Bhadra [lower-alpha 1] is a Sanskrit word meaning 'good', 'fortune' or 'auspicious'. [1] It is also the name of many men, women and objects in Hinduism. [2] [3]
Bhadra was a king of Chedi Kingdom who participated in the Kurukshetra War from the side of the Pandavas. He was killed by the warrior Karna. [2]
The first man Svayambhuva Manu and his Shatarupa had a daughter named Shraddha. Bhadra was one of her twelve sons. [2]
Bhadra was also the name of a Yaksha who served their king, Kubera. Due to a curse of sage Gautama, he was born as a lion. [2]
The god Krishna married the river goddess Kalindi and had 10 sons. Bhadra was one of them. [2]
Bhadra was a renowned Maharishi. He was the son of Pramati and the father of Upamanyu. [2]
Bhadrā or Bhadrakālī is one of the fierce forms of the supreme goddess Devi. [2]
Bhadrā is the queen of Yakshas. She was the first wife of Kubera, the god of wealth. She is also known by the names Yakshi, Chhavi, Riddhi, Manorama, [4] Nidhi, [5] Sahadevi [6] and Kuberi. Bhadrā and Kubera had three sons named Nalakuvara, Manigriva and Mayuraja, and a daughter named Minakshi. [2] [7] [8] [9]
Bhadrā was also the name of a daughter of Chandra (alias Soma), the moon god. She once did penance to gain the sage Utathya as her husband. Seeing this, sage Atri, her grandfather, got her married to Utathya. The god of the seas, Varuna, became enamoured of her and eloped with her from Utathya's hermitage and hid her inside the sea. Despite attempts by the sage Narada to make him return Bhadrā, Varuna refused to give her, causing an enraged Utathya to drink up the entire sea. Seeing the sage's divine powers, Varuna submitted himself to him and returned Bhadrā back. The sage was pleased to get her back, and released both the world and Varuna from their sufferings. [2] [10]
Bhadrā is one of the Ashtabharya, the eight principal queen-consorts of Hindu god Krishna. The Vishnu Purana and the Harivamsa refer to her as 'the daughter of Dhrishtaketu' or 'the princess of Kekeya'. [2]
Krishna's father Vasudeva also had a wife named Bhadrā. She died on the funeral pyre of her husband. [2]
Bhadrā was a beautiful princess, who was the daughter of King Kakshivan. She married King Vyushitashva of Puru dynasty. After his untimely death, she lamented over his body. The spirit of her husband appeared in the sky and blessed her with six sons. [2]
Bhadrā was a princess of Vishala who once did penance to married King Karusha. Shishupala, a king, disguised himself as Karusha and married her. [2]
In Hinduism, Daksha is one of the prajapati, the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a handsome face or the head of a goat.
Yashoda is the foster-mother of Krishna and the wife of Nanda. She is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the wife of Nanda, the chieftain of Gokulam, and the sister of Rohini. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna was born to Devaki, but Krishna's father, Vasudeva, brought the newborn Krishna to his cousin Nanda, and his wife, Yashoda, in Gokulam. This was for his upbringing, as well as to protect Krishna from Devaki's brother, Kamsa, the tyrannical king of Mathura.
Kubera also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as the regent of the north (Dikpala), and a protector of the world (Lokapala). His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species, and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted with a plump body, adorned with jewels, and carrying a money-pot and a club.
Rati is the Hindu goddess of love, carnal desire, lust, passion, and sexual pleasure. Usually described as the daughter of Prajapati Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, the chief consort and the assistant of Kama (Kamadeva), the god of love. A constant companion of Kama, she is often depicted with him in legend and temple sculpture. She also enjoys worship along with Kama.
Rukmini is a Hindu goddess and the first queen of Krishna. She is described as the chief of Krishna's wives in Dvārakā. Rukmini is revered as the avatar of Lakshmi and is venerated primarily in Warkari, and Haridasa tradition, and additionally in Sri Vaishnavism.
