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50-610: Benzaiten , the goddess of music and entertainment, is enshrined on the island. The island in its entirety is dedicated to the goddess, who is said to have caused it to rise from the bottom of the sea in the sixth century. The island is the scene of the Enoshima Engi , a history of shrines on Enoshima written by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei in 1047 AD. In 1880, after the Shinto and Buddhism separation order of

100-424: A benevolent deity, but also as Yami , the sister of Yama . He then describes her eight-armed form with all its attributes — bow, arrow, sword, spear, axe, vajra , iron wheel , and noose . The poem describes Saraswati as one who "has sovereignty in the world", as one who is "good fortune, success, and peace of mind". It also states that she fights in battlefields and is always victorious. One key concern of

150-682: A cucumber, may I be freed from the bonds of death, not reft of immortality. In the Taittiriya Aranyaka of Yajur Veda (10.24.1), Rudra is identified as the universal existent ('all this') and thus as the Purusha (Supreme Person or inner Self) of the Vedas: sarvo vai rudrastasmai rudrāya namo astu puruṣo vai rudraḥ sanmaho namo namaḥ viśvaṃ bhūtaṃ bhuvanaṃ citraṃ bahudhā jātaṃ jāyamānaṃ ca yat sarvo hyeṣa rudrastasmai rudrāya namo astu ॥ 1॥ All this verily

200-440: A kind of cringing fear, as a deity whose wrath is to be deprecated and whose favor curried'. RV 1.114 is an appeal to Rudra for mercy, where he is referred to as 'mighty Rudra, the god with braided hair'. In RV 7 .46, Rudra is described as armed with a bow and fast-flying arrows, although many other weapons are known to exist. As quoted by R. G. Bhandarkar, the hymn declare that Rudra discharges 'brilliant shafts which run about

250-686: A million visitors a year. Enoshima is now the center of Shōnan , a resort area along the coast of Sagami Bay. Enoshima is served by three nearby railway stations: Katase-Enoshima Terminus on the Odakyū Enoshima Line , Enoshima Station on the Enoshima Electric Railway ("Enoden"), and Shōnan-Enoshima Station on the Shonan Monorail . Enoshima was the Olympic harbor for the 1964 Summer Olympics . Enoshima

300-525: A number of Buddhist and local deities, including the goddess Kisshōten whose role as goddess of fortune eventually became ascribed to Benzaiten in popular belief). As such, she was eventually also worshiped as a bestower of monetary fortune and became part of the set of popular deities known as the Seven Lucky Gods ( shichifukujin ). Benzaiten is depicted a number of ways in Japanese art. She

350-518: A thousand medicines (RV 7.46.3). So he is described with an alternative name, Vaidyanatha (Lord of Remedies). A verse from the Rig Veda ( RV 2 .33.9) calls Rudra 'The Lord or Sovereign of the Universe' ( īśānādasya bhuvanasya ): sthirebhiraṅghaiḥ pururūpa ughro babhruḥ śukrebhiḥ pipiśehiraṇyaiḥ īśānādasya bhuvanasya bhūrerna vā u yoṣad rudrādasuryam (RV 2.33.9) With firm limbs, multiform,

400-627: Is Rudra. To Rudra who is such we offer our salutation. We salute again and again that Being, Rudra, who alone is the Purusha and the Soul of creatures. The material universe, the created beings, and whatever there is manifoldly and profusely created, in the past and in the present, in the form of the world—all that is indeed this Rudra. Salutations be to Rudra who is such. The Taittiriya Aranyaka of Yajur Veda 1.10.1 identifies Rudra and Brihaspati as Sons and companions of Bhumi (Earth) and Heaven: Rudra

450-592: Is also enshrined as Ichikishima Hime-no-Mikoto at the Munakata Taisha shrine. Rudra Traditional Rudra ( / ˈ r ʊ d r ə / ; Sanskrit : रुद्र ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva , the wind or storms , Vayu , medicine, and the hunt . One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda , Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra means "who eradicates problems from their roots" . Depending upon

500-592: Is also portrayed (albeit rarely) with the head of a snake or a dragon. Benzaiten's worship also spread to Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period, and she is still venerated in certain locations in Taiwan, such as the Xian Dong Yan temple in Keelung City . Due to her status as a water deity, Benzaiten was also linked with nāgas , dragons , and snakes . Over time, Benzaiten became identified with

550-563: Is an East Asian Buddhist goddess (technically a Dharmapala , "Dharma protector") Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth through eighth centuries, mainly via Classical Chinese translations of the Golden Light Sutra ( Sanskrit : Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra ), which has a section devoted to her. Benzaiten was also adopted into Shinto religion , and there are several Shinto shrines dedicated to her. As such, Benzaiten

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600-603: Is as follows: In Japan , the places of worship dedicated to Benzaiten are often called "辯天堂" ( benten-dō ) or benten-sha ( 弁天社 ) . Shinto shrines dedicated to her are also called by this name. Entire Shinto shrines can be dedicated to her, as in the case of Kamakura's Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine or Nagoya's Kawahara Shrine . Benzaiten temples or shrines places are commonly located near bodies of water like rivers, ponds, or springs due to her association with water. Benzaiten's worship became integrated with native Japanese beliefs, including serpent and dragon symbolism, as she

650-701: Is not a sectarian deity, but the Supreme Being who is omnipresent and manifests Himself in myriad forms for the sake of the diverse spiritual aspirants'. Shri Rudram occurs in the fourth Kanda of the Taittiriya Samhita in the Yajurveda. It is a preeminent Vedic hymn to Shiva as the God of dissolution and it is chanted daily in Shiva temples throughout India. The prayer depicts the diverse aspects of

700-533: Is now also associated with dragons, snakes, local Japanese deities, wealth, fortune, protection from disease and danger, and the protection of the state. Saraswati (Sanskrit: Sarasvatī ; Pali : Sarassatī ) was originally in the Rigveda a river goddess, the deification of the Sarasvati River . She was identified with Vach (Skt. Vāc ), the Vedic goddess of speech, and from there became considered to be

750-637: Is often depicted holding a biwa (a traditional Japanese lute) similar to how Saraswati is depicted with a veena in Indian art, though she may also be portrayed wielding a sword and a wish-granting jewel ( cintāmaṇi ). An iconographic formula showing Benzaiten with eight arms holding a variety of weapons (based on the Golden Light Sutra ) meanwhile is believed to derive from Durga's iconography. As Uga Benzaiten, she may also be shown with Ugajin (a human-headed white snake) above her head. Lastly, she

800-506: Is one of the Twenty-Four Protective Deities ( Chinese : 二十四諸天; pinyin : Èrshísì Zhūtiān ). She remained associated with wealth, music, and eloquence and also took on aspects of a fierce protector of the state (due to the influence of the Golden Light Sutra which promises to protect a country where the sutra is chanted). During the medieval period onwards, Benzaiten came to be associated or even conflated with

850-537: Is referred to as 'Father of the Maruts' (RV 2.33.1). Rudra is mentioned along with a litany of other deities in RV 7 .40.5. Here is the reference to Rudra, whose name appears as one of many gods who are called upon: This Varuṇa , the leader of the rite, and the royal Mitra and Aryaman , uphold my acts, and the divine unopposed Aditi , earnestly invoked: may they convey us safe beyond evil. I propitiate with oblations

900-568: Is revered as Sadasiva (meaning 'mighty Shiva') and Mahadeva . Sadashiva is the Supreme Being , Paramashiva , in the Siddhanta sect of Shaivism. The etymology of the theonym Rudra is uncertain. It is usually derived from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root rud- (related to English rude ), which means 'to cry, howl'. The name Rudra may thus be translated as 'the roarer'. An alternative etymology interprets Rudra as

950-478: Is the one who does the total destruction at the time of great dissolution. This is only the context known where Vishnu is revered as Rudra. The earliest known mentions of the Vedic deity Rudra, occur in the Rigveda , where three entire hymns are devoted to him (RV 1.114, 2.33, and 7.46). Two further hymns are devoted to Rudra jointly with Soma (RV 1.43 and 6.74). There are about seventy-five references to Rudra in

1000-523: Is used both as a name of Shiva and collectively ('the Rudras ') as the name for the Maruts . Maruts are 'storm gods' associated with the atmosphere. They are a group of gods whose number varies from two to sixty, sometimes also rendered as eleven, thirty-three or a hundred and eighty in number (i. e., three times sixty. See RV 8.96.8.). The Rudras are sometimes referred to as 'the sons of Rudra' while Rudra

