Deities and sacred beings
Deities, sages, kings, places and principles compiled from the Puranas. Search, filter and open each profile.
320 beings · page 11 of 16
Shringi
शृङ्गीShringi was the highly effulgent boy son of the sage Shamika. At SB 1.18.32-37, playing with his companions, he heard that the king had offe…
Tulasi
तुलसीTulasi is the most sacred plant of the Vaishnava tradition, indispensable in the worship of Vishnu and Krishna; His forest-garland and the w…
Khatvanga
खट्वाङ्गKhatvanga is a royal sage of the Ikshvaku line who aided the gods in their war with the asuras; when they offered him a boon he asked instea…
Virat-Purusha
विराट्पुरुषThe Virat-Purusha, or Vairaja Purusha, is the Lord's gross universal form in which the entire cosmos is His body — the Puranic expansion of …
Pranava
प्रणवThe Pranava, Om, is the threefold supreme syllable (a-u-m) which the Veda holds to be the sound-form of Brahman; in the Upanishads it is at …
Dharana
धारणाDhāraṇā is the sixth limb of the eightfold yoga — the binding of the mind to a single place — coming after withdrawal of the senses and befo…
Manu
मनुManu is the progenitor of humankind and the promulgator of dharma-shastra; each manvantara is presided over by a Manu, and the present age i…
Gandharvas
गन्धर्वThe Gandharvas are the celestial musicians of Svarga, presiding over music and singing in the assembly of the gods, and are the companions o…
Apsarases
अप्सराThe Apsarases are the celestial dancers of heaven, said to have arisen at the churning of the ocean, who grace the court of Indra; Urvashi, …
Vaitarani
वैतरणीThe Vaitaraṇī is, in the Puranas, the dreadful river on the road to Yama's realm which the sinful must cross; it is described as filled with…
Shishumara-chakra
शिशुमार-चक्रThe Śiśumāra-cakra is the arrangement of planets and constellations which the Puranas see in the sky in the shape of a śiśumāra, a dolphin o…
Pitris
पितरThe Pitṛs are the order of ancestors who dwell in Pitṛloka after death and who are satisfied by śrāddha, tarpaṇa and the offering of piṇḍa; …
Maruts
मरुद्गणThe Maruts are the gods of wind and storm, sons of Rudra and companions of Indra, who in the Rigveda come thundering together bright with we…
Ahankara
अहङ्कारAhaṅkāra is that principle of the Sāṅkhya system which arises from the mahat and from which the whole of further creation proceeds; its natu…
Akasha
आकाशĀkāśa is the first and subtlest of the five gross elements, whose quality is sound. In both Sāṅkhya and Vedānta it is the element that gives…
Vayu
वायुVāyu is the second of the gross elements, whose quality is touch, and which, arising from ether, carries the quality of sound as well. As a …
Tejas
तेजTejas is the third of the five gross elements, whose quality is form, and which by inheritance carries touch and sound as well. It is the pr…
Jala
जलJala or āpaḥ is the fourth of the five gross elements, whose quality is taste, and which by inheritance carries form, touch and sound as wel…
Prithvi
पृथ्वीPṛthvī is the last and grossest of the five elements, whose quality is smell, and which by inheritance possesses taste, touch, sound and for…
Kardama
कर्दमKardama is a Prajāpati and mind-born son of Brahmā, son-in-law of Svāyambhuva Manu, who performed long austerity on the bank of Lake Bindu a…