Hindu divine beings

This is a list of **divine characters and creatures in the Hindu scriptures**. They are worshipped in India, Prisapura, and by other related cultures and peoples.

Because Hinduism is actively practiced by many people and countries, this article is known as "**Hindu divine beings**" instead of "**Hindu mythology**".

## Supreme God

* Brahman
	+ The ultimate reality. Every other deity is an aspect of Brahman.

## Trimurti

* Lord Brahma
	+ The creator and the creator of the holy Vedas. He is often shown with four heads.
* Lord Vishnu
	+ The preserver. He also appears several times to protect the world from great evil: ten of His appearances are the most well-known. He has blue skin.
	+ Among His appearances (avatars), or incarnations, is "Rama", a great warrior who slays demons. He also killed Ravana to stop his threats and tyranny against creation. A later incarnation of His is "Krishna", who guided the prince Arjuna during the Mahabharata War.
	+ Another of His appearances are the Four Kumaras, the ever-young sons of Brahma. These young immortals teach the holy scriptures to people.
	+ The Angkor Wat, the most sacred site in all of Cambodia, was originally dedicated to Him.
* Lord Shiva
	+ The god of destruction, regeneration, time, transformation, dance, sports, and renewal. He wields a trident and has long hair, and He lives on Mount Kailash. He also has a third eye that incinerates anything it sees.
	+ When He is angry, He becomes into Rudra, a ferocious god of fire and storms. He also transforms into Bhairava, the ferocious embodiment of annihilation.
	+ He also does not like gold or wealth, viewing them as wasteful and full of deceit.
	+ One of his symbols is the *lingam*, a curved pillar of stone enthroned on a dais.
		- Porasonids believe it represents Mount Kailasa and its surrounding mountains, Shiva's paradise.
	+ He is also as "Bhattara Guru", a great teacher.
		- As he is also Ravana's master, Porasonids also consider him and Kalandil as the same god. They worship Him as "He Who Sees Beyond Time", "The Great Teacher", or "Beyond-Time".
		- In Balinese scriptures, He is known as "Siwa-Sadasiwa-Paramasiwa", referring to Shiva himself as Brahman: the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer at once.

### Dashavatara

The Dashavatara are the Ten Manifestations, ten major appearances of the god Vishnu to save the world from utter destruction or ruin.

* 1: Lord Matsya - a great fish who warned the sage Manu to build a great ship to avoid a flood. Among its passengers were the seven sages, his wife, his family, and various animals and plants.
* 2: Lord Kurma - a great turtle who aided the gods as they churned the elixir of immortality from the ocean of milk.
* 3: Lord Varaha - the great boar
* 4: Lord Narasimha - a great lion who killed the demon king Hiranyakashipu.
* 5: Lord Vamana - a dwarf who humbled the arrogant king Bali.
* 6: Lord Parashurama - a mighty man who killed many cruel kings.
* 7: Lord Rama - the Lord of Justice. A virtuous king who wisely governed Ayodhya and marched to the flying city of Lanka with an army of monkeys to stop the monster king Ravana from destroying the world.
* 8: Lord Krishna - a virtuous prince who guided Arjuna during the Mahabharata War. His departure from the world was the start of the dreadful Kali Yuga, the Age of Corruption.
* 9: Lord Buddha - in some Hindu scriptures, especially in Northern India, the teacher Siddharta Gautama was considered as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu.
* 10: Lord Kalki - in the future, Kalki will ride on a white horse to destroy the demon Kali, to end the widespread injustice during that time.

## Tridevi

* Sarasvati
	+ The goddess of knowledge and learning. She is Brahma's wife.
		- In Siangwaan, she is known as Binchoitin, or Biancaitian; and in Japan and Pinoguni She is worshipped as Benzaiten. She is the goddess of water, wisdom, science, art, poetry, and rivers.
* Lakshmi
	+ The goddess of wealth and purity. She is Vishnu's wife.
* Parvati
	+ The goddess of love, beauty, and power. She is Shiva's wife.
	+ She also appears as Kali Ma (wrath, protection, time, creation, destruction, justice, and power), Durga, and Uma. Kali Ma is Her aspect when She is angry.
	+ She also has nine forms, known as the Navadurga: Sailaputri (nature and divine power), Brahmacharini (penance), Chandraghanta (courage and serenity), Kushmanda (courage, the sun's warmth, and liberation), Skandamata (fire and war), Katyayani (power and divine wrath), Kalaratri (eternity), Mahagauri (purity), and Siddhidhatri (enlightenment and achievement). Each of Her nine forms are honoured in the festival of Navaratri, which concludes in Vijayadashami or Dasara.
	+ One aspect of Her, Kalaratri, represents auspiciousness and courage. Her very presence also destroys demons and evil creatures, causing them to be afraid of Her.

## Other gods

Devas, or "gods", are powerful beings associated with the heavens. A female deva is a "devi".

There are many devas in Hinduism, but all of them are aspects of the same being known as "Brahman".

