Sati is the Hindu Goddess of marital devotion, an avatar of Parvati and Shiva's first wife. She was born at Brahma's request to King Daksha and so was known also as Dakshayani. From childhood, she prepared to be Shiva's wife, forsaking the luxuries of the palace and living a simple life. When Shiva said that he would take her as his bride, Sati went home to tell her father, who was not pleased. He disliked Shiva, finding him dirty and disheveled. Sati did marry Shiva, and her father disowned her. A short time after, King Daksha organized a yagna, a sacrificial fire, inviting all of the Gods except Shiva and Sati. Sati, decided that, since it was her father, she did not need an invitation and set off without Shiva. Her father told her that he did not like her husband and had purposefully not invited them. Sati realized that the only reason her father disliked her husband was because he had married her and that, in her father's eyes, she had dishonored him. In rage, she prayed that in a future life she would be born to a father whom she could respect and threw herself into the sacrificial fire. When Shiva heard of his wife's death, he created two monsters, Bhadrakali and Virabhadra, and set them loose on Daksha's kingdom. Many were killed and Daksha himself was beheaded. Shiva took Sati's body from the fire and placed it on his shoulders. He began to dance, a wild and crazed dance of grief. As he danced, parts of Sati's burned body fell away. The places where the parts landed are called Shakti Peethas, places of strength, and number 51, scattered throughout India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. King Daksha and all his guests were eventually restored to life when Shiva's grief subsided, but Daksha's head was replaced with that of a goat, to remind him of his sins.

Meenakshi is the Hindu Goddess of Madurai, the city of nectar. She is an avatar of the Goddess Parvati. The King of Madurai, Malayadwaja Pandya, was without an heir to his throne. He performed sacrifices before a sacred fire, called yagnas, to pray for a child. During one of the yagnas, a three-year-old girl stepped out of the fire, and Malayadwaja Pandya adopted her as his daughter. The child had eyes that were shaped like fish, so he called her Meenakshi (which means fish-eyed). The child was also unusual in that she had three breasts. Malayadwaja was concerned about this, but a divine voice told him not to worry, that the third breast would disappear when Meenakshi met her mate. She grew to be a beautiful princess, and took over the kingdom when her adopted father died. She ruled well, and was expanding her kingdom when she met up with Shiva. As soon as she saw him, her third breast disappeared. They married and are worshipped side by side in Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai. Meenakshi's name is also seen as Minaksi or Minaci, and there are hymns of praise to her which give her the following epithets: Treasure house of mercy Consort of Lord Shiva Personification of sacred truth Daughter of the mountain Enchanter of the universe Goddess of varied aspects Greater than the great

Ganga is the Hindu Goddess of the Ganges River, the most sacred river in India. She was born from a vessel of water that Brahma had used to wash the feet of Vishnu. She lived in the heavens and was very happy there, always dancing and laughing. One day, she laughed at someone she shouldn't have, and he cursed her to be reincarnated as a river which humans would bathe in to purify their bodies and souls. Ganga continued to live in the heavens, until she was needed on earth. A king named Sagara was preparing to perform a ritual to thank the Gods for his sons. He had been without an heir for a long time, until his prayers were answered with 60,000 sons. As part of the ritual, Sagara intended to sacrifice a horse, but the horse was stolen before the ceremony. Sagara's sons went in search of the horse, and found it in the underworld next to a meditating sage named Kapila. Believing that Kapila had stolen the horse, the sons insulted him and disturbed his meditation. In response, Kapila burned all 60,000 of the sons to death with his gaze. They became ghosts, condemned to wander the world until their souls could be put to rest. One of Sagara's grandsons, Bhagiratha, learned that the tormented souls would be allow to go to heaven only when their ashes were purified by the waters of Ganga. Bhagiratha and Sagara's other descendants prayed to the Gods to allow Ganga to come to earth. Brahma finally agreed, but Ganga was none too happy. She threatened to flood the entire earth, but when she fell from the sky, Shiva caught her with his hair. He divided her into seven streams, and one of the streams flowed to where the ashes of the brothers lay. Ganga freed their souls, and continues to purify the souls of those who bathe in her waters.

Uma is the Hindu Goddess of light and beauty. She is another avatar of the Goddess Parvati, wife of Shiva. One myth of her origin tells of her being born to Himavat, God of the Himalayan mountains, and Mena, an asparas or nymph. She had two sisters, Ekaparna and Ekapatala. All three sisters lived very austere lives, mastering their physical needs in order to enrich their spiritual powers. Ekaparna lived on a single leaf of the Parna tree. Ekapatala lived on a single leaf of the Patala tree. The third sister, who was the reincarnation of Shiva's wife Sati, sought to outdo her two sisters by living on nothing, not even a single leaf. Her mother was so alarmed that she cried out "U! Ma!", meaning "Oh! Don't!", and the third sister became known as Uma.

