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Popular Divinities
Buddha is widely worshipped by both the
Buddhists and Hindus of Nepal. The five Dhyani Buddhas Vairochana,
Akshobhaya, Rathasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi, represent the five
basic elements earth, fire, water, air and ether. Buddhist philosophy
conceives these gods to be the manifestation of Sunya or absolute void.
Mahakaala and Bajrayogini are Vajrayana Buddhist deities worshipped by
Hindus as well.
Hindu Nepalis worship the ancient Vedic gods. The much worshipped are Vishnu
the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer, different manifestations of the
Supreme Hindu Trinity. Shiva Linga or the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva
represents the supreme power in most Shiva temples.
Female deities are revered and feared in this Himalayan Kingdom. Their
Shakti cult aspires to appease the dynamic element in the female counterpart
of Shiva. Mahadevi, Mahakali, Bhagabati, Ishwari are some of the names given
to Shiva Shakti. Many temples in Nepal are dedicated to Shakti. Kumari, the
virgin goddess, also represents Shakti.
Other popular deities are Ganesh for luck, Saraswati for knowledge, Lakshmi
for wealth and Hanuman for protection. Krishna, believed to be the human
incarnation of Lord Vishnu is also worshipped widely. Hindu holy scripts
Bhagawat Gita, Ramayan and Mahabharat are widely read in Nepal.
Brahma , the self-created god of creation, is said to have created
the cosmos. Brahma, in art forms, is depicted as a god having a long beard,
radiant skin, wearing white robes, with four arms and at times mounted on a
goose. Legend has it that this event urged him to create a new world for
himself. After the world was created he started feeling unbearably lonely,
so, he created a female partner for himself with whom he fell in love at the
very first sight. The female (also identified as Savitri and Saraswati), who
was extremely beautiful, was awfully embarrassed because of Brahma's
passionate behavior towards her. She tried to run away from Brahma, but
whichever direction she tried to escape from a new head of Brahma would
spring up. The female finding no other alternative sprang up toward the sky
and another head of Brahma sprung up. Brahma grabbed the helpless female who
was his daughter as well as wife. In this way Brahma got his five heads but
it is believed that his fifth head was cut off as a punishment for his
sinful affair with his wife-daughter.
Indra , traditionally regarded as the god of heaven. The vedas
describe him as the valiant fighter who destroys devils and drought and
gives people rain and food. This could be the reason for his popularity. The
Puranas too speak highly of Indra, often dramatizing his numerous battles
against devils. Indra- Jatra is a very famous festival celebrated in to
honor of Indra.
Saraswati , the goddess of knowledge and fine arts, is often
portrayed having a pure white form seated on a full blown lotus or mounted
on a hansa (swan). The hansa is often regarded as our inner-consciousness
and is said to be capable of driving away Avidya or ignorance. Among her
four arms the two lower arms are shown playing the veena and the upper hands
are shown holding a book and a rosary. Manjushree, the Buddhist goddess of
knowledge and inner-vision is also worshipped equally as Saraswati is
worshipped among the Hindus. Saraswati puja is a festival celebrated during
spring by students. According to an age-old tradition a young child is
introduced to alphabets for the first time on this day.
Kumari , the virgin goddess, represents the state deity of Nepal
known as Taleju and is said to be the incarnation of Kanya Kumari. A kumari
candidate is selected for a highly honored Hindu temple from a Buddhist
family of Shakya clan. Once she is selected, she is highly honored by both
Hindus and Buddhists including the king. She is taken out of her temple to
participate in several festivals. Once a Kumari attains puberty, she loses
this divine status and the selection for another kumari begins and she is
made to leave the temple. The famous Kumari temple is situated right across
the historical Gaddi Baithak Hall at Basantapur in Kathmandu. There are
different Kumaris in Patan, Bhaktapur, Bungmati, Thimi and other Newar
towns.
