Taraka is a male
daityaIn Hinduism, the Daityas were the children of Diti and the sage Kashyapa. They were a race of giants who fought against the gods because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers. Some known Daityas include Bali, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha...
, Son of Vajranaka, whose powers were so great that the gods grew alarmed, and
SkandaSkanda is the name of deities popular amongst Hindus and Buddhists.* Skanda, a Hindu deity also known as Kartikeya and Murugan* Skanda , a popular Deva and/or Bodhisattva popular in Chinese Buddhism...
, the god of war, was born in order to defeat him.
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is also a female Daitya, daughter of the
YakshaYaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology...
SuketuSuketu was a Yaksha King in the epic Ramayana, and the father of the demoness, Thataka. After being childless for many years, Suketu meditated upon the Creator Brahma and was granted the gift of a beautiful daughter...
or of the demon
SundaSunda may refer to:In Indonesia:-* Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the western part of the Malay archipelago** Greater Sunda Islands** Lesser Sunda Islands* Sunda Strait, the strait between Java and Sumatra...
, and mother of
MarichaIn the Hindu epic the Ramayana, Maricha was a rakshasa who played a small but very important part. He was thrown into a remote island by the arrow of Lord Rama when he tried to interrupt Sage Vishwamitra's yagna. After that he became very afraid of the very mention of the name Rama...
. She was changed into a Rakshasi by
AgastyaAgathiyar was a Vedic Siddhar or sage. Agathiyar and his clan are also credited to have "authored" many mantras of the Rig Veda, the earliest and most revered Hindu scripture, in the sense of first having the mantras revealed in his mind by the Supreme Brahman. Agathiyar is also the author of...
, and lived in a forest called by her name on the Ganges, opposite the confluence of the Sarju, and she ravaged all the country round.
Taraka is a male
daityaIn Hinduism, the Daityas were the children of Diti and the sage Kashyapa. They were a race of giants who fought against the gods because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers. Some known Daityas include Bali, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha...
, Son of Vajranaka, whose powers were so great that the gods grew alarmed, and
SkandaSkanda is the name of deities popular amongst Hindus and Buddhists.* Skanda, a Hindu deity also known as Kartikeya and Murugan* Skanda , a popular Deva and/or Bodhisattva popular in Chinese Buddhism...
, the god of war, was born in order to defeat him.
----
is also a female Daitya, daughter of the
YakshaYaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology...
SuketuSuketu was a Yaksha King in the epic Ramayana, and the father of the demoness, Thataka. After being childless for many years, Suketu meditated upon the Creator Brahma and was granted the gift of a beautiful daughter...
or of the demon
SundaSunda may refer to:In Indonesia:-* Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the western part of the Malay archipelago** Greater Sunda Islands** Lesser Sunda Islands* Sunda Strait, the strait between Java and Sumatra...
, and mother of
MarichaIn the Hindu epic the Ramayana, Maricha was a rakshasa who played a small but very important part. He was thrown into a remote island by the arrow of Lord Rama when he tried to interrupt Sage Vishwamitra's yagna. After that he became very afraid of the very mention of the name Rama...
. She was changed into a Rakshasi by
AgastyaAgathiyar was a Vedic Siddhar or sage. Agathiyar and his clan are also credited to have "authored" many mantras of the Rig Veda, the earliest and most revered Hindu scripture, in the sense of first having the mantras revealed in his mind by the Supreme Brahman. Agathiyar is also the author of...
, and lived in a forest called by her name on the Ganges, opposite the confluence of the Sarju, and she ravaged all the country round. Vishvamitra desired Ramachandra to kill her, but he was reluctant to kill a woman. He resolved to deprive her of the power of doing harm, and cut off her two arms.
LakshmanaLakshmana ; Javanese language: Lesmono) was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana. Within a number of Hindu traditions Lakshmana is considered to be an avatara, in a secondary form to Rama's main appearance...
cut off her nose and ears. She, by the power of sorcery, assailed Rama and Lakshmana with a fearful shower of stones, and at the earnest command of Vishvamitra, the former killed her with an arrow. -
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon . The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being Mahabharata...
.
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(or
) was the second wife of Hindu God
BrihaspatiBrihaspati also known as Brahmanaspati and Deva-guru , is the name of a Vedic deity...
, God of planet Jupiter. According to the Puranas,
ChandraIn Hinduism, Chandra is a lunar deity and a Graha. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma . The Soma name refers particularly to the juice of sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation. He is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed and...
, the moon-God, carried her off, which led to a great war between the gods and the
Asura-In Hinduism:In Hinduism, the Asura are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes referred to as demons or sinful. They were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa. The views of Asuras in Hinduism vary due to the many deities who were Asuras then later became known as Devas...
s. Chandra, who was infatuated by her beauty, refused to return Tara back. Ultimately,
BrahmaBrahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. He is not to be confused with the Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hindu Vedanta philosophy known as Brahman. BrahmÄ's consort is Saraswati, the goddess of learning...
put an end to the war and restored Tara, but she was delivered of a child which she declared to be the son of
ChandraIn Hinduism, Chandra is a lunar deity and a Graha. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma . The Soma name refers particularly to the juice of sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation. He is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed and...
(
SomaSoma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the later Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains many hymns praising its energizing qualities...
), and it was named
BudhaIn Hindu mythology, Budha is the name for the planet Mercury, a son of Chandra with Tara or Rohini. He is also the god of merchandise and protector of Merchants....
(God of Mercury).