Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

268 Rudracandragod, Rudra lives in the mountains and is deemed tobe either tall or dwarf, depending on the severity ofthe storm. He brings death and disease to man anddomestic animals through his “thousand shafts,”and is considered to be highly unpredictable.RudracandraDistinct form of the goddess DURGA. Hindu. Oneof a group of nine NAVADURGAS, known as the“nine durgas.”RudracarcikaMother goddess. Hindu (Puranic). One of theASTAMATARAS, alternatively a variety of the goddessDURGA.RudraniGoddess. Hindu. An epithet of DURGA, impersonatedby a young pre-menstrual girl in theDurga festivals.RugievitLocal tutelary and war god. Slav. Identified bythe historian Saxo Grammaticus as inhabiting theisland of Rügen, depicted with seven heads andcarrying a sword.RuhangaCreator god. Bunyoro [Uganda, East Africa]. Theinitiator of the world, he is regarded as a distantfigure and seldom invoked.Rukmini (with gold ornaments)Goddess. Hindu (Epic and Puranic). The daughterof Bhismaka, she is the first consort of KRSNAand typically stands to his right. Her son is KAMA.She is also an avatara of LAKSMI. Attribute: alotus. Also Rukmabayi.RuminaMinor goddess. Roman. Associated with breastfeeding.RundasGod of fortune. Hittite and Hurrian. Also associatedwith hunting, he is symbolized by a doubleeagle carrying prey in its talons.RupiniMinor goddess. Buddhist (Mahayana). An attendantof BUDDHAKAPALA.RyangombeTutelary god. Rwanda [East Africa]. An ancestraldeity and king of the spirit world who has an oracularcapacity.RyujinDragon god. Shinto [Japan]. A deity controllingthunder and rain and probably the mostsignificant of the group of weather godsknown as the RAIJIN. He is of Chinese originand more Buddhist than Shinto. He does notappear in the sacred Shinto texts Kojiki orNihongi, but enjoys shrines in many Shintosanctuaries and is worshiped by farmers, particularlyin times of drought. He lives in thesea, lakes and large ponds from which heascends in mists and winds. He generates darkrain clouds which then burst. His main festivaltakes place in June.