Female danger: "evil", inauspiciousness, and their symbols in representations of South Asian goddesses

Goddesses associated with danger, inauspiciousness or even "evil" have been part of South Asian and especially of Hindu and Tantric pantheons from a very early stage. Prominent examples are Nirá¹?tti for the Vedic and Alaká¹£mÄ« for the Pur?ṇic and contemporary periods. Less known but even...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zeiler, Xenia (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
WorldCat: WorldCat
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Univ. 2012
In: Nidān
Year: 2012, Volume: 24, Issue: 1, Pages: 100-116
Further subjects:B Inauspiciousness
B Nirrtti
B Alaksmi
B Evil
B Winnowing fan
B Crow
B Danger
B Goddess
B Dhumavati
B Jyestha
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Goddesses associated with danger, inauspiciousness or even "evil" have been part of South Asian and especially of Hindu and Tantric pantheons from a very early stage. Prominent examples are Nirá¹?tti for the Vedic and Alaká¹£mÄ« for the Pur?ṇic and contemporary periods. Less known but even so highly relevant representations are Jyeṣṭha in later Vedic and South Indian medieval and Dhūm?vatī in Tantric medieval and contemporary contexts. Despite their highly divergent origins and backgrounds all these goddesses (as well as others perceived as potentially "evil") share certain symbols of "evil" and danger in their representations. This article aims at segregating such highly important attributes, like the winnowing fan, and accompanying animals, like the crow, in the textual evidence of South Asian goddesses' representations. It discusses their role as a bond between the textually very closely associated or even identified goddesses and their general symbolic potential for alleged (female) "evil" and danger in South Asia.
ISSN:2414-8636
Contains:Enthalten in: Nidān
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.58125/nidan.2012.1