1050-738: The Rudram . This litany was recited during the Agnicayana ritual ('the piling of Agni'), and it later became a standard element in Rudra liturgy. A selection of similar stanzas is included in the Paippalāda-Saṃhitā of the Atharvaveda (PS 14.3–4). This selection, with further PS additions at the end, circulated more widely as the Nīlarudra (or Nīlarudra Upaniṣad ). Lubin suggests that in

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1100-520: The Sutra of Golden Light ( Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra ) into Classical Chinese ( Taishō Tripitaka 885), Saraswati (大辯才天女, pinyin : Dàbiàncáitiānnǚ ; Japanese: Daibenzaitennyo , lit. "great goddess of eloquence") appears before the Buddha 's assembly and vows to protect all those who put their faith in the sutra, recite it, or copy it. In addition, she promises to increase the intelligence of those who recite

1150-526: The Golden Light Sutra is the protection of the state, and as such, Saraswati here also takes on some form of a warrior goddess, similar to Durga . Bernard Faure also notes that the Vach already had martial attributes, which may have been retained in some form. Saraswati became the Chinese 辯才天 (Bencaitian) or "great eloquence deity" (大辯天). This became the Japanese 弁財天 (Benzaiten). In East Asian Buddhism, she

1200-406: The Nīlarudra , lightning is envisioned both as Rudra's arrows and as the deity himself: 1. I saw you descending from the sky, down to earth; I saw Rudra shooting [his arrows], blue-necked, crested. 2. From the sky the mighty one has descended; he has taken his stand upon the earth. O people, look at him: the blue-necked, the red one. ... 10. They have seen you descending, blue-necked, red: both

1250-532: The asura Namuchi . In a hymn in Book 10 of the Rigveda (10.125.6), Vach declares: "I bend the bow for Rudra that his arrow may strike and slay the hater of devotion. I rouse and order battle for the people, and I have penetrated Earth and Heaven." Saraswati, like many other Hindu deities, was eventually adopted into Buddhism, figuring mainly in Mahayana texts. In the 15th chapter of Yijing 's translation of

1300-430: The 'red one', the 'brilliant one', possibly derived from a lost root rud- , 'red' or 'ruddy', or alternatively, according to Grassman, 'shining'. Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra , which means 'wild', i.e., of rude (untamed) nature, and translates the name Rudra as 'the wild one' or 'the fierce god'. R. K. Śarmā follows this alternative etymology and translates

1350-486: The Almighty. The Shri Rudram hymn is unique in that it shows the presence of divinity throughout the entire universe. We cannot confine the qualities of the divine to those that are favourable to us. The Lord is both garden and graveyard, the slayer and the most benevolent one. The Almighty is impartial and ubiquitous. In the hymn, Rudra is described as the most dreaded terroriser (frightening). Shri Rudram describes Rudra

1400-567: The Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei (皇慶) in 1047. According to Kōkei, Benzaiten is the third daughter of the dragon-king of Munetsuchi (無熱池; literally "lake without heat"), known in Sanskrit as Anavatapta , the lake lying at the center of the world according to an ancient Buddhist cosmological view. Ryōhō-ji , also known as the "Moe Temple", enshrines Benzaiten. It is famous for anime style depictions of Buddhist deities. Benzaiten

1450-403: The Japanese snake kami Ugajin . She also became identified with the kami Ichikishima-hime . Benzaiten was also adopted as a female kami in Shinto , with the name Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto ( 市杵島姫命 ) . This kami is one of three kami believed to be daughters of the sun goddess Amaterasu , the ancestress of the imperial family . She is also believed by Tendai Buddhists to be

1500-470: The Rigveda overall. In the Rigveda (RV) are verses which speak about the form of Rudra. Some of them are: In the Rigveda, Rudra's role as a frightening god is apparent in references to him as ghora ('extremely terrifying'), or simply as asau devam ('that god'). He is 'fierce like a terrific wild beast' (RV 2.33.11). Chakravarti sums up the perception of Rudra by saying: 'Rudra is thus regarded with

