Vahanas(Vehicles)

  Vahanas

Vahana (Sanskrit: वाहन, Vāhana, literally "that which carries, that which pulls") denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular Hindu deity is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vahana is often called the deity's "mount". Upon the partnership between the deity and his vahana is woven much iconography and mythology. Deities are often depicted riding (or simply mounted upon) the vahana. Other times, the vahana is depicted at the deity's side or symbolically represented as a divine attribute. The vahana may be considered an accountrement of the deity: though the vahana may act independently, they are still functionally emblematic or even syntagmatic of their "rider". The deity may be seen sitting or standing on the vahana. They may be sitting on a small platform called a howdah, or riding on a saddle or bareback. Vah in sanskrit means to carry or to transport.

Symbolism

In Hindu iconography, positive aspects of the vehicle are often emblematic of the deity that it carries. Nandi the bull, vehicle of Shiva, represents strength and virility. Dinka the mouse, vehicle of Ganesha, represents speed and sharpness. Parvani the peacock, vehicle of Skanda, represents splendor and majesty. The Hamsa, vehicle of Saraswati, represents wisdom, grace and beauty.

However, the vehicle animal also symbolizes the evil forces over which the deity dominates. Mounted on Parvani, Skanda reins in the peacock's vanity. Seated on Dinka the rat (Mushika), Ganesh crushes useless thoughts, which multiply like rats in the dark. Shani, protector of property, has a vulture, raven or crow in which he represses thieving tendencies. Under Shani's influence, the vahana can make even malevolent events bring hope

Origin folklore

The vehicle of a deity can vary according to the source, the time, and the place. In popular tradition, the origin of each vehicle is told in thousands of different ways. Three examples:

·         While the god Ganesha was still a child, a giant mouse began to terrorize all his friends. Ganesha trapped him with his lasso and made him his mount. Mushika was originally a gandharva, or celestial musician. After absent mindedly walking over the feet of a rishi (sage) named Vamadeva, Mushika was cursed and transformed into a mouse. However, after the rishi recovered his temper, he promised Mushika that one day, the gods themselves would bow down before him. The prophecy was fulfilled when the mouse became the vahana of Ganesha.

·         Before becoming the vehicle of Shiva, Nandi was a deity called Nandikeshvara, lord of joy and master of music and dance. Then, without warning, his name and his functions were transferred to the aspect of Shiva known as the deity Natraja. From half-man, half-bull, he became simply a bull. Since that time, he has watched over each of Shiva's temples, always looking towards him.

·         Kartikeya, the war-god known as Murugan in Southern India, is also mounted on a peacock. This peacock was originally a demon called Surapadma, while the rooster was called the angel[Krichi]. After provoking Murugan in combat, the demon repented at the moment his lance descended upon him. He took the form of a tree and began to pray. The tree was cut in two. From one half, Murugan pulled a rooster, which he made his emblem, and from the other, a peacock, which he made his mount. In another version, Karthikeya was born to kill the demon, Tarakasura. He was raised by the Krittikas and led the divine armies when he was 6 days old. It is said that after defeating Tarakasura, the god forgave him and transformed him into his ride, the peacock..

Origin theories

The vahana and deity to which they support are in a reciprocal relationship. Vahana serve and are served in turn by those who engage them. Many vahana may also have divine powers or a divine history of their own. Case in point, the aforementioned Nataraja story, represents a conflation of Hindu gods with local gods, syncretizing their mythos as their territories began to overlap. According to one source, "they could be a synthesis between Vedic deities and Autocthonous Dravidian totemic deities.

Compared to other belief systems

The animal correspondences of Hindu vehicles are not consistent with Greek and Roman Mythology, or other belief systems which may tie a particular animal to a particular deity. For example, the goddess Lakshmi of the Hindus has elephants, or an owl, or (a rare instance of a non-animal vehicle) the lotus blossom as her vehicle. The goddess Athena of ancient Greece also had an owl as her emblematic familiar, but the meanings invested in the owls by the two different belief systems are not the same, nor are the two goddesses themselves similar, despite their mutual identification with owls.