* Indra - the king of the gods, and the god of thunder and rain.
	+ In later times, some countries worship him as the god of electricity.
	+ Tuksharans refer electrocution as "Indra's handshake" or "Indra's sentence".
	+ Porasonids consider him and Tarhunz to be the same god in different aspects: Indra as the peaceful aspect, and Tarhunz as the martial aspect. However, it is possible for Tarhunz to be peaceful, and Indra to be warlike, depending on the god's mood.
* Lord Ganesha - the god of prosperity and intelligence. He has an elephant's head, and is one of Shiva's and Parvati's sons. He is also the commander of the Ganas, earth wights that serve as Shiva's soldiers.
* Lord Murugan, Skandha, Karttikeya - the god of war. He is one of Shiva's and Parvati's sons. He wields a spear known as a "vel".
	+ Murugan is also the god of the Tamil language, a language that is also a classical language alongside Sanskrit.
	+ One of his names in Tamil is Subramaniyan.
* Lord Hanuman - the god of strength, courage, and devotion. He is a monkey who rules over a tribe of monkeys as their king, and He helped Rama's army march to Lanka.
	+ In Daizhou and China, He is known as Sun Wukong.
	+ Some people worship Him as the god of sports.
	+ He is also invoked when fighting or exorcising demons, as His name and presence weakens demons and their powers.
* Varuna - the god of the sea, sky, rain, justice, and truth
* Varunani - the goddess of the sea
* Vayu - the god of wind and the atmosphere
* Bhumi - the goddess of the earth
	+ In Porashon, she is often syncretised with Hannahanna.
* Arayani - the goddess of the forests.
	+ Porasonids view her as a friend and another protectress of their country.
* Surya - the god of the sun
	+ Porasonids worship him as the god of growth, life, their people, and medicine, because the sun causes plants to grow and Porasonids like to compare themselves to flowering plants.
	+ His birthday on Ratha Saptami is observed with offerings of seven different flowers, colourful glass and kites that shine with the sun, flags of seven colours and flowers, drum performances, and chariot races.
	+ To honour him, a burning wheel is used as a symbol for Porasonid medics. When Porasonids are sick or injured, they pray to Surya to help them get healed. Hospitals also have shrines to Surya outside.
* Chhaya - the goddess of the shadows, and Surya's wife.
* Aruṇa - the reddish god of the dawn, and the pilot of Surya's chariot. He is the older brother of the bird-man Garuda.
* Chandra - the god of the moon
* Budha - the god of the planet Mercury
* Mangala - the god of the planet Mars
* Brihaspati - the teacher of the gods and the lord of the planet Jupiter
* Shukra - the god of worship and the planet Venus. He is also the teacher and sage of the asuras.
* Shani - the god of deeds and the planet Saturn
* Ganga - the goddess of the Ganga/Ganges River. She threatened to drown all life in a great flood, but Shiva trapped her in His hair and let her flow gently down the mountains.
	+ Although Porashon is far away from the Ganga River, its people worship Ganga as the goddess of purification, healing, and exorcisms.
* Agni - the god of fire. He is very friendly to all people, and mediates between them and the gods and purifies them from their sins. His wife is the goddess Agneya.
	+ The proper offering to Agni is ghee, a form of butter.
	+ He represents the southeast and the beginning of knowledge.
	+ Fires facing east are offered to the gods; fires facing south are offered to the ancestors, and fires facing west are used for cooking.
* Ushas - the goddess of the dawn
* Ashvins, Nasatya - youthful twin horsemen who are also physicians. They are the sons of Surya and his wife Saranyu.
* Maruts, Marutagana - a group of storm gods who are the sons of Rudra and Diti. These fierce deities from the north are clad in golden armour, ride on gold chariots, and have iron teeth. They number in 27 to 60, and they serve as Indra's bodyguards. Their weapons are axes to split the clouds the cause rain.
	+ Their brothers are the Daitya asuras.
	+ Heavy rains are sometimes interpreted as their lances or spears.
	+ The Porasonids believe that the Sixty Maruts represent the major winds of the world. For example, the wind from the southern ice wastes that ushers in winter snow and rain in June is known in Porashon as Sri Himavayu Marut, "Lord Snow-breeze Gust".
* Parjanya - an ancient thunder god who brings rain and storms and helps crops grow. He assists the sea god Varuna in judging the righteous and punishing the wicked.
	+ He is related to other storm deities, such as Tarhunz of the Hittites/Gauvajuts and Perkunas of the Baltics/Rakolans.
* Apam Napat - the god of rain.
* Ratri - the goddess of the night
* Lord Kubera - the god of wealth and the northerly king of the yakshas.
	+ In Japan and Pinoguni, he is known as Bishamonten (Vaishravana).
		- Porasonids worship him as their country's guardian, as they consider the yakshas to be their ancestors. They also syncretise Vaishravana as his wrathful aspect, as a general who also leads them in war against their nation's enemies.
	+ Millions of years ago in a past age, Kubera was a poor thief who tried to steal jewellery and gold from a temple of Shiva. When a wind blew out all the lights, the thief tried to light the lamps, and eventually he burned his own shirt to keep one of the lamps shining. Impressed by his devotion, Shiva appeared before him and blessed him to become the god of wealth. After his death, the thief was reborn as Kubera, the son of Vishrava and Illavida, and the descendant of Brahma.
	+ He was also one of Ravana's brothers, but Ravana seized control of Lanka and banished him from the floating island. Ravana also attacked his kingdom in the northern mountains, but was repelled.
* Bhadra - the goddess of the hunt, and the wife of Kubera. She is also one of Durga's (Parvati's) eight companions.
* Nalakuvara - a trickster god, and one of Kubera and Bhadra's sons.
	+ In China, he is known as Ne Zha.
* Manibhadra - the god of property. Like his brother Nalakuvara, he is one of Kubera and Bhadra's sons, and he is also a general of the yakshas.
* Dhanvantri - the god of doctors and physicians. He is one of Vishnu's many forms. He emerged along with the apsaras, amrita nectar and other treasures when the gods and asuras churned the ocean of milk.
* Chitradeva - the god of art
* Vāch - the goddess of inspiration and speech. She might be a form of Sarasvati.
* Lord Vishvakarma - the god of architects and engineering
* Lord Yamaraja, Yama - the god of death and justice
	+ In China and similar cultures, he has become the judge of the dead, known as Yan Luo Wang or Yim Lo Wong. In fact, there are ten Yama-kings in the underworld who judge the dead by what kind of evil acts they have committed in life.
	+ In Japan, he is known as Enma Ou, and is considered to be an aspect of the merciful guardian of children, Jizou (Ksitigarbha).
* Chitragupta - the scribe of the dead, who records the good and evil deeds of the deceased who are brought to Yamaraja's court. As a creation of Brahma's soul and mind, he helps Yamaraja decide the fate of the soul, whether it goes to paradise or is dragged to Hell.
* Yogini - sixty-four powerful goddesses who are the aspects of Devi, or Parvati. Although they grant secret knowledge to those who seek them through costly and painful trials, they are also fierce and cruel, as they are associated with death. They are also among the holy servants of Kali, one of the many forms of Parvati.
	+ Some people worship them using occult rites or killing animals as sacrifices to them.