1550-540: The Vedic deity as the personification of 'terror'. The name Rudra comes from ru , meaning 'Roar or howl' (the words dreaded or fearsome could only be used as adjectives to Rudra and not as Rudra because Rudra is the personification of terror) and dra , which is a superlative meaning 'the most'. So Rudra, depending on the poetic situation, can mean 'the most severe roarer/howler' or a hurricane or tempest or 'the most frightening one'. Shiva as known today shares many features with Rudra, and Shiva and Rudra are viewed as

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1600-483: The berry of the rudraksha tree and a name for a string of the prayer beads made from those seeds. Rudra is one of the names of Vishnu in Vishnu Sahasranama . Adi Shankara in his commentary to Vishnu Sahasranama defined the name Rudra as 'One who makes all beings cry at the time of cosmic dissolution'. Author D. A. Desai in his glossary for the Vishnu Sahasranama says Vishnu in the form of Rudra

1650-518: The essence of the kami Ugajin , whose effigy she sometimes carries on her head together with a torii (see photo below). As a consequence, she is sometimes also known as Uga ( 宇賀 ) Benzaiten or Uga Benten. The bīja or seed syllable used to represent Benzaiten in Japanese esoteric Buddhism is su (सु, traditionally read in Japanese as so ), written in Siddhaṃ script . In Japanese esoteric Buddhism ( mikkyo ), Benzaiten's main mantra

1700-728: The god, e.g., in the Pāśupata ascetic tradition, lay devotees preferred to address him as Śiva, Maheśvara ('Great Lord'), or Mahādeva ('Great God'), as in the Śivadharma literature, the Sanskrit epics , and the Purāṇas . Those epithets come to be the primary names of the deity. The president of the Ramakrishna Mission , at Chennai , in commentating on the foreword to Swami Amritananda's translation of Sri Rudram and Purushasuktam , states, 'Rudra to whom these prayers are addressed

1750-715: The heart of the gods, showing that he is the inner Self of all, even the gods: देवानां हृदयभ्यो नमो । devānāṃ hṛdayabhyo namo Salutations to him who is in heart of the gods. In a verse popularly known as the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra , both Rig Veda (7.59.12) and Yajur Veda (3.60) recommend worshipping Rudra to attain moksha (liberation): त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगंधिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् उर्वारूकमिव बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मा अमृतात। tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugaṃdhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam urvārūkamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya mā amṛtāta We worship Tryambaka, sweet augmenter of prosperity. As from its stem

1800-454: The heaven and the earth' (RV 7.46.3), which may be a reference to lightning. Rudra was believed to cure diseases, and when people recovered from them or were free of them, that too was attributed to the agency of Rudra. He is asked not to afflict children with disease (RV 7.46.2) and to keep villages free of illness (RV 1.114.1). He is said to have healing remedies (RV 1.43.4), as the best physician of physicians (RV 2.33.4), and as possessed of

1850-420: The herdsmen have seen you, and the women fetching water [have seen] you, and all beings [have seen] you: Homage to you who are seen! ..." The Hindu god Shiva shares several features with Rudra. The theonym Śiva ('kind') originated as a euphemistic epithet for Rudra, who is similarly invoked as Aghora ('not frightful') and Abhayaṅkara ('providing safety'). Although Rudra remains the primary designation of

1900-409: The name Śarva as 'One who can kill the forces of darkness'. The names Dhanvin ('bowman') and Bāṇahasta ('archer', literally 'Armed with a hand-full of arrows') also refer to archery. In other contexts the word rudra can simply mean 'the number eleven'. The word rudraksha (Sanskrit: rudrākṣa = rudra and akṣa 'eye'), or 'eye of Rudra', is used as a name for both

1950-702: The name as 'the terrible' in his glossary for the Shiva Sahasranama . Mallory and Adams also mention a comparison with the Old Russian deity Rŭglŭ to reconstruct a Proto-Indo-European wild-god named *Rudlos , though they remind that the issue of the etymology remains problematic: from PIE *reud- ('rend, tear apart'; cf. Latin rullus , 'rustic'), or *reu- ('howl'). The commentator Sāyaṇa suggests six possible derivations for rudra . However, another reference states that Sayana suggested ten derivations. The adjective śiva ( shiva ) in