Know more about Kumari. Click Here
Hanumana or the monkey god is worshipped as the god of protection. He
is said to be full of shakti or strength, thus, his whole body is shown to
be red. He symbolizes courage, strength and loyalty. The statues of Hanumana
are found in most palaces. The images of the Hanumana always show him with
closed eyes. It is said that he never married and does not like seeing
females, especially unmarried female. People believe that he can destroy
them if he catches sight of them.
The five Dhyani Buddha's - Vairochana, Akshobhaya, Rathasambhava,
Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi, represent the five basic elements of which the
world is made- earth, fire, water and ether. These Buddha's, described as
the progenitors of the five kulas, or families, termed as Dvesa, Moha, Raga,
Chintamani and Samaya, are associated with the fulfillment of desires as
well as the attainment of Nirvana. Buddhist philosophy conceives these gods
to be the manifestation of Sunya or absolute void. We often find the images
of the Dhyani Buddha's in Stupas. Akshobhaya is placed facing the east,
Amitabha facing the west, Amoghasiddhi facing south, Ratnasambhava facing
north and Vairochana in the center. Except for Vairochana, which is
considered to be the preciding deity of a stupa, all the other Dhyani
Buddha's are seen in meditation. In most stupas the central Buddha is either
hidden or seated next to Akshobhaya. Though there are only five Dhyani
Buddha's, sometimes an additional Dhyani Budda- the Vajrasattva is also
included. Vajrasattva is regarded as the priest among the Dhyani Buddha's
and is seen holding a Vajra on his right hand and a ghanta(bell) on the
left.
Ganesh , the god of good luck, wisdom and success, is a very popular
deity worshipped by both Hindus as well as Buddhist's in Nepal. The figure
of Ganesha is childlike and unique as it has an elephant head, a big round
belly, an exceptionally short body and four or more hands. His upper right
hand holds a hook, representing the right path to follow, and the lower hand
is seen holding a noose, representing self-restrain. The rosary on his third
lower hand represents concentration, which is very important for the
development of spiritual knowledge, and his lower four hands are in a
gesture that assures his devotees fearlessness, indicating that he is the
protector. A religious text describes the bulky body of Ganesha as the
cosmos and his elephant-like shape as the embodiment of cosmic intelligence.
A legend has it that he even broke his most valued tusk so that Vyasa, a
great Hindu Vedic writer, could write the Mahabharat.
Read the myth: Why Ganesh is elephant-headed?
Laxmi is the goddess of wealth and the consort of lord Vishnu. Laxmi
is among the most worshipped of all gods and goddesses in Nepal. One of the
most important festivals, among the multitude of Nepali festivals, is Laxmi
puja. Laxmi puja is significant for those who celebrate it for it gives them
a reason to hope for financial progress in the years to come. The
celebration is usually done with elaborate preparations. Lights play a huge
role during Laxmi puja since it is celebrated at night. Oil fed clay lamps
are kept burning throughout the night. Laxmi puja is also known as the
festival of lights.
Read the myth: When Laxmi changed her mind...
Mahakaala is one of the highly fascinating Vajrayana Buddhist
deities. In art forms the deity is portrayed as dark, dwarfed and big
bellied, with a mukuta or headdress with skulls set in and a garland of
human heads. He holds a Kurtri (flaying knife) in his right hand and a
kapala (a skull cup) on the other. He has three eyes, opened wide giving him
a fierce look, and teeth dripping blood. He wears tiger skin as girdle and
snakes as various ornaments. Though he looks fierce, he is said to be very
kind hearted. According to Sadhanmala, a very old Buddhist text, the number
of arms and heads Mahakaala would have depended on the nature of purpose he
was called for. He could have one face with two, four or six arms or even
eight faces with sixteen arms. It is popularly believed that his fierce look
is not to scare every other person but to scare away evil.
Rato-Machhendranath or Bhunga dyo , the Buddhist rain-god, is also
known as Karunamaya Lokeshwara (The most compassionate god of the universe).
