Ekanamsha

Ekanamsha (Sanskrit: एकानंशा, Ekānaṁśā) is a Hindu goddesss, identified with Yoganidra aka Arya. In Sanskrit, Ekanamsha means "the single, portionless one" and it is a name of the new moon.[1] The Indian Theogony: According to S. C. Mukherji, a modern scholar, in the Harivamsa, Ekanamsha is identified as a shakti of Vishnu, she descended as the daughter of Nanda to protect the baby Krishna from Kamsa.[2] In Harivamsa, she is represented as sister of Indra due to which she is also known as Kaushiki. Visnudharmottara purana describes her as Gandhari (power of illusion pertaining to Vishnu) and this Gandhari represents Lakshmi, Dhrti, Kirti, Pusti, Sraddha, Sarasvati, Gayatri and Kalaratri. According to the Harivamsa (II.4.37-41), she was worshipped by the Vrishnis.[3] Many "kinship triads", depicting Vasudeva Krishna, Balarama and their sister Ekanamsha have been found in the Mathura region, which are stylistically dated to the early centuries of the Common era.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Hawley, John Stratton and Donna Marie Wolf (1986) (ed.) The Divine Consort: Rādhā and the Goddesses of India, Boston: Beacon Press, ISBN 0-8070-1303-X, p.372
  2. ↑ Hudson, Dennis (1986) Piņņai, Krishna's Cowherd Wife in John Stratton Hawley and Donna Marie Wolf ed. The Divine Consort: Rādhā and the Goddesses of India, Boston: Beacon Press, ISBN 0-8070-1303-X, p.256
  3. ↑ Bhattacharji, Sukumari (2000).The Indian Theogony: Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, New Delhi: Penguin, ISBN 0-14-029570-4, p.173
  4. ↑ Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Delhi: Pearson Education. pp. 436–7. ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9.
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