2000-502: The new Meiji government had made the land available, much of the uplands was purchased by Samuel Cocking , a British merchant, in his Japanese wife's name. He developed a power plant and extensive botanical gardens including a very large greenhouse. Although the original greenhouse was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake , the botanical garden (now the Samuel Cocking Garden ) remains an attraction with over half

2050-493: The patron of music and the arts, knowledge, and learning. In addition to their association with eloquence and speech, both Saraswati and Vach also show warrior traits: Saraswati for instance was called the " Vritra -slayer" ( Vṛtraghnī ) in the Rigveda (6.61.7) and was associated with the Maruts . She was also associated with the Ashvins , with whom she collaborates to bolster Indra 's strength by telling him how to kill

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2100-602: The period, the name Rudra can be interpreted as 'the most severe roarer/howler' or 'the most frightening one'. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama , and R. K. Sharma notes that it is often used as a name of Shiva in later languages. The " Shri Rudram " hymn from the Yajurveda is dedicated to Rudra and is important in the Shaivite sect. In the Prathama Anuvaka of Namakam ( Taittiriya Samhita 4.5), Rudra

2150-552: The ramifications ( vayāḥ ) of that divine attainable Viṣṇu , the showerer of benefits. Rudra , bestow upon us the magnificence of his nature. The Aśvins have come down to our dwelling abounding with (sacrificial) food. One scholiast's interpretation of the Sanskrit word vayāḥ , meaning 'ramifications' or 'branches', is that all other deities are, as it were, branches of Vishnu , but, Ralph T. H. Griffith cites Ludwig as saying, 'This [...] gives no satisfactory interpretation' and cites other views which suggest that

2200-510: The same personality in Hindu scriptures . The two names are used synonymously. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity. The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rig Veda , which is dated to between 1700 and 1100 BC based on linguistic and philological evidence. A god named Rudra is mentioned in

2250-487: The sense of 'propitious' or 'kind' is first applied to the Rudra in RV 10 .92.9. Rudra is called 'the archer' (Sanskrit: Śarva ) and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama , and R. K. Śarmā notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages. The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv - which means 'to injure' or 'to kill', and Śarmā uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of

2300-506: The strong, the tawny adorns himself with bright gold decorations: The strength of Godhead never departs from Rudra, him who is Sovereign of this world, the mighty. A verse of Śrī Rudram (= Yajurveda 16.18) speaks of Rudra as Lord of the Universe: जगताम् पतये नमः । jagatam pataye namaḥ । Homage to the Lord of the Universe. Another verse (Yajurveda 16.46) locates Rudra in

2350-509: The sutra so that they will be able to understand and remember various dharanis . She then teaches the assembly various mantras with which one can heal all illnesses and escape all manner of misfortune. One of the Buddha's disciples, the brahmin Kaundinya , then praises Saraswati, comparing her to Vishnu's consort Narayani ( Lakshmi ) and declaring that she can manifest herself not only as

2400-535: The text is corrupt at that point. In the various recensions of the Yajurveda is included a litany of stanzas praising Rudra: Maitrāyaṇī-Saṃhitā 2.9.2, Kāṭhaka-Saṃhitā 17.11, Taittirīya-Saṃhitā 4.5.1 and Vājasaneyi-Saṃhitā 16.1–14. This litany is subsequently referred to variously as the Śatarudriyam and the Namakam (because many of the verses commence with the word namaḥ , meaning 'homage'), or simply

2450-450: Was also used as the sailing venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics . While the bridge and town area of Enoshima are wheelchair accessible, anything past the main gate of the shrine (including the observation tower, caves, etc.) is inaccessible to those with mobility difficulties. Benzaiten Benzaiten ( shinjitai : 弁才天 or 弁財天 ; kyūjitai : 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. " goddess of eloquence", Benten , Chinese : 辯才天, Biancaitian )

2500-842: Was originally a river goddess. Benzaiten is enshrined on numerous locations throughout Japan; for example, the Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay , the Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa and the Itsukushima Island in Seto Inland Sea (Japan's Three Great Benzaiten Shrines); and she and a five-headed dragon are the central figures of the Enoshima Engi , a history of the shrines on Enoshima written by

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