Bunga Dyo is worshipped in its male as well as female form like umaneshwara,
Laxminarayan, Praynayopaya and so on. There are two temples of Machhendra,
one is at Bungmati, which is about 8km away from Kathmandu and one is at
Patan. The festival of Bhunga dyo begins every year on the first day of
Baishakh (March- April) and continues for a month or so. Since Nepal is an
agricultural country the monsoons are very important for the Nepali's. This
festival frees the farmers from worries about not getting ample amount of
rain as this festival implies the worship of the rain god. During this
festival a chariot carrying the Machindra is pulled and thousands of people
participate.
Bhimsen is one of the heroes of the Mahabharata and the god of trade
and commerce. Bhimsen is portrayed in images as a red-faced deity with angry
eyes and a thick black moustache. He is often shown lifting a horse in the
air and pressing an elephant under his knee with a huge cobra and a lion
watching in awe. This fierceness in his images is meant to symbolize his
determination to kill Dushshasan, his enemy who had insulted Draupadi by
trying to denude her in public. Bhimsen is worshipped widely by Nepali
traders. Several guthi's (a sort of trust) are devoted to the regular
service of this deity. One of the most remarkable statues of Bhimsen can be
seen in Patan Bhimsen temple built by Shreenivas Malla in the early 18th
century.
Vishnu , in his various forms of incarnation Vishnu Dharma Purana (an
old Hindu text) describes him as the preserver of the universe and the
upholder of Dharma. According to the Geeta, whenever lord Vishnu sees Dharma
declining and the weak and innocent suffering He comes down in different
forms of incarnation to undo the wrong. The different incarnations of Vishnu
could be:
Matsya - The Fish : Manu, the first founder of human civilization, was saved
from a terrifying flood by Vishnu in the form of a Fish. The flood is said
to have been caused by Hayagriva, the most cruel sea-monster dwelling deep
in the ocean with innumerable fierce marine animals.
Kachhap or Kurma - The tortoise : When Vishnu saw the sins of Danavas or
devils weighing down the earth he assumed the form of a tortoise and dived
deep into the sea to raise the earth on his back and changed the earth to
its natural self.
Varaha - The Boar : When a demon named Hiranyakashyapa drowned the earth,
Vishnu rushed to rescue the earth incarnated as a Boar (Varaha). He plunged
into the water and rescued the earth by killing the demon.
Narasimha - Man-lion Vishnu, in this incarnation killed Hiranyakashyapa by
tearing open his stomach for his attempt to kill his own son- Prahlad, the
most sincere devotee of the Lord Vishnu.
Vamana - Dwarf Br ahman In this Avatar (incarnation) Vishnu reclaimed the
earth from Mahabali, the lord of all the three worlds, by visiting Bali in
this avatar and asking him to give the land measured by three steps. As soon
as Bali agreed he got back to himself and in three steps covered the
universe and won it.
Parashurama The heroic Brahmin with a militant personality Vishnu in this
form, with an axe on his right hand and a bow on the next, is said to have
annihilated all the "kshatriyas" (warrior class) in 22 battles.
Rama - The highly perfected human-god Vishnu incarnated as Rama, the ideal
king and the hero of the Ramayana, killed the king of demons- Ravana.
Krishna - The most widely worshipped incarnation of vishnu. This incarnation
of Vishnu killed the ogress Putna when she tried to kill him by feeding him
poisoned milk when he was a child. Later, Krishna subdued the most fatal
cobra- Kaliya.
Buddha - The supreme teacher Buddha, the enlightened one, was born in
Lumbini of Nepal at about 563 B.C. This incarnation of Vishnu was born to
guide suffering souls to the right direction. He has taught lessons of
humanity, truth and peace.
Kalaki or Kali - The last incar nation The last incarnation of Vishnu has
yet not come, but people believe that it will appear at the end of the
Kaliyug. It is believed that this incarnation of vishnu will come mounted on
a horse, killing all the evil and saving only pious souls.
Visit Changunarayan : the temple of Vishu
listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The origin of the temple goes back to
4th century.
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