PRAHLADA – A demon; a devotee of Vishnu
PITRIS – The ancestors
The pitris were first a class of demigods (not quite full devas, gods), as well as the “fathers” or “ancestor spirits.” As a class of demigods they were connected with the ritualistic offerings to the spirits of the dead. One of the earliest concepts of an afterlife spoke of the…
PASUPATI, – An epithet
Pasupati was an epithet for a divinity that meant “lord of the creatures (pasu)” and “lord of cattle (pasu).” In the early Vedic hymns this appellation pointed to Agni, the god of fire, whose divine heat (tapas) was creative and destructive (rudra). Another figure, Purusha (the first man), was also…
PARVATI – A dev? (goddess), daughter of Himalaya, wife of Siva
Parvati, goddess of the mountain, Himalaya, primary wife of Siva, mother of at least two of Siva’s sons, is by far the most complicated of Hindu goddesses. She is given differing and often contradictory natures by the three main perspectives of later mythology—Saktas (those who worship the divine mother), Saivas…