Dilīpa, also known as Khaṭvāṅga, was a king of the Ikshvaku dynasty featured in Ramayana and Hinduism. Dilipa is the son of Mulaka and Ilibila, the husband of Sudakshina, and the father of Raghu. Dilipa is also the name of a serpent born into the Kashyapa family.
Kamadhenu, also known as Surabhi, is a divine bovine-goddess described in Hinduism as the mother of all cows. She is a miraculous cow of plenty who provides her owner whatever they desire and is often portrayed as the mother of other cattle. In iconography, she is generally depicted as a white cow with a female head and breasts, the wings of a bird, and the tail of a peafowl or as a white cow containing various deities within her body. Kamadhenu is not worshipped independently as a goddess. Rather, she is honored by the Hindu veneration of cows, who are regarded as her earthly embodiments.
Gayatri is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and holds the title of Vedamata. Gayatri is the manifestation of Saraswati and is often associated with Savitṛ, a solar deity in the Vedas, and her consort in the Puranas is the creator god Brahma. Gayatri is also an epithet for the various goddesses and she is also identified as "Supreme pure consciousness".
Urvashi is the most prominent apsara mentioned in the Hindu scriptures like the Vedas, the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, as well as the Puranas. She is regarded as the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer.
Sati, also known as Dakshayani, is the Hindu goddess of marital felicity and longevity, and is worshipped as an aspect of the mother goddess Shakti. Sati was the first wife of Shiva, the other being Parvati, who was Sati's reincarnation after her death.
Vedavati is the previous birth of the goddess Sita in Hindu mythology. She is an avatar of the goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi.
The Brahmavaivarta Purana is a voluminous Sanskrit text and a major Purana (Maha-purana) of Hinduism. It is an important Vaishnava text. This Purana majorly centers around the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna.
Pulastya is one of the ten Prajapati, and one of the mind-born sons of Brahma in Hinduism. He is also one of the Saptarishi in the first age of Manu, the Manvantara.
Bhumi, also known as Bhudevi, Dharani, and Vasundhara, is a significant goddess in Hinduism, personifying the Earth. Her earliest form is reflected in the Vedic goddess Prithvi, though their roles and depictions are drastically different.
The Ashtabharya or Ashta-bharya(s) is the group of eight principal queen-consorts of Hindu god Krishna, the king of Dvaraka, Saurashtra in the Dvapara Yuga (epoch). The most popular list, found in the Bhagavata Purana, includes: Rukmini, Jambavati, Satyabhama, Kalindi, Nagnajiti, Mitravinda, Lakshmana and Bhadra. Variations exist in the Vishnu Purana and the Harivamsa, which includes queens called Madri or Rohini, instead of Bhadra. Most of them were princesses.
Yamuna is a sacred river in Hinduism and the main tributary of the Ganges River. The river is also worshipped as a Hindu goddess called Yamuna. Yamuna is known as Yami in early texts, while in later literature, she is called Kalindi. In Hindu scriptures, she is the daughter of Surya, the sun god, and Sanjna, the cloud goddess. She is also the twin sister of Yama, god of death. She is associated with the deity Krishna as one of his eight principal consorts, called the Ashtabharya. Yamuna plays an important role in Krishna's early life as a river. According to Hindu scriptures, bathing in or drinking Yamuna's waters removes sin.
Jambavati is chronologically the second Ashtabharya of the Hindu god Krishna. She is the only daughter of the bear-king Jambavan. Krishna marries her when he defeats her father, Jambavan, in his quest to retrieve the stolen Syamantaka jewel.
In Hinduism, rivers are often personified as deities. In the Rigveda, there are mentions of holy rivers such as the Sarasvati. The river Ganges is considered to be most sacred, and is also personified as the goddess Ganga. Most of the rivers are represented in female form, with the notable exception of Brahmaputra, which is considered to be male. The most significant rivers in the faith are the Saptanadi and which includes the Ganges, Yamuna, Sindhu, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri.