Himavat
{{Short description|Hindu personification of the Himalayas}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| image = Everest North Face toward Base Camp Tibet Luca Galuzzi 2006 edit 1.jpg
| name = Himavat
| caption = The Himalayas mountains
| Devanagari = हिमवत्
| affiliation =
| abode = Himalayas
| consort = Menā
| children = Ganga
Parvati
Mainaka
Krauñja{{cite web | url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/himavan | title=Himavan, Himavān, Himavāṉ: 12 definitions | date=30 August 2016 }}
| deity_of = Personification of the Himalayas
| father = Brahma
| mother = Saraswati
| god_of =
}}
Himavat ({{langx|sa|हिमवत्|lit=frosty}}) is the personification of the Himalayan mountains in Hinduism. He is the guardian deity of the Himalayas, and finds mention in the epic Mahabharata and other Hindu scriptures.{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2017-03-08 |title=Himavat: 15 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/himavat#introduction |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}
Nomenclature
Various Hindu scriptures refer to the personification of the Himalayas by different names, and hence Himavat is also called Himavant (Sanskrit: हिमवन्त, lit. icy), Himavān (Sanskrit: हिमवान्, lit. snowy), Himaraja (Sanskrit: हिमराज, lit. king of snow), and Parvateshwara (Sanskrit: पर्वतेश्वर, lit. god of mountains).
Legend
File:Shiva and Parvati marriage.JPG
Himavat fathered Ganga, the river goddess, as well as Ragini,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|last1=Jones|first1=Constance|last2=Ryan|first2=James D.|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9780816075645|language=en}} and Parvati, the second consort of Shiva. His wife and queen consort is the Vedic goddess Mainavati, the daughter of Mount Meru,Wilkins, p. 287 according to the Ramayana, or is the daughter of Svadhā and her husband Kavi, a member of the class of Pitṛs, as per some other sources like the Vishnu Purana.
The Shiva Purana describes the wedding between Himavat and Menā.{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2018-10-04 |title=The marriage of Himācala [Chapter 1] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/shiva-purana-english/d/doc226065.html |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}
The sacred text of Devi Gita, which is found in the last nine chapters (31-40) of the seventh skandha of Devi-Bhagavata Purana, is a dialogue between Parvati and her father Himavat. It deals with the universal form of the Devi, meditations on the major texts of Upanishads, ashtanga-yoga, the yogas of jnana, karma and bhakti, locations of the temples dedicated to the Devi and the rituals pertaining to her worship.
His story also finds mention in Brahmanda Purana and Kena Upanishad.Kena Upanisad, III.11-IV.3, cited in Müller and in Sarma, pp. xxix-xxx.
Krishna once performed a tapasya on the peaks of the Himalayas to appease Himavat, which led to his eldest son, Pradyumna, being born to his favourite wife, Rukmini.{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2019-01-28 |title=Story of Himavān |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/compilation/puranic-encyclopaedia/d/doc241620.html |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite book |title=Hindu Gods and Goddesses|author= W. J. Wilkins |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=2003|isbn= 0486431568|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I67W9aqtfOwC&q=King+himavat&pg=PA287 |ref=Wil }}
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend ({{ISBN|0-500-51088-1}}) by Anna Dallapiccola.