Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

Sitatara 287and passing comments in texts. Syncretized withNINSUN.SisyphosSun god. Corinthian. Specifically the god of thefaded sun, probably equating to the Hittiteweather god TEŠUB.SITA (furrow)ORIGIN Hindu (Epic and Puranic) [India].Chthonic or earth goddess.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 300 BC andearlier through to present day times.SYNONYMS an avatara of LAKSMI.CENTER(S) OF CULT none specific.ART REFERENCES sculptures generally in bronze,but also in stone.LITERARY SOURCES Ramayana of Valmiki and laterPuranic literature.In Vedic mythology Sita is strictly an earth deity,born from a furrow and associated with ploughingand ploughed fields. She appears as the consortof the rain gods INDRA and PARJANYA. Sheusually stands to the right of RAMA. In latertimes, effectively from AD 200 onward, Sita (seealso RADHA) is the consort of Rama, one of themajor reincarnations of the god VIŠNU, thoughshe is generally eclipsed by the goddess Laksmiwith whom she is seen as a separate aspect.Legend gives Sita an unhappy life, though sheepitomizes the perfect Hindu wife. Early in hermarriage to Rama she is abducted by the foreigngod Ravana, who carries her off to Lanka [SriLanka], where he imprisons her in a garden.Maintaining total fidelity to her husband, shereturns to him inviolate, but he is skeptical ofher purity and rejects her. Eventually, when shehas threatened to immolate herself through theinner fire of her purity, Rama grudgingly has herback, though only briefly. His doubts return and,pregnant, she is banished to exile where she givesbirth to twin sons. Rama’s rejection finally takesits toll. Sita begs her mother, the earth, for salvation,whereupon a golden throne rises fromthe ground. She takes her place on it anddescends forever while Rama is left eternally tomourn his loss. Attributes: blue lotus and a singlebraid of hair.Sitala(mata) (possibly meaning ‘mother cold’)Mother goddess. Hindu (Epic and Puranic). Oneof seven SAKTIS who in later Hinduism becameregarded as of evil intent, inflicting sickness. Particularlyknown from Bengal where she may beidentified with the goddess KALI. Usually standingnaked upon a lotus or riding an ass. Alternativelysymbolized by a stone on which a face ispainted. Attribute: waterjar.Sitapatra (with a white umbrella)Goddess. Buddhist (Mahayana). An emanation ofVAIROCANA and a female BODHISATTVA or buddhadesignate.Color: white. Attributes: arrow, bow,hook, noose, parasol, prayer wheel and whitestaff. Sometimes three-eyed and three-headed.Sitatara (the ‘white Tara’)Goddess. Buddhist-Lamaist [Tibet]. Of mild disposition,she is regarded as one of the forms of thegoddess TARA and an emanation of AMOGHASID-DHI or VAIROCANA. In later times she became identifiedas a female variety of AVALOKITESVARAPADMAPANI. By tradition she is the incarnation ofa Chinese princess. Color: white. Attributes: arrow,blue or white lotus, bow, image of Amoghasiddhi,jewel, moon disc and rosary. Three- or seven-eyed.