Identifier: indianmythlegend00inmack Title: Indian myth and legend Year: 1913 (1910s) Authors: Mackenzie, Donald Alexander, 1873-1936 Subjects: Hindu mythology Publisher: London, Gresham Contributing Library: Indiana University Digitizing Sponsor: Indiana University

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Text Appearing Before Image: the dawn,and Ratri, the night, were mainly poetic conceptions.Even Prithivi, the Earth Mother, who was symbolizedas a cow, played no prominent part in Vedic religion: amagical influence was exercised by water goddesses. Themale origin of life appears to have been an accepted tenetof Vedic belief. Aditi, mother of the Adityas, is believedto be of more recent origin than her sons. Indra seemsto have similarly had existence before his mother, like theother hammer gods, and especially Pan Ku and Ptah. Female water spirits are invariably regarded as giversof boons, inspiration and wisdom; holy wells have fromremote times been regarded as sources of luck; by per-forming ceremonial acts those who visit them obtain whatthey wish for in silence; their waters have, withal, curativeproperties, or they may be used for purposes of divi-nation. The name of the goddess Saraswati signifieswaters; she was originally the spirit of the Saraswatiriver, and was probably identical with Bharati, the goddess

Text Appearing After Image: SHIVA DANCING ON TRIPURA From a bronae in the Madras Museum DIVINITIES OF THE EPIC PERIOD 149 of the Vedic Bharata tribe. In Puranic times she becamethe wife of Brahma and the Minerva of the HinduPantheon. She is identical with Vach, Mother of theVedas , the goddess of poetry and eloquence, and Viraj,the female form of Purusha, who divided himself to giveorigin to the gods and demons and all living creatures.When Brahma took for a second wife Gayatri, the milk-maid, she cursed him so that he could only be worshippedonce a year. Saranyu, who may have developed from Ushas, theDawn, is the bride of Surya, the sun god, and mother ofthe twin Aswins; she fashioned the trident of Shiva andthe discus of Vishnu, and other weapons besides. Lakshmi, or Sri, who had her origin at the Churningof the Ocean, became the wife of Vishnu, and the goddessof beauty, love, and prosperity. She has had severalhuman incarnations, and in each case was loved by theincarnation of Vishnu. She is Sita in the Ramdy

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