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Bhairava
Bhairavas and Bhairavis are the special associates of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati. During the battle between Lord Shiva and Andhakasura, the asuras stamped Lord Shiva’s forehead with their foot. His forehead emitted a fountain of blood resulting in the appearance of the Bhairavas.
There are 5 main Bhairavas-
1) Vidhyaraja- Born from the eastern flow of the blood. He is fiery in complexion and wears a gold-studded necklace.
2) Kamaraja- Born from the southern flow of the blood. He is black in complexion and surrounded by ghosts.
3) Nagaraja- Born from the western flow. He is blue in complexion and decked with leaves.
4) Lambitaraja- Born from the all-directional flow of the blood, He is dark complexioned.
5) Shooladhari- Born from the northern flow of the blood. He is dark in complexion.
Ashta Bhairava Names
8 Bhairavas are worshiped along with Durga Ma during the autumn season.
Their names are- 1) Mahabhairav (महाभैरव) 2) Samhara Bhairav (संहार भैरव) 3) Asitanga (असितांग भैरव) 4) Ruru Bhairava (रुरु भैरव) 5) Kala Bhairava (काल भैरव) 6) Krodha Bhairava (क्रोध भैरव) 7) Kapala Bhairava (कपाल भैरव) 8) Rudra Bhairava (रुद्र भैरव).
We also find a mention of 1) Chanda Bhairava (चण्ड भैरव) 2) Unmatta Bhairava (उन्मत्त भैरव) and 3) Bheeshana Bhairava (भीषण भैरव). The 5 main Bhairavas of Lord Shiva are- 1) Nandi (नन्दी) 2) Bhrungi (भृंगी) 3) Mahakala (महाकाल) 4) Baitala (बैताल) 5) Veerabhadra (वीरभद्र)
Taravati who was the wife of King Chandrashekhara of Kurveer Pur kingdom delivered a son. Initially he was called Bhringi. In his next life, he attained the face of a monkey and became a Bhairava.
Bhairavi
Bhairavis are different Mahavidyas. Names of Bhairavi
Their names are- 1) Chamunda (चामुण्डा) 2) Charchika (चर्चिका) 3) Charma munda (चर्ममुण्डा) 4) Marjar Kanika ((मार्जार कणिका) 5) Karnamoti (कर्णामोटि) 6) Mahagandha (महागंधा) 7) Ugra Bhairavi (उग्र भैरवी) 8) Kapalini (कपालिनी).
At other places, they are called by the different names of- Tripura Bhairavi (त्रिपुर भैरवी) 2) Sampatprada Bhairavi (सम्पत्प्रदा भैरवी) 3) Kaulesha Bhairavi (कौलेश भैरवी) 4) Sakala Siddhida Bhairavi (सकल सिद्धिदा भैरवी) 5) Bhayavidhvansini Bhairavi (भयविध्वंसिनी भैरवी) 6) Chaitanya Bhairavi (चैतन्य भैरवी) 7) Kameshwari Bhairavi (कामेश्वरी भैरवी) 8) Shatkuta Bhairavi (षट्कूटा भैरवी) 9) Nitya Bhairavi (नित्या भैरवी) 10) Rudra Bhairavi (रुद्र भैरवी) 11) Tripura Bala Bhairavi (त्रिपुर बाला भैरवी) 12) Navakuta Bhairavi (नवकूटा भैरवी) 13) Annapurna Bhairavi (अन्नपूर्णा भैरवी) 14) Bhuvaneshwari Bhairavi (भुवनेश्वरी भैरवी)
All the Bhairavis have different names, forms, vehicles and mantras.
Celestial beings
These include the Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Yakshas, Apsaras and Siddhas.
The Ghost Section
These include Preta (प्रेत) Pishacha (पिशाच) Bhoota (भूत) Vinayaka (विनायक) Baitala (बैताल) Brahma Rakshasa (ब्रह्म राक्षस) Kushmanda (कुष्माण्ड) etc. Pootana (पूतना) Kotara (कोटरा) Revati (रेवती) Pishachini (पिशाचिनी) also fall under these groups. They are all Shiva Ganas.
Swami Kartikeya
Kartikeya is the eldest son of Lord Shiva. He is six headed and sits on a peacock. He is the commander-in-chief of the Devas. Even the cock is one of his vehicles.