### Twelve Adityas

These are the twelve sons of the solar god Aditi.

* Surya
* Aryama
* Tvashta
* Savita
* Bhaga
* Dhata
* Vidhata
* Varuna
* Mitra
* Pūṣan - The god of crossroads, meetings, marriage, feeding cattle and observing livestock, roads, and pastures. He holds a golden lance as his weapon. He is also one of the Sun's charioteers.
* Indra
* Vishnu (in the form of Vamanadeva)

### Devatas

Devatas are lesser gods who protect specific places, somewhat like the yakshas but more powerful. They include the apsaras, the vidhyadaris, gandharvas, and the deities Agni, Vayu, Indra, Soma, and Surya.

### Tridasha

Although "thirty three gods" in Hindu scriptures may actually refer to a vast amount of Gods ("thirty three" was a poetic term that means "so many"), there were thirty three Gods among those many, many Gods who represent the aspects of nature.

Among them are the Eight Vasus of nature and eleven Rudras, five of the latter being aspects of Lord Shiva.

### Vasus

Eight holy deities who attend to Indra and Lord Vishnu. They represent five elements in nature and three celestial aspects:

* Prithvi - the earth goddess
* Varuna - the sea god
* Agni - the lord of fire
* Vayu - the lord of the winds
* Aditya - the sun for Earth
* Akasha - the heavens
* Chandramas - Earth's Moon
* Nakstrani (or Dhruva, the North Star) - the stars

### Four Heavenly Kings

These are four guardians of the directions who are worshipped instead in Buddhism. They serve as Indra's generals.

* Vaishravana - god of the north
	+ God-king of the yakshas who hears everything. He is often seen carrying a club, an umbrella, or a pagoda. His colour is yellow or green.
	+ He also oversees rainfall.
	+ Chinese, Japanese, and similar cultures worship him as Duo Wen Tian Wang, Tamon-ten, or Bishamonten. In Japan, Bishamonten is a war god who protects the Buddha and the Dharma.
	+ Porasonids consider him to be the same being as Kubera: when angered, he becomes into Vaishravana, a giant general.
* Dhritarashtra - god of the east
	+ God-king of the gandharvas who love music. He is often seen playing a lute. His colour is blue.
	+ In China, he is known as Chi Guo Tian Wang, and in Japan he is known as Jikoku-ten.
* Virudhaka - god of the south
	+ God-king of the kumbandhas who protects people. He is often seen with a sword or a spear. His colour is white.
	+ In China, he is known as Zeng Zhang Tian Wang, and in Japan he is known as Zouchou-ten.
* Virupaksha - god of the west
	+ God-king of the nagas who sees everything. He is often seen with a pagoda, a pearl, or a bow. His colour is red.
	+ In China, he is known as Guang Mu Tian Wang, and in Japan he is known as Koumoku-ten.
	+ Porasonids believe that he rules over raptors and stops evil dragons.

