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Registered: 01-2008
Location: South Africa
Posts: 317
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The pantheon of gods


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The universe is pervaded by the great spirits, called devas in Sanskrit. The each have responsibility for an aspect of nature, which in their personal form they embody, such as Agni, the god of fire. Another example is the goddess Ganga, spirit of the river Ganges. She is the daughter of the Himalayas. She was taken up to heaven as the celestial Milky Way and brought back to earth by the penances of King Bhagiratha to e caught in Shiva's hair. Her devotees believe that she washes away sins.
This mystical story co-exists with the physical with the physical existence of the river in a union of myth and reality which typifies the world of Indian myth, where the line between the visionary and the material substances is subtle and shifting.
The gods have their devotees and their festivals. The high gods, such as Indra, the king of heaven, or Kartikeya, the god of war, are celebrated throughout India. At the local level village gods are worshipped, such as Sitala, the goddess of smallpox, who gives protection from the disease. All the gods and goddesses, however, are intermediaries of the three great deities - Vishnu, Shiva and Devi - and ultimately of the one supreme spirit.
2/17/2009, 3:13 am Link to this post Send PM to Morwen Oronor Blog
 


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