Story of Lord Kartikeya’s birth
Once Lord Shiva was sporting Parvati Devi. Agnidev as a cock arrived there. Because of this, Lord Shiva’s semen fell outside. The semen then installed itself into Agni. The heat was intolerable to fire god, so he immersed the fluid in the Ganges.
Even the Ganges felt the heat to be intolerable so she installed it amidst a clump of reeds. The semen developed into a radiant baby. The Matrika mothers breastfed the child and provided nourishment to it. So they became Kartikeya’s foster mothers.
Later, Kartikeya became the commander of the Devas and killed Tarakasura in battle.
Story of lord Ganesha and Kartikeya
He argued with Ganesha who shall marry first. In the competition of circumambulating the earth, Lord Ganesh emerged victorious by the use of his wits. He was the first to get married. Upset at the non-interference of his parents, Kartikeya abandoned his home and marched towards South India.
He said- “I won’t use my father’s dialect (Sanskrit).” With firm resolve, he invented a new language, Tamil.
Shasta god
Worshiped in South India, Shasta gods are another form of Lord Bhairava.
Sheetala devi
Sheetala devi has many temples in many parts of the country. She is the goddess of the Chickenpox epidemic.
Lord Harihara
During Mohini avatar when lord Shiva became enamored by the beauty of Mohini, he embraced her. This resulted in the birth of Hari Hara. The right half of Harihara resembles Lord Shiva while the left half resembles Lord Vishnu.
Lord Hanuman
Birth story of Hanumanji
During the union of Lord Shiva and Mohini, the wind god carried a portion of Lord Shiva’s semen and transmitted it into Anjana’s womb, the wife of the Vanara king Kesari, through passaging her ear. Thus Hanumanji was born.
Since he is the partial incarnation of Lord Shiva, he is called Shankara suta or the son of Lord Shiva. He is also the son of the wind god, since the wind carried the semen. Since Hanumanji is the heir of the monkey king Kesari, he is called Kesari Kumar.
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Hanuman Eating the Sun Story
At his very birth he leaped into the skies to gobble the sun, thinking it to be a fruit. It was the hour of the solar eclipse on the new moon day. When Rahu saw him gulp the sun he ran and reported the matter to Indra.
Indra hastily reached the spot to stop Hanuman. As Indra obstructed his way, naughty Hanumanji ran to catch his vehicle, Airavata. Indra struck him down with his Vajra. The onslaught slightly harmed his chin thus he came to be known as Hanuman. The wind god was terribly upset to see his dear son Hanuman lay unconscious.
He stopped the flow of wind which threatened the life of the living creatures. He became placated when the Devas imparted a fragment of their power to Hanumanji and endowed him with their divine weapons, thus making him invincible.
Hanumanji’s other story
Hanumanji received divine knowledge under the mentorship of Surya Deva. Thereafter he assisted the monkey king Sugriva as his minister. It is Hanumanji who united Sugriva and Sri Rama in the locks of friendship.
After conquering Lanka, when Sri Rama reached Ayodhya, Hanumanji stayed back and served him. But when Sri Rama left for his eternal abode, Saket, Hanumanji didn’t accompany him.
He said- “As long as there is Rama Katha prevalent in this world, I shall forever remain and listen to the glories of Sri Rama.” In Treta Yuga, he met the Pandava brother Bhima. Sri Krishna befriended Hanumanji and Arjuna. During the Mahabharata war, he stayed on Arjuna’s flag and protected his chariot from fatal attacks.
Hanumanji is immortal.
Wherever there is a recitation of Rama Katha, he sits there and listens to it invisibly. There are two dominant forms of Hanumanji- One is red-vermillion in color, while the other is golden and mountainous. However, for worship purposes, you shall find the description of his sober, fiery, restless and many such forms.
Other gods
Every planet has its ruling deity. Each village or town has its guarding deity or caretaker, a village serpent, and a village goddess. Even the time cycle, which includes days, months, 15 days of a lunar cycle, and years have their respective gods. Every action has its deity.
Every family has its family deity. Also, special types of empowered Siddhas, Yogis, Sati and ghosts get worshiped as gods and incarnations, like Khandoba in Maharashtra and Karani devi in Rajasthan. People also worship samadhis.
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