ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GODS & DEITIES - INDIAN & HINDU MYTHOLOGY

Step into a world where fire carries offerings to heaven, gods descend as avatars to restore cosmic order, warrior goddesses destroy demons, sacred rivers become divine mothers, ascetics command supernatural power, village guardians patrol the boundaries of human settlement, and celestial forces govern love, wealth, healing, justice, birth, death, and rebirth. Encyclopedia of Gods & Deities - Indian & Hindu Mythology invites you into one of the world's oldest and most extraordinary sacred traditions-a vast religious universe shaped by the Vedas and Puranas, epic storytelling, temple worship, Tantra, Bhakti devotion, pilgrimage, regional folklore, and centuries of living ritual.

From Aditi, Agni, Indra, Surya, and the ancient powers of the Vedic world to Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Krishna, Rama, Ganesha, Hanuman, Lakshmi, Durga, Kali, the ten Mahavidyas, and regional deities such as Aiyanar, Khandoba, Muthappan, Yellamma, and Bonbibi, this richly illustrated volume explores how divine beings came to embody creation, destruction, protection, fertility, prosperity, desire, sacrifice, wisdom, justice, devotion, healing, death, and liberation.