fire Daksha used in his sacrifice). When Śiva's at ...

See also:

Shiva, Shiva - Introduction, Shiva - Consorts and the Burning of Kamadeva, Shiva - Other Legends, Shiva - The Sons of Shiva, Shiva - Attributes of Lord Shiva, Shiva - Other Forms and Legends, Shiva - Schools and Views of Śivaism, Shiva - Origin Theories, Shiva - Names of Śiva

Read more here: » Shiva: Encyclopedia II - Shiva - Consorts and the Burning of Kamadeva

Śiva's consort is Devi, God's energy or God as the Divine Mother who comes in many different forms, one of whom is Kali, the goddess of death. Parvati, a more pacific form of Devi is also popular. Śiva also married Sati, another form of Devi and daughter of Daksha, who forbade the marriage. Sati disobeyed her father. Daksha once held a Yajna (ritual sacrifice) to Vishnu, but did not invite Śiva. In disgust, Sati burned herself through yogic meditation (or, in another version, in the same fire Daksha used in his sacrifice). When Śiva's at ...

See also:

Shiva, Shiva - Shivalingas, Shiva - Introduction, Shiva - Consorts and the Burning of Kamadeva, Shiva - Other Legends, Shiva - The Sons of Shiva, Shiva - Attributes of Lord Shiva, Shiva - Other Forms and Legends, Shiva - Schools and Views of Śivaism, Shiva - Origin Theories, Shiva - Names of Śiva

Read more here: » Shiva: Encyclopedia II - Shiva - Consorts and the Burning of Kamadeva

Despite having been initiated in the Shri Madhvacharya tradition, Sri Chaitanya founded a tradition of his own, having some marked differences with the practices and the theology of the followers of Madhvacharya. He is not known to have composed anything but a series of verses known as the Siksastaka, "eight verses of instruction". He requested a select few among his followers, who later came to be known as the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, to systematically present the theology of bhakti he had taught in their writings. The six saints a ...

See also:

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Chaitanya's life, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Chaitanya's tradition, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Cultural legacy

Read more here: » Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: Encyclopedia II - Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Chaitanya's tradition

According to the foundation of Kaalism, Kali (pronounced Kaahli) came into existence when Śiva looked into himself. She is considered his mirror image, the divine Adi-shakti or primordial energy while he is the primordial substance. In another version, she had gone out to destroy the Asuras storming Swargaloka, but became enraged and erratic. To calm her, Śiva went and lay down on the ground in front of her path. When she stepped on him, she looked down and realized that she had just stepped on Śiva. Taken aback by his ...

See also:

Shiva, Shiva - Introduction, Shiva - Consorts and the Burning of Kamadeva, Shiva - Other Legends, Shiva - The Sons of Shiva, Shiva - Attributes of Lord Shiva, Shiva - Other Forms and Legends, Shiva - Schools and Views of Śivaism, Shiva - Origin Theories, Shiva - Names of Śiva

Read more here: » Shiva: Encyclopedia II - Shiva - Other Forms and Legends

Nayanars (or Nayanmars), saints from Southern India, were mostly responsible for development of Śaivism in the Middle Ages. Of the schools today, many Śaivite sects are in Kashmir and Northern India, with Lingayats and Virasaivas from Southern India. The Saiva Siddhanta is a major Śaivite theory developed in Southern India. Śiva's life is often depicted in short stage dramas to help his devotees (particularly nayanmars) better understand his aspects. This is greatly explained in the Thiruvilayadalpuram. This form is especi ...

See also:

Shiva, Shiva - Introduction, Shiva - Consorts and the Burning of Kamadeva, Shiva - Other Legends, Shiva - The Sons of Shiva, Shiva - Attributes of Lord Shiva, Shiva - Other Forms and Legends, Shiva - Schools and Views of Śivaism, Shiva - Origin Theories, Shiva - Names of Śiva

Read more here: » Shiva: Encyclopedia II - Shiva - Schools and Views of Śivaism