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...
| Published in: | Nidān |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Univ.
2012
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| In: |
Nidān
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| 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) |
| 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 Jyeá¹£á¹ha 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. |
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| ISSN: | 2414-8636 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nidān
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.58125/nidan.2012.1 |