Manasa is the Hindu Goddess of snakes and poison. She is the sister of Vasuki, King of the snakes, and daughter of Shiva. Shiva accidentally fathered her when some of his semen landed on a statue of a girl that had been carved by Vasuki's mother. When Shiva found out that Manasa was his daughter, he took her home with him, but his wife Chandi took an instant dislike to her. They quarreled back and forth (Chandi even burnt out one of Manasa's eyes), until finally Shiva had to make her leave their home. She married the sage Jaratkaru, but even then Chandi was not finished with her. She advised Manasa to wear snakes on her wedding night, and then threw a frog into the room. The snakes went crazy, and Jaratkaru ran away in fright. He did eventually return, but the damage was done. Manasa was not a happy Goddess. Despairing that she did not have enough worshippers, Manasa worked to increase her following. One man in particular, Chand Sadagar, refused to worship her. He was a devotee of Shiva and Chandi, and would not turn away from them to Manasa. Manasa vowed to make him pay for his disrespect, and sent her serpents to kill Chand's sons. She ruined his businesses and left him in despair. Finally, at the urging of his wife, Chand offered Manasa a flower, although he did not look at her as he did so. Manasa accepted this token, and restored Chand's sons and fortune to him. Manasa is always depicted with snakes, usually cobras. Her name means "intention", and she is also known as Vishahara (remover of poison).

Prithvi is the Hindu Goddess of the Earth. She is the consort of Dyaus, God of the Sky, and the mother of Indra. In one myth, a demon took Prithvi to the bottom of the cosmic ocean and held her captive there. Varaha, an avatar of the God Vishnu in the form of a boar, rescued her and restored her to her rightful place (that's her on his shoulder in the picture). Prithvi sometimes takes the form of a cow, and the first milk from every cow is offered to her. Her name means "earth," and is also seen as Prthvi or Prthivi. Other names include Dhra, Dharti, Dhrithri (that which holds everything), Prithvi Tattwa (the essence of the element earth), and Prithvi Mata (Mother Earth).

Tripura Sundari is one of the Hindu Mahavidyas, Goddesses of wisdom. There are ten Mahavidyas---Tripura Sundari, Kali, Tara, Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshvari, Bagalamukhi, Dhumavati, Kamala, Matangi, and Bhairavi. Tripura Sundari is the beauty of the world, the beauty of creation. She is the great mother who unites the powers of the spirit, the mind, and the body. She is also known as Shodashi, Lalita, and Rajarajeshvari. As Shodashi, she is depicted as a girl of sixteen, and it is said that she shines like the light of the rising sun.

Sarasvati is the Hindu Goddess of rivers and knowledge. Her name means "the one who flows", and she is the consort of Brahma. Sarasvati is usually depicted sitting on a white lotus, symbolizing truth and purity. She has four arms, and she holds in her hands a book (symbolic of written knowledge and her mastery of science and learning), a string of crystals or prayer beads (symbolic of spiritual knowledge), a pot of water (symbolic of creativity and purification), and a musical instrument called a veena (symbolic of knowledge of the fine arts). Sarasvati rules over a great number of spheres: rivers, fertility, wealth, speech, writing, learning, poetry, music, science, mathematics, calendars, magic, creativity, beauty, and art. As such, she also has a great many alternate names and epithets, including: Queen of Heaven Mother of Waters The Flowing One Arya (noble one) Bagiswari Bakdevi Bhamayai Bharatyai (eloquence) Bhoga-dayai Biraj Bramha-gynanaika-sadhanayai Bramha-jayayai Bramha-vishu-sivatmi-kayai Bramhyai (wife of Brahma) Chamundayai Chandi-kayai Chandra-lekha-vibhu-shitayai Chandri-kayai Chaturana-nasamrajyai Chaturvarga-phala-pradayai Chitra-gamdhayai Chitra-malya-vibhushitayai Chitrambarayai Devyai Dhaneshvari (the divinity of wealth) Dhumra-lochana-mardhinyai Divya-lankara-bhushitayai Divyamgayai Dvibhu-jaayai Gomatyai Govimdayai Gynanaika-tatparayai Gynana-mudrayai Hamsa-sanayai Hamsa-vahini (she who has a swan as her vehicle) Jati-layai Jihvagravasini (dwelling in the front of the tongue) Jnanashakti (the power of knowledge) Kala-dharayai Kala-ratryai Kalpanashakti (the power of forming ideas) Kamadhenu (like the wish-fulfilling cow) Kama-pradayai Kama-rupayai Kantayai Kavijihvagravasini (she who dwells on the tongues of poets) Maha-bagayai Maha-bhadrayai Maha-bhogayai Maha-bhujayai Mahakalyai Maha-karayai Maha-mayayai Mahamkushayai Maha-pashayai Maha-pataka-nashinyai Maha-phalayai Maha-saraswