Raktadantika

Raktadantika
AffiliationDevi, Durga
MantraOm raktadantikayaya namaha
WeaponSword, pestle, plough

Raktadantika (Sanskrit: रक्तदन्तिका, romanized: Raktadantikā) is a form of the Hindu goddess Durga. According to the Devi Mahatmya, Raktadantika incarnated to slay the descendants of the asura Viprachitti. Another account describes her as a form of Kali, with an entirely red body.[1]

Etymology

Raktadantika means “she whose teeth are red in colour”.[2]

Legend

According to the Devi Mahatmya, Durga is described to have incarnated as Raktadantika to slay and devour the danava children of the asura Viprachitti. Her teeth are described to have turned as red as the flowers of a pomegranate, a consequence of which she was named Raktadantika.[3] This legend is also featured in the Markandeya Purana.[4]

She has been described as living in a pomegranate tree.[5] Her red teeth are analogous to red pomegranate seed pods.[2]

References

  1. ^ Gupta, N.B. Sen (162). Sri Sri Chandi. University of Virginia. pp. 97, 119, 132. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Rodrigues, Hillary (February 2012). Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess The Liturgy of the Durga Puja with Interpretations. State University of New York Press. pp. 45, 56, 130, 182, 200, 264. ISBN 9780791488447. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  3. ^ Vercoe, Lyndal; Markandeya, Sage (2019-10-15). Devi Mahatmyam – the Glory of the Goddess. Lulu.com. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-359-98061-1.
  4. ^ The Markandeya Purana. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. 2019-10-24. p. 416. ISBN 978-93-5305-671-1.
  5. ^ Cultus Arborum - A Description Of Phallic Tree Worship. Read Books LTD. 2013. ISBN 9781473380097. Retrieved 3 July 2022.