Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

6 RRADHA (prosperity)ORIGIN Hindu (Epic and Puranic) [India]. Goddessof emotional love.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 1000 BC andearlier until present day.SYNONYMS BHUMIDEVI [southern India].CENTER(S) OF CULT none.ART REFERENCES virtually none.LITERARY SOURCES later Puranic literature—theworks of Vidyapati (1352-1448), including theBrahma-vaivarta-purana.Radha is a goddess whose role is limited to that ofa favored mistress of KRSNA. She only emergesfully as a goddess from the twelfth century ADonward and she is one of the central figures in thepoetry of Vidyapati, who places her as a cosmicqueen. One of the creation accounts describeshow Krsna divides himself into two parts, one ofwhich is Radha. They make love for an age andtheir sweat and heavy breathing become theworld’s oceans and winds. Radha gives birth to thegolden egg of the universe, which floats on theprimal waters for a year until the god VIŠNUemerges.Other mythology accounts that Radha enjoysan illicit relationship with an adolescentKrsna. Their tryst is set in the village of Vrajaand in the surrounding forests at a time beforeKrsna takes as his consort RUKMINI and laterSATYABHAMA.Radha is sometimes considered to be anavatara of LAKSMI and thus a consort of Krsna,and in southern India, as Bhumidevi, shebecomes associated with SARASVATI. She alwaysstands as the personification of emotional love instark contrast to SATI, the faithful and legitimateconsort of Višnu’s other avatara, RAMA. In thebhakti cult she symbolizes the yearning of thehuman soul to be drawn to Krsna. Attribute: alotus.Rahu (seizer)Primordial cosmic deity. Hindu. The son ofKASYAPA or RUDRA, according to legend he seizesthe sun and moon to generate eclipses.Rahu is depicted with four hands and a tail,or as a head alone, his body having beendestroyed by VIŠNU. He stands upon a lion or ina chariot drawn by eight black horses. Color:dark blue. Attributes: half moon, knife, swordand trident.RaijinWeather god(s). Shinto [Japan]. A generictitle for a large group of deities controlling thun-261