Glossary: Religious and Mythical Figures

Ardhanari (Half Women): A composite bodily manifestation of the god Shiva combined with his wife, the goddess Parvati.
Bhagavad Gita ('Song of the Lord'): An influential Hindu sacred text, inserted in the Mahabharata epic, in which the god Krishna explains several philosophical tenets that are crucial to Hinduism.
Caste System: The division of early Hindu society into four classes, brahmins (priests), followed in descending order by kshatriyas (warriors / rulers), vaishyas ( traders) and shudras (manual labourers), that gradually ossified into a rigid caste system without professional or social mobility.
Devi: The Great Goddess who has numerous names and forms; Parvati, spouse of Shiva.
Durga: In Hinduism, Durga is a form of Devi, the supreme goddess. She is considered the fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's wife, goddess Parvati. Durga is depicted with 10 arms and rides a lion or a tiger carrying powerful weapons. She fought and defeats the demon Mahishasura (who could change between human and buffalo form at will) with her trident after a fierce ten-day battle.
Ganesha: Elephant-headed god who is the elder son of the god Shiva and the Goddess Parvati, and brother of the god Skanda; he is the god of beginnings and invoked at the start of any new undertaking.
Gita Govinda: Hindi sacred poem which tells of the love of the god Krishna and the cowherd girl (gopi) Radha; this devotional text must be read on a metaphorical level for the longing of the human soul for union with the divine.
Hanuman: Monkey god, one of the most popular Gods in Hinduism and one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic, the Ramayana. His most famous feat, as described in the Hindu epic scripture the Ramayana, was leading a monkey army to fight the demon King Ravana and rescue Sita.
Kali: Hindu goddess associated with death and destruction is a form of Durga. In her iconic image Kali destroys the demon Raktabija after epic battle and then drunk on the blood of her victims on the battlefield, dances with destructive frenzy. In her fury she fails to see the body of her husband Shiva who lies among the corpses on the battlefield. Ultimately the cries of Shiva attract Kali's attention, calming her fury.
Kalyanasundara: Name given to images of Shiva taking Parvati's hand in marriage.
King Janak: According to the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Janakas were a race of kings who ruled Videha Kingdom from their capital Mithila. In these texts King Seeradhwaj Janaka (more popularly known as Raja Janak / King Janak) was the father of Sita, wife of Rama.
Krishna: Popular Hindu god, incarnation of Vishnu, celebrated in three major contexts. (1) He is the beloved infant who grows up in a cowherd village. (2) He is the divine lover of the Gita Govinda poem, who enchants the cowherd girls (gopis) and is himself entranced by Radha. (3) He was the wise counsellor of the epic Mahabharata, and its embedded poem Bhagavad Gita.
Lakshmi: Consort of the god Vishnu, and goddess of wealth and fortune.
Mahabharata: Indian epic poem that narrates the great war that took place between the five Pandava brothers and the hundred members of the Kaurava clan; the war may have a historical basis sometime in the first millennium BC. The epic was passed down orally, being put into writing by the fourth century AD.
Nataraja ('King of Dance'): This term refers to the god Shiva in his form of the cosmic dancer whereby he destroys the world only to create it once again.
Parvati: Consort of the god Shiva, and mother of their two sons - Ganesha and Skanda. She is also a independent goddess in her own right. See Devi.
Rama (Lord Ram): Incarnation of the god Vishnu and divine hero of the epic Ramayana ('Story of Rama'), he was the prince of Ayodhya, married to Sita, and is viewed as the ideal monarch and paradigm for all Hindu rulers.
Ramayana: Great Indian epic, the 'Story of Rama', tells the tale of the exile of Rama prince of Ayodhya, together with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the abduction of Sita by the daemon king Ravana of Lanka; the immense search that ensued; and the climatic battle resulting in the death of Ravana and the final rescue of Sita from captivity. The epic seems to have some historical basis; it was passed down orally for centuries and was finally committed to writing by the forth century AD.
Ravana: Demon king of Lanka of the epic Ramayana. He also plays a role in the mythology of the god Shiva since he attempted to uproot Kailasa, Shiva's mountain home, to use it as a dynamo of magic energy in his battle against Rama.
Sarasvati: Hindu goddess of learning and music.
Sita: Wife of Lord Rama. Rama and Sita are the protagonists in one of the most famous love stories of all time. The tale of the couple's exile, Sita's abduction, rescue, test of fire and final banishment are the subject of the Ramayana.
Shiva ('Auspicious'): This major Hindu god carries a trident, wears a serpent as a scarf, sports a skull and crescent moon in the matted locks piled on his head, has a third eye to indicate his all-seeing nature and rides a bull. He lives on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas with his wife, the goddess Parvati, and their two sons, Ganesha and Skanda.
Surya: God of the Sun
Upanishads: Sacred Hindu texts of a philosophical nature.
Veda ('Knowledge'): The sacred literature of the Aryas that began to be composed around 1300 BC and was transmitted orally for centuries. The four Vedas, listed in order of their composition: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
Vishnu: Distinguished by the war discus (chakra) and conch-shell trumpet (shankha) that he holds, the god Vishnu wears a tall crown, rides the divine eagle Garuda, and is often accompanied by his wife Lakshmi goddess of fortune. A theory of ten incarnations is associated with Vishnu, who is believed to have been born nine times in the form of Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (man-lion), Vamana (dwarf), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna and Buddha; Kalki, the tenth is yet to come.

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