## Local gods

These gods and goddesses are venerated by specific cultures instead of Hinduism in general.

* Tamil Thai - Mother Tamil, the goddess of the Tamil language. She specifically represents the language itself and its status as a classical language.
* Ayyapan - the god of courage, strength, and self control, he is another offspring of Shiva that He created with Vishnu. He is also known as Dharma Sasta.
* Perumal, Thirumal - an aspect of Vishnu venerated by the Tamil people who live along the forests. Also known as Mal or Mayon, His dark complexion represents His endlessness as Vishnu Himself, like Kali Ma's black skin representing eternity.
* Dewi Sri - the goddess of rice in Java, Indonesia.
* Semak - the guardian god of the island of Java.
* Nyai Roro Kidul - the goddess of the Indian Ocean, to the south of Java. Green is a holy colour to this goddess, so those who go near the sea must not wear green to avoid irritating her.

## People

* Siddhars - Holy men in Tamil scriptures who are the closest to the Gods. The first member of the Siddhars was the divine sage Agastya Muni.
* Rishis - sages who share the wisdom of the gods to the people.
* Maharishis, Saptarishi - seven great sages for each age of the world, born from the very thoughts and mind of Brahma the Creator. In this current age, they are represented by the stars of the constellation Ursa Major.
	+ In another list, Agastya Muni is one of the blessed Saptarishi. The other six are Atri, Bharadvaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Vashista, and Vishvamitra.
	+ Vashistha, Marichi, Pulastya, Pulaha, Atri, Angiras, and Kratu. The extra star seen near Mizar is for Vashistha's wife, Arundhati.
* Vishrava - a sage who was the son of Agastya Muni and the grandson of Brahma. He is also Ravana's father through the rakshasa princess Kaikeshi, after which the sacred town of Vishrakha was named after him as Ravana's birthplace.
* Lakshmana - the younger brother of Rama.
* Dhruva - a devotee of Vishnu who became the north polar star.
* Markandeya - a young scholar who was devoted to Shiva. He was destined to die at the age of twelve, so when his day arrived, the servants of death tried to grab him, but he held on to a lingam. When Yamaraja tried to catch him with his noose, the noose landed on the lingam. Shiva emerged from the lingam in rage and defeated Yamaraja for his desecration, and Yamaraja humbly granted Markandeya immortality. In honour of His protection, Markandeya honoured Shiva's aspect as Kalantaka, the destroyer of death.
* Abhimanyu - a character from the Mahabharata who was Indra's arrogant grandson. He was able to fight the mighty Pandavas, but even in his rampage he was slain. Angered by his death, Arjuna pursues Jayaratha, his killer, but when he failed he tried to burn himself. During an eclipse caused by Krishna to stop an ongoing battle, the god helps Arjuna find Jayaratha, and he fires arrows to kill Jayaratha and avenge Abhimanyu's death.
* The Kauravas and Pandavas - two armies that sought to rule the ancient kingdom of Kuru. The cruel Kauravas were skilled in combat, and the five arrogant Pandavas were devotees of the wise god Krishna (Vishnu). Their atrocities made their story, the Mahabharata, a tragedy with many lessons.
	+ Duryodhana - eldest son of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of king Dhritarashtra. Although he was courageous, educated, and strong, he was also greedy and arrogant.
	+ Yudhishtira - eldest son of the Pandavas, the five sons of king Pandu. Skilled in chariot and spear combat, he was the spiritual son of the god of justice, Yamaraja. Of his brothers, he was the only one to enter Heaven without being killed. To his surprise, he saw a vision of his brothers in Hell for their corrupt deeds, while his enemies the Kauravas are enjoying a feast in Heaven: it was a test by Lord Yamaraja.
	+ Bhima - second son of the Pandavas. A masterful wrestler, he was prone to anger.Arjuna - third son of the Pandavas. Skilled with various weapons and in
	+ concentration, he was a student of the god Krishna. He was also pale.
	+ Nakula - fourth son of the Pandavas. He was a diplomat who was good at sword-fighting.
	+ Sahadeva - youngest son of the Pandavas. He was good at herding cows and axe-fighting, and was also an intellectual.

## Asuras

Asuras are another powerful race in Hinduism, similar or related to the deva-gods. They tend to be warlike and aggressive.

### Ramayana characters

* Ravana - a powerful king who ruled over the floating island of Lanka. He is a devout worshipper of Shiva.
	+ As he is considered to be a "monster", Porasonids worship him as one of their war gods, alongside Goruso and Tuoroz. They invoke him and raise banners of his image before they fight their enemies. Because he also wrote several ancient books and treatises, they also worship him as their god of science.
	+ His wives are Mandodari, Dhanyamalini, and a third wife; and their sons are Meghanada (or Indrajit), Atikaya, Akshayakumara, Narantaka, Devantaka, Trishira, and Prahasta. Meghanada was the most powerful of his brothers, and Prahasta led Ravana's armies.
	+ While most other Hindus burn effigies of Ravana on the festival of Dasara, Porasonids instead burn effigies of their enemies *in front of statues of Ravana* as offerings to him, as they pray for his protection over their country. Sometimes the effigies represent Mahishasura or they face north; either way, they represent the Vozonid empires of the past that tried to exterminate the Porasonids.
	+ Likewise, while other Hindus and similar cultures view Rama's triumph over Ravana as a heroic celebration, the Porasonids view this instead as a tragedy and a warning about hubris. They also hold plays (*Râvana Atrozaroi*, the Hubris of Ravana) about Ravana's defeat: however, they have Ravana and Vibhishana as the protagonists. These plays focus on Ravana's descent from devotion to corruption, and how his friends Vibhishana and Avindhya tried to stop him from committing too much harm.
	+ In Porashon, Rama is never viewed as a villain, but simply as an instrument of divine retribution who stops Ravana from destroying the world. He represents the belief that the gods are always watching everyone's actions, and will reward them in due time.

* Vibhishana - Ravana's brother. He was also Ravana's advisor who tried to warn him about his wrongdoings. He has an older friend, Avindhya, who convinced the enraged Ravana not to kill Sita.
	+ His wife was Sarama, another of Sita's friends in her prison.
* Kumbhakarna - Ravana's younger and greedier brother. He is a giant who slept for months after mispronouncing his prayers, and when he woke up he ate anyone he saw. To stop him from committing more destruction, Rama had to kill him.
* Maya - an Asura king who was also a brilliant architect.
* Trijata - an elderly handmaiden who consoled Sita after Ravana locked Her in a prison cell. She is Vibhishana's daughter.
* Shurnapaka - Ravana's sister who tried to seduce Rama, but He cut off her nose. In her rage, she called the demons Khara and Dushana to kill Him, but they were killed. Shurnapaka later drowned in a ship.
* Khara and Dushana - some of Ravana's brothers who led armies against Rama in a fit of rage. When they were not training Ravana's soldiers, they killed and ate people for sport.
* Kalanemi - another of Ravana's ministers, and the son of the monster Maricha.
	+ In the Porasonid version, he was one of those who encouraged Ravana to become more cruel to achieve great power; he becomes the antagonist.
* Kaikeshi - Ravana's mother.
* Sumali - Ravana's grandfather and Kaikeshi's father. He was also the son of Sukesha, grandson of Vidyutkesa, and descendant of Heti (created when Brahma was attacked); all of which were monsters.