Lakshmi is, among other things, primarily the goddess of wealth, and her owl is a warning against distrust and isolationism, even selfishness. Athena, though also a goddess of prosperity, is primarily the goddess of wisdom, and her owl symbolizes secret knowledge and scholarship. Perhaps due to their shared geography, the Greco-Roman interpretation is paralleled in Roman Catholic iconography, in which St. Jerome, most famed for editing the new testament, is often (though not always) depicted with an owl as a symbol of wisdom and scholarship. Depending on the tribe, Native religious iconography attributes a wide range of attributes to the owl, both positive and negative, as do the Ainu and Russian cultures, but none parallel the Hindu attributes assigned to the owl as Lakshmi's divine vehicle.Some hold that similar analyses could be performed cross-culturally for any of the other Hindu divine vehicles, and in each case, any parallels with the values assigned to animal totems in other cultures are likely to be either coincidence, or inevitable (as in linking bulls to virility), rather than evidence of parallel development. In dialectic, this is countered by the retort that each totem or vahana, as an aspect of ishta devata (or an ishta-devata or asura in its own right), has innumerable ineffable teachings, insights and spiritual wisdom; comparative analysis yields benefit, though knowledge and understanding is not served by collapsing their qualities into homogenous signification.

Now I am going to tell you some vahanas related to the god...

Vahana Name:-             Mouse named Mooshakraja

Deities Associated:-    Ganesha

Mushakraja

Vahana Name:-            Horse

Deities Associated:-   Kalki Dev, Shukra Dev,Vali, Khandoba, Ayyappan, Revanta,

                Swaminarayan(female horse named “Manki”),

                                 Chandra(Chariot of 10 white horses),

   Indra(Chariot pulled by a horse named Uchchaihshravas)

 Surya(chariot pulled by seven horses or a seven headed horse)

Vahana Name:-           Garuda

Deities Associated:-    Vishnu Dev, Sri Krishna, Devi Vaishnavi

Vahana Name:-              Ram

Deities Associated:-     Agni or Mangala

 Vahana Name:-              Nandi

Deities Associated:-      Shiva, Maheshwari

Vahana Name:-              Peacock

Deities Associated:-     Kartikeya(peacock named Parvani), Kaumari

Vahana Name:-              Dog

Deities Associated:-     Bhairava, Hadkai  Maa, Svapathi(shiva)

Vahana Name:-                Hansa(Swan)

Deities Associated:-       Brahmani, Saraswati, Hingraj Mata, Vishvakarman

                 Brahma(having swan named Hanskumara)

Vahana Name:-              Makara

Deities Associated:-     Ganga, Varuna, Kama, Khodiyar, Narmada

Vahana Name:-             Tiger(named  Manasthala)

Deities Associated:-     Durga

Vahana Name:-               Lion

Deities Associated:-      Mariamman, Jagaddhatri.


                       Parvati(having lion named Dawon)

                                        Rahu(north node in Vedic astrology)

Budh(planet Mercury in Vedic astrology)

Vahana Name:- Elephant

Deities Associated:- , Indrani, Brihaspati(planet Jupiter in Vedic astrology)


                      Indra(having elephant named Airavata)

Vahana Name:-             Parrot

Deities Associated:-    Kama(named Sukha)

Vahana Name:-             Antelope

Deities Associated:-    Chandra, Vayu

Vayu on an Antelope

Vahana Name:-             Water Buffalo

Deities Associated:-     Yama(having buffalo named Paundraka), Varahi, Vihot Mata

Yamaraja on Buffalo

Vahana Name:-              Cat

Deities Associated:-     Shashthi

Vahana Name:-              Donkey

Deities Associated:-     Kaalratri, Shitala, Kali(demon)

Kaalratri on Donkey

Vahana Name:-            Owl

Deities Associated:-    Chamunda



                                 Lakshmi(having owl named Alooka)

Vahana Name:-              Vulture

Deities Associated:-      Ketu(South node in Vedic Astrology)

Ketu on Vulture

Vahana Name:-              Crow

Deities Associated:-      Alakshmi, Dhumavati

                        Shani(planet Saturn in Vedic Astrology)

Vahana Name:-                Tortoise

Deities Associated:-        Yamuna,Varuna

Vahana Name:-               Cockerel

Deities Associated:-      Bahuchara Mata

Vahana Name:-             Cow

Deities Associated:-    Ushas(Chariot of seven Cows)

Vahana Name:-              Snake

Deities Associated:-      Kamakhya,Manasa

Maa Mansa

Vahana Name:-              Pigeon

Deities Associated:-      Rati

Vahana Name:-            Rhinoceros

Deities Associated:-   Dhavdi

Vahana Name:-              Goats

Deities Associated:-      Pushan, Meladi Mata

Meladi Mata

Vahana Name:-             Crocodile

Deities Associated:-     Khodiyar, Ganga

Maa Khodiyar

Vahana Name:-             Camel

Deities Associated:-    Momai Mata, Ushtravahini Devi

Momai Mata having a Camel

Vahana name:-               Man

Deities Associated:-      Daksha