Revanta
Revanta | |
---|---|
Travels, The divine master of horses | |
Shraddhadeva Manu |
Revanta or Raivata (Sanskrit: रेवन्त, lit. "brilliant") is a
Revanta is chief of the
Images and sculptures of Revanta often show him as a huntsman on a horse, with a bow and arrow. The worship of Revanta was especially common in medieval Eastern India (Bihar and Bengal) with many archaeological finds indicating the existence of a cult dedicated to him that began in the before 6th century A.D.[3]
Legends
The tale of Revanta's birth is narrated in scriptures like the
The Markandeya Purana further adds he was assigned the duty as chief of Guhyakas by Surya and to protect mortals "amid the terrors of forests and other lonely places, of great conflagration, of enemies and robbers." Sometimes, Revanta is depicted as combating robbers in reliefs.[9]
Another tale from the
Iconography
The Markandeya Purana describes Revanta as "holding a sword and bow, clad in an armour, riding on horseback, and carrying arrows and a quiver".
In sculpture, Revanta is often depicted with the Guhyakas, whose chief he is, in scenes of hunting. Apart from the attributes described in texts like the sword, bow; he sometimes also carries a cup of wine in his hand. Revanta is often depicted wearing long boots reaching up to the calves, unlike other Hindu divinities – except Surya – who are depicted barefoot.[12][13] Revanta is depicted seated on a horse and accompanied by a hunting dog. Revanta's attendants are depicted with various hunting weapons like lances and swords. Some of them are shown blowing a conch or beaming drums or holding an umbrella over the head of their lord, the umbrella being the symbol of royalty.[14] Also, some of them are depicted as flying or holding wine or water jars. Sometimes, an attendant carries a dead boar in his shoulder or the dog chasing a boar.[15]
Worship
Revanta was worshipped as guardian deity of warriors and horses, protector from the dangers of forests and the patron god of hunting.
The worship of Revanta was popular in the early-medieval period, particularly in
Notes
- ^ Monier-Williams Dictionary: Revanta
- ^ Monier-Williams Dictionary:Guhyaka
- ^ Jash, Pranabananda (1978). "THE CULT OF REVANTA IN EASTERN INDIA". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 39: 990–999.
- ^ Singh 1997, pp. 2605–6
- ^ J. L. Shastri, Editor (1951). The Linga-Purana, Part 1. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 259.
{{cite book}}
:|first=
has generic name (help) - ^ J. L. Shastri, G. P. Bhatt (1998-01-01). Agni Purana Unabridged English Motilal. p. 735.
- ISBN 0-89281-354-7.
- ISBN 978-81-307-0532-3
- ISBN 90-04-03610-5.
- ISBN 0-226-61850-1.
- ^ a b c Singh 1997, p. 2606
- ^ Singh 1997, pp. 2611, 2613
- ISBN 0-391-02558-9.
- ^ a b A History of Zoroastrianism by Mary Boyce, Frantz Grenet, Roger Beck pp.485-6
- ^ Singh 1997, pp. 2606–14
- ^ a b Singh 1997, pp. 2607
- ^ Singh 1997, p. 2609
- ^ Singh 1997, pp. 2615–16
References
- Singh, Nagendra Kumar (1997), "Revanta in Puranic Literature and Art", Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, vol. 44, Anmol Publications, pp. 2605–19, ISBN 81-7488-168-9.
Further reading
- Iconography of Revanta by Brijendra Nath Sharma, Published 1975, Abhinav Publications,86 pages, ISBN 0-7128-0116-2.
- M. L. Carter (1988), Revanta, an Indian Cavalier God, Annali dell'Istituto Orientale di Napoli, vol. 48, fasc. 2 (1988)