elephant’s skin, rattle, noose, etc. He has three eyes, one being on his
forehead, in reference either to the three Vedas, or time past, present and
future and in the end of time, he will dance the universe to destruction.
It is said that without his consort Mother Goddess, no Hindu god is much
use or value to anyone. He may strut about, but his powers are limited. To be
complete he requires a Devi, “Goddess,” who takes many different names and forms,
but always embodies Shakti. In some myths Devi is the prime mover, who commands
the male gods to do work of creation and destruction. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva,
all three have their own consorts.
Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom and science and, the mother of Vedas,
is Brahma’s wife. She is represented as a fair young woman, with four arms;
with one of her right hands, she is presenting a flower to her husband, by whose
side she continually stands ; and in the other she holds a book of palm-leaves,
indicating that she is fond of learning. In one of her left hands, she has a
string of pearls, called Sivamala (Shiva’s garland) and in the other a small
drum. Lakshmi, or very commonly known as Sri, is the wife of Vishnu.
“Sri, the bride of Vishnu, the mother of the world, is eternal,
imperishable ; as he is all-pervading, so she is omnipotent . Vishnu is meaning,
she is speech ; Hari is polite, she is prudence ; Vishnu is understanding, she
is intellect ; he is righteousness, she is devotion ; Sri is the earth, Hari is
the support. In a word, of gods, animals, and men, Hari is all that is called
male ; Lakshmi is all that is termed female ; there is nothing else than they.”
Lakshmi is regarded as the goddess of Love, Beauty, and Prosperity and is also
known as Haripriya, “The beloved of Hari”, and Lokamata, “The mother of the
world”.
Uma or Kali, is the consort of the Hindu god Shiva in her manifestation
of the power of time. As Shiva’s female consort and a destructive mother goddess,
she inherits some of Shiva’s most fearful aspects. She is frequently portrayed
as a black, laughing, naked hag with blood stained teeth, a protruding tongue,
and a garland of human skulls. She usually has four arms: One hand holds a sword,
the second holds a severed human head, the third is believed by her devotes to
be removing fear, and the third is often interpreted as granting bliss. Kali is
beyond fear and finite existence and is therefore believed to be able to protect
her devotees against fear and to give them limitless peace.
The canon of Hinduism is basically defined by what people do rather than
what they think. Consequently, far more uniformity of behaviour than of belief
is found among Hindus, although very few practices or beliefs are shared by all.
A few usuages are observed by almost all Hindus: reverence for Brahmans and
cows; abstention from meat (especially beef); and marriage within caste (jati),
in the hope of producing male heirs. Most Hindus worship Shiva, Vishnu, or the
Goddess (Devi), but they also worship hundreds of additional minor deities
peculiar to a particular village or even to a particular family. Although Hindus
believe and do many apparently contradictory things, each individual perceives
an orderly pattern that gives form and meaning to his or her own life. No
doctrinal or clerical hierarchy exists in Hinduism, but the intricate hierarchy
of the social system (which is inseparable from the religion) gives each person
a sense of place within the whole.