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Indian Goddesses - G
Ganga
The goddess who is the incarnation of the Ganges, India's most sacred
river. She is the sister of Parvati, and has been linked as a consort
of Agni, Vishnu, and Shiva. She is the mother of Jalamdhara through a
union with the ocean. Hindus believe that by bathing in her holy waters,
one's sins will be washed away. Repeated ritualistic washings in the river
will secure one a place in heaven. The ashes of the dead are spread over
her. She is usually represented as a beautiful woman with a fish's tail
in place of her legs, and she rides on the Makara, a water monster.
Ganga originally flowed only through heaven, where she sprang from the
toe of Vishnu, and it was due to a mortal that she came to earth. Saghara,
a king, desperately wanted sons. He prayed and performed rituals and penances,
so that his two wives both became pregnant. They gave birth to many sons.
Some time later, to thank the gods, Saghara made ready to perform a horse
sacrifice, a very solemn and powerful ritual, but the horse was stolen.
Saghara's sons went searching for the animal, and they began to dig into
the earth, thinking it might be underground. When their excavations became
too large, Vishnu turned all of them to dust. Saghara learned that his
sons would be allowed to go to heaven only when the sacred River Ganges
flowed to the earth. The sage Bhagirathi, Saghara's grandson, performed
rigid penances, and Brahma agreed to allow the river to fall to earth
in the Himalayas and flow through India. Ganga was not at all happy about
this, however. She was perfectly happy to stay in heaven. She consented
to flow to the earth, but promised she would flood the whole world and
destroy humanity. To prevent this, Shiva stood under the spot where she
fell from the sky and cushioned her fall. Her stream was divided into
seven rivers, which are the Ganges and her tributaries.
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Gauri
An epithet of Devi in her mild form as the yellow or brilliant one. She
is also known as Parvati and U ma the consort of Lord Shiva. It is sometimes
an epithet for Varunani, wife of Varuna.
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Gayatri
Chanting her mantra deeply from the heart during meditation at dawn and
dusk can heal the soul: "Aum/Bhoor, Bhuvah, Svaha/Tat Savitur Varainyum/Bargo
Devasya Dimahi/Dyo Yonaha Prachodiyat." An initiation into Hindu
mystical tradition, the steady practice of Gayatri's mantra will dissolve
the boundary between flesh and spirit.
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Gopis
"milkmaids", said to be the lovers of the young Krishna
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Gujeswari
Mother Goddess
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