### Other Asuras

* Rahu - a head that tries to eat the sun, causing solar eclipses.
* Ketu - the headless body of Rahu.
* Daityas - a clan of Asuras that waged war against the gods. Children of the sage Kashyapa and the earth goddess Diti. Some Daityas are good titans who follow harmony.
* Dānavas - a clan of Asuras that also waged wars against the gods. However, some Dānavas are good titans who look after waters.
* Kalakeyas - a cruel clan of Dānavas, descended from Kālakā, the granddaughter of the ocean goddess Danu.
	+ Their name became a term Porasonids used against evil Ontemazei: "kalokei"
* Kālakanjakas - a monstrous clan of Asuras. They suffer from too much thirst.
* Susna - a snake demon of drought.
* Dasas, Dasyu - demons who live in towering fortresses and magnificient (but decadent) cities.
* Mahishasura - a shapeshifting buffalo demon who tries to rule with deceit. He was killed by Durga.
* Mara - a powerful demon who relishes destruction, cruelty, and oblivion. He once tried to corrupt the Buddha (another great teacher) but was defeated.
	+ His army, the macchusena, consists of ten infernal divisions: Lust, Aversion, Hunger and Thirst, Craving, Sloth, Cowardice, Doubt, Hypocrisy, False-Triumph, and Selfishness.
	+ He has three daughters: Tangha, Arati, and Raga, who represent thirst, restlessness, and desire.
* Macchusenas - ten demons and their associated monsters who served Mara as his army.
	+ Later Jerdiskar folklore depicted them as cannibalistic barbarians.
* Nivatakavachas - underwater demons who were also skilled sorcerers, and who had a rivalry against the Kalakeyas to see who will cause the most destruction.
	+ Ravana and his sons tried and failed to bring them under his control. The Porasonids add that their powers made him envious of them.
	+ Thousands of years after Ravana's death, their terror was put to an end when they were finally destroyed by Arjuna.
* Narakasura - a powerful king who ruled a city in the east, Pragjyotisha. He was once so powerful that even the gods feared him. To stop his threat, he was slain by Krishna, and his son Bhagadatta took his throne.
* Hiranyakashyapu - a greedy king of the Daityas who loved gold. To stop him from becoming a threat to the world, Vishnu had to slay him.
* Mahabali - a devout king of the Asuras who became arrogant. Vishnu visited him in the form of a dwarf, Vamana, to remind him about the limits of his powers.
* Jalandhara - an arrogant and cruel daitya who once ruled over Heaven, the Earth, and the underworld.
	+ He was created when Shiva tried to burn Indra with his third eye, but the energy of his eye landed in the ocean. Raised by the sea god Varuna and educated by the sage Shukra, he was later coronated as the emperor of the asuras by Shukra, and ruled over them as a benevolent lord.
	+ After the sage Bhrigu told him about Hiranyakashipu, Virochana, and the churning of the oceans, Emperor Jalandhara angrily thought that Indra stole Varuna's treasures. When his messenger returned from Heaven that Indra refused his request, Jalandhara waged war against Indra, and revived his warriors using the Mritsanjivani Vidya. Shukra suggested Emperor Jalandhara to sink Mount Drongiri into the ocean, so the gods will not heal their own wounds, and he did so. The gods asked Vishnu to help them defeat Jalandhara, and even though Vishnu fought and nearly beheaded Jalandhara, Lakshmi told Him to stop. Impressed by Jalandhara's valour, He asked him what blessing he would like. Jalandhara asked for the ocean of milk, and he became the emperor of the three worlds.
	+ Angered by their defeat, the gods consulted with the sage Narada. Narada visited Jalandhara's court, where he described the beauty of Mount Kailash, Shiva's paradise, and His consort Parvati. The jealous demon emperor sent his servant, Rahu, to Mount Kailash, to demand Shiva to give Parvati to him: that, along with Rahu's insults, angered Shiva, who sent Kirttimukha to slay Rahu.
	+ Jalandhara marched with his armies to Mount Kailash, where they noticed that its ruler was not there. The forces of the demon emperor and the endless god waged war, but Jalandhara's armies almost prevailed over even Shiva's sons, Ganesha and Murugan. When Shiva and His forms appeared before him, Jalandhara created illusions of apsara-spirits to distract them, but Shiva himself was not affected: He noticed Jalandhara appear as himself to approach Parvati. Parvati immediately recognised him and appeared as Kali: being badly-weakened from Kali's attacks, Jalandhara fled.
	+ Vishnu sent visions towards Jalandhara's wife, Vrinda, about Jalandhara's death and restoration by Shiva. When she realised that it was Vishnu who appeared as her husband, Vrinda cursed Him that He will lose his wife by trickery and separation, and burned herself. Angered by the death of his wife, Jalandhara went with his army and two asura kings, Shumbha and Nishumbha, to fight Shiva and Parvati. No illusion would fool the forces of the gods, and Jalandhara's army and allies were all slain. Shiva then impaled Jalandhara with His trident and cut off his head with a chakra-arc from his toe. Vrinda's soul was merged with Vishnu, and Jalandhara's soul was merged with Shiva.
* Shumbha and Nishumbha - two arrogant asura brothers who also became emperors, alongside Jalandhara. They were possibly his allies or vassals.
	+ The two brothers earned their powers after meditating at Pushkara for ten thousand years.
	+ Shumbha had two servants, Chanda and Munda, who attempted to seize Parvati and bring Her to his court. When she refused, the brothers and the demon king Dhumralochana fought Parvati, who manifested as Mahakali and slew the demon king and their army. The black goddess then approached the two brothers in Her wrath. Nishumbha was killed while fighting Parvati's lion, and a demon emerged from his corpse, only to be beheaded by Parvati. The enraged Shumbha attempted to fight the goddess, but Parvati cut him into half with Her trident, ending his and his brother's reign of terror.

## Other beings

### Heavenly and earthly beings

* Apsara - heavenly maidens who dance for the gods.
* Vidyadharas - air spirits with magical powers who live at the mountains. They are also Shiva's attendants.
* Gandharvas - heavenly men who play music for the gods. They and the apsaras are in love. They also have animalistic appearances.
	+ They are under the rule of Dhritarashtra, the musical king of the east.
* Yakshas - the wights, or nature spirits. Female Yakshas are known as Yakshini.
	+ They are under the rule of Kubera (Vaishravana), the all-hearing king of the north who oversees war.
	+ As they were considered to be monsters and tree spirits, the Porasonids worship them as their brethren and ancestors.
	+ Porasonids also believe that if one of their people dies, his or her soul will turn into a yaksha who protects the living and lives in Shiva's paradise of Mount Kailâsa or Suk'hâvatî. So after the deceased's cremation, they plant a tree facing west as a shrine to the guardian yaksha. After a few years or when the tree dies, they burn it as an offering, or carve it into an idol in the family or town shrine.
	+ As the yakshas are also monsters, they are also among the divine warriors of Kali Ma, alongside the horrific dakinis and the esoteric Yogini goddesses.
	+ While other nations depict yakshas as giants and ogres, Porasonids depict them as handsome and beautiful giants who might even look like lesser gods.
* Kumbhandas - dwarf-like beings with great strength, speed, and powers of change.
	+ They are under the rule of Virudhaka, the protective king of the south.
* Vishnudutas - celestials who serve Vishnu and bring the righteous to His palace in Heaven.
* Yamadutas - beings who bring the dead to be judged at Yamaraja's court.
* Garuda - a great eagle or an eagle-man who serves as Vishnu's mount. The enemy and devourer of the Nagas.
	+ In Vozonid folklore, he ends up as the leader of the gryphons, due to his supposed similarity.
* Nagas - dragons who guard treasures.
	+ They are under the rule of Virupaksha, the all-seeing king of the west.

