Tapati

Tapati (Sanskrit: तपती, tapatī) is a goddess in Hinduism. She is known also as the goddess of the river Tapati and mother-goddess of the South (home of the sun) where she brings heat to the earth. According to certain Hindu texts, Tapati was the daughter of Surya (the Sun god) and Chhaya, one of the wives of Surya.[1]

Tapati
Goddess of Tapi River
A statue of Goddess Tapati.
AffiliationDevi, River Goddess
AbodeSuryaloka
MantraOm Suryaputri Ma Tapi Namah
SymbolWater
MountFish
Personal information
ParentsSurya and Chhaya
SiblingsShani, Savarni Manu, Shraddhadeva Manu, Yami, Yama, Ashvins and Revanta
ConsortKing Samvaran
ChildrenKuru
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Tapati's name literally means the "warming", "the hot one", "burning one".[2][3] It had been said that no one in three worlds could match her in beauty, having perfect features, and severe religious self-discipline.[4] This name is possibly connected to that of the queen of the Scythian gods, Tabiti,[5][6] and it is possible that there was originally a dominant fire goddess in ancient Proto-Indo-Iranian religion.[7]

Legends

According to the Hindu texts Tapati was famous for her devotion and neither goddess, nor demon, nor Apsara nor Gandharva was her equal in beauty, disposition or knowledge of the vedas.[8] Tapati is originally mentioned in the Mahabharata two dozen times, as a wife of Samvarana having a son named Kuru (the founder of the Kuru dynasty and the Kuru Kingdom). The story of both characters has also been found in other Hindu texts such as Srimad-Bhagavatam & Purāṇam. According to these texts Tapati's home was situated on the banks of river Tapati .[9][10]

In Mahabharata, Arjun asked Gandharva about the origin of the name Tapatya, so the Gandharva said that the sun had a beautiful daughter named Tapati, whom he was concerned to marry off. An early Kaurava king Samvarana worships the sun and was elected as her husband. One day out for hunting the king saw her and fell in love and proposed a marriage but she referred him to her father for his approval.

After that the king started to worship the sun and took the help of sage Vasistha and sent him before the sun, Vasistha then requested sun to approve the marriage of Samvarana and Tapati and the sun agreed to it.[11]

According to the Hindu texts, Tapati has the following relatives: Surya is her father and Chhaya is her mother, she was the younger sister of Yami and had two brothers Shani and Yama.[12][13]

Mode of Worship

Since the river Tapati was probably named after Tapati, people worship her both in the form of a goddess and in that of an important river having many admirable qualities, enumerated in Hindu texts.[14]

References
  1. Hewitt, J. F. History and Chronology of the Myth-Making Age. Рипол Классик. ISBN 9781143716454.
  2. Gandhi, Maneka (2004). The Penguin Book of Hindu Names for Girls. Penguin Books India. ISBN 9780143031697.
  3. Coulter, Charles Russell; Turner, Patricia (2013-07-04). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Routledge. ISBN 9781135963903.
  4. "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Chaitraratha Parva: Section CLXXIII". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  5. Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 378–379
  6. MacLeod, Sharon (Dec 7, 2013). The Divine Feminine in Ancient Europe: Goddesses, Sacred Women and the Origins of Western Culture. McFarland. p. 116-128.- Retrieved 2018-12-17
  7. J.Harmatta: "Scythians" in UNESCO Collection of History of Humanity – Volume III: From the Seventh Century BC to the Seventh Century AD. Routledge/UNESCO. 1996. pg 182
  8. Historical and Descriptive Account of British India: From the Most Remote Period to the Conclusion of the Afghan War. Oliver & Boyd. 1844.
  9. "Tapati - AncientVoice". ancientvoice.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  10. "Kuru - AncientVoice". ancientvoice.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  11. Buitenen, J. A. B. van; Buitenen, Johannes Adrianus Bernardus (1973). The Mahabharata, Volume 1: Book 1: The Book of the Beginning. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226846637.
  12. "Tapati - AncientVoice". ancientvoice.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  13. Dalal, Roshen (2014-04-18). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184752779.
  14. Singh, Mahesh Prasad; Singh, J. K.; Mohanka, Reena (2007). Forest Environment and Biodiversity. Daya Publishing House. ISBN 9788170354215.
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