The Peacock in Hinduism

Blackmarket192010

Here are some stories of the role

of the peacock in Hindu myth.

Each of the gods and goddesses in the

Hindu pantheon have animals associated

with them. One association is the use of

an animal as a vehicle.

Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and wealth,

rides an owl or a peacock. Goddess Saraswati

also rides a swan or a peacock. She is the goddess

of the performing arts such as prose, poetry and music.

Indra, the god of war, was fighting with a demon-king.

A peacock took pity on him and hid him behind

his fan of tail feathers. A dull brown like the pea-hen.

Indra, to thank, the peacock gave him the brilliant
green and blue plummage we see today.

Krishna, is recognized as an avatar of Vishnu.

Portrayed as a child playing he was moved from

a threat at a palace with his parents to be raised

by cow-herders hence he herded cows himself

until returning to his birthplace. As a child

he saw a peacock feather which everyone else

disparaged and picked it up. He is now depicted

with a peacock feather on his head, as a result.

He is known as a warrior and teacher.

Lord Murugan, is the child of Shiva. He is

associated as the god of war and rides a peacock.

He is recognized as being good-looking

and a skilled lover hence he is also associated

with fertility worship.

Finally, there is a fable of a peacock

and a tortoise. The peacock and tortoise

were friends and lived by a river.

A bird-catcher came and caught the

peacock to take him to market.

The peacock asked to say good-bye

to his friend the tortoise. The tortoise

was very upset and asked the bird-catcher

to let the peacock go. The bird-catcher

refused saying this was his livelihood.

The tortoise offered the bird-catcher

a gift in exchange for the peacock.

The bird-catcher agreed. The tortoise

dove and came up from the river with a pearl

to give the bird-catcher. The bird-catcher

released the peacock and accepted the pearl

in his stead. The tortoise then told the

peacock to hide high in the mountains.

On a later day the bird-catcher

returned demanding more payment.

The tortoise was angry. He told the

bird-catcher give me the pearl and I

will dive and find it a match. The bird-catcher

agreed. The tortoise took the pearl and dove

and hid and failed to give anything back

to the bird-catcher. The bird-catcher

always regretted his greed.

Have a spiritual-kind-0f-day today.

Helen.

Ganesha 2010

Blackmarket042010

The image of the elephant god painted

on the exterior facade of the store

"The Black Market" is a depiction

of the Hindu god Ganesha.

One of the most popular of

the Hindu deities he is worshipped

across sects in India.

He is considered the god of success

or "remover of obstacles". He is also

associated with wisdom, knowledge

and learning.

He has an elephantine head,

four arms, and a pot belly.

He rides the humble mouse.

The son of Shiva and Parvati

he came into being as follows:

One day Parvati was taking a bath.

She created a son to guard her
in the house. When her husband

Shiva returned he was stopped

by the son. Enraged Shiva shore

off his head. Parvati was grief-stricken

and to appease her Shiva asked his army

to find a creature facing north. The

army brought back the head of an elephant.

Shiva attached the elephantine head

to his son's body and created Ganesha

who returned to life. Shiva made him

the leader of his troops and a deity to be

worshipped in his own right.

Ganesha is worshipped in a ten day

festival titled Ganesh Charturthi

and his image can be found in many

Hindu households.

Helen.