* Ganas - the spirits of the earth who serve as Shiva's soldiers. Ganesha, one of Shiva's sons, is their commander.
* Angiris - heavenly spirits who watch over people who burn offerings and protect sacred fires. They are the children of the fire god Agni.

### Animals

* Makara - a great crocodile who serves as the steed of the sea god Varuna.
* Hamsa, Hangsa - a heavenly bird that serves as Sarasvati's steed.
* Jatayu - a vulture who tried to stop Ravana from abducting Sita as his prisoner.
* Sampati - Jatayu's elder brother who also searched for Sita in Lanka. When he tried to fly higher towards the Sun, his wings burned.
* Kinnara - half-human, half-bird-horse musicians in heaven.
* Kalavinka - birds with women's heads who preach and sing the words of the Dharma.
* Jambavan - a black bear who rules over a kingdom of bears known as Rikshas. He was created by Brahma to assist Vamana, Rama, and other heroes.
	+ He is a popular character in Porashon: there, he is also the god of the borders, diplomacy and foreign relations, the forests (as a friend to Arayani and Kubera), and of children.
	+ The Porasonid Border Patrol's symbol, and that of Porashon's diplomatic missions, is a black bear raising a sword.
	+ If there is a child in a Porasonid family, he or she is represented by a black plush bear. Similar to the doro dolls of Heronoja, the toy bears can either be cuddled or placed near the family shrine to protect its respective child. Porasonids believe that Jambavan is the spiritual guardian of children, alongside Zomjonor and his gryphons.
	+ People who end up being lost pray to him.
	+ He was also the former keeper of the Syamantaka Gem, which protected the land from disasters, until he gave it away to Rama.
* Jambavati - Jambavan's daughter.
	+ In Porashon, she is depicted as the patron of nurses and those who adopt children.

### Monsters

* Rakshasas - the monsters and demons, created when Brahma was attacked. They tend to look like shaggy ogres.
	+ According to Porasonid folklore, asuras who turned themselves to evil become into rakshasas, losing their sanity in exchange for savage hunger and brute strength.
* Pishacha - hungry ghosts who feed on blood.
* Pretas - hungry ghosts. Wicked and greedy people end up as pretas after they die.
* Bhuta - powerful shape-shifting ghosts who cannot touch the sacred earth.
* Vetala - upside-down ghosts who predict the future and possess dead bodies.
* Vritra, Ahi - a dragon that devours rivers, causing drought. For his greed, he was killed by Indra.
* Nairrata - monsters that serve Kubera as his warriors.
* Dakini - female demons who kill and devour people. In spite of their destructive behaviour and their cruelty, they are also among the divine servants of Kali Ma, including the yakshas and the Yogini goddesses. The latter are also embodied aspects of Kali Ma.

### Specific characters

* Tadaka - an evil demon who attacks people in a forest. She and her sons, Maricha and Subahu, hunted and ate anyone who enters their forest for sport, and they were all killed by Rama.
* Sulochana - a naga who became Meghanada's wife. She is sometimes portrayed as a dragon with a courageous heart.
* Tumburu - the chief singer of the gandharas.
* Bakasura - a demon with an insatiable appetite, to the extent that he also killed and ate those who fed him. He was killed by Bhima.
* Alavaka - a yaksha who feasted on villagers given to him as tribute. When the Buddha was preaching to his tribe, he angrily tried to force the Buddha to leave. Alavaka later became a follower of the Buddha and stopped eating people.
* Kalipurusha, Kalpurush - not to ever be confused with his enemy, Mother Goddess Mahakali, Kalipurush (sometimes known as Kali with a short *a*) is the embodiment of the growing evil in later times. He will be destroyed by Kalki, the tenth great manifestation (avatara) of Vishnu to prevent him from destroying the world.
* Durukti and Alakshmi - two demons who represent slander and poverty. Whenever Alakshmi visits a house, fights break out and all friendship and love is lost to hate and ruin. Durukti and Kalpurush have two children, Bhayanak (fear) the son and Mrityu (death) the daughter. In turn, Bhayanak and Mrityu have their own children, Naraka (Hell) the son and Yatana (torture) the daughter.
* Yatana - the female demon of torture, the granddaughter of Kalpurush.
	+ In Porasonid folklore, anyone who murders a person as a sacrifice to any god will instead automatically offer the victim to Yatana no matter which god are they praying to.
	+ Yatana is seen as an arch-enemy, the goddess of hate and cruelty who influenced many tyrants and evil people all over history to destroy the universe. Her arch-enemies, in turn, are the Supreme Gods of the Porasonids' faith: Shiva, the Lord of Eternity, and Kali Ma, the Endless Mother and the Goddess of Justice.
	+ Whoever who opposes her by protecting and defending the innocent is not only her enemy, but also a child of Kali Ma, who assists Her in making the world a fairer place.
	+ So the Porasonid wars against the Kalokei were to punish them for desecrating temples with massacres and exterminations, holy wars waged in Kali Ma's name to avenge all of the Kalokei's victims. These also included people murdered in defiled temples of Kali by the hateful Kalokei monsters.

## Locations

* Vishnuloka - the world of Vishnu
* Vaikuntha - the city of Vishnu
* Mount Kailasa - the mountain of Shiva and His family
* Mount Meru - an enormous mountain to the north of the Himalaya Mountains and India (Jambudvipa or Bharatavarsha) where the Gods live, near Svarga.
	+ Some texts consider Mount Meru and Mount Kailasa to be the same peak.
* Svarga - Heaven
* Patala - seven underworlds located below the world, where danavas, yakshas, and naga serpents live. These realms are more beautiful than Svarga, boasting splendid groves, lakes, gems, and palaces. Below them are Naraka, the many Hells.
	+ Atala - ruled by Namuchi, Kaliya, and Bala, it is inhabited by many eldritch women formed by Bala's yawns. These women seduce any man who enters Atala, and any man who succumbs to their lust will be doomed to becoming their next victim.
	+ Vitala - ruled by Hara-Bhava (possibly an aspect of Shiva) and His consort Bhavani, they rule over the divine gold that flow from the river Hataki while their servants, the gana-spirits, ghosts, and goblins, mine the gold. The gold is produced by fires blown towards this river.
	+ Sutala - built by Vishvakarma, the asura king Bali rules over this land. Even as he is blessed with so much wealth, he is still a humble devotee to his palace's guardian, Vishnu, Who also appears at its gate.
	+ Talatala - the asura architect-king Mayasura rules over this realm. Once an arrogant master of three mighty cities, his fortresses were reduced to ash by Lord Shiva. Grieved by their great losses, Mayasura, his three princes, and the other asura people under their rule repented, and Shiva granted them this realm to rebuild themselves in humility.
	+ Mahatala - the domain of the many-hooded naga serpents, who live in fear of being killed and eaten by the garudas.
	+ Rasatala - the barbaric domain of the savage asura tribes, the Danavas and the Daityas.
	+ Patala or Nagaloka - the domain of more naga serpents, including Vasuki, the serpent around Lord Shiva's neck. Each of the nagas has a jewel on their necks that light up this otherwise-dark realm. Below it is Naraka, the hells that await the wicked and cruel.
* Naraka - Hell.
	+ Ruled by Yamaraja, the god who judges the dead, it consists of many horrific realms who torture sinners by whatever crimes they committed in life.
	+ After many years, if not ages, of torment and reappearance, the sinner will be sent out to be reborn, usually as a miserable person, a beast, an animal, or a ghost.
* Saptadvipa - the seven continents (or islands) of the Mahabharata. They are known after a tree or plant:
	+ Jambudvipa - black plum. It was also an ancient name for India, which was then the known world. It is to the south of Mount Meru, domain of the Gods alongside Svarga.
	+ Plakshadvipa - sacred fig
	+ Shalmalidvipa - red cotton
	+ Kushadvipa - grass
	+ Krauncha - mountain
	+ Shaka - pine tree
	+ Pushkara - maple
* Lanka - the floating island of Ravana

## Religious concepts

See also: Sanskrit glossary

* karma - action, deed, result of deed
* saṃsāra - wandering, existence, suffering
* vedaḥ - holy scriptures
* pūja - worship, praise
* yajña - worship, hymn
* bhajana - hymn
* ārti - lamps used when worshipping a god
* prasāda - food offering
* mantra - incantation, repeated prayer
* dhyāna - meditation
* namaskāra - a salutation, putting hands together to show respect
* mandira, devasthana, matha, vayuna, kirti, devakula, devagrha, prasada, kṣetra, vihara - temple
* abhiṣeka - to bathe an image of a god; consecration
* kumbhabhiṣekam - consecrating the site of a temple
* yatra - pilgrimage, journey, procession
* tīrtha - crossing, site of pilgrimage or procession
* murti - image of a god
* linga - pillar used to worship Shiva
* darśana - the view towards a god
* mokṣa - liberation from suffering

## Trivia

* In Porashon, the gods of Sandharma (such as Shiva and Kali) are known as "the Western Gods", because their homeland of Prisapura is located at the western hemisphere of Jerde. West is also a sacred direction in Porasonid culture, associated with the gods.
* Ever since the author converted to Hinduism, he decided to capitalise all pronouns referring to Shiva, Kali, Ganesh, Murugan, and Brahma and Vishnu, along with Their other aspects, just as he previously did with the God of monotheism.

## See also

* Norse mythology
* Slavic mythology
* Baltic mythology
* Gauvajut mythology/Hittite mythology
* Siangwaanian mythology
* Tuksharan mythology
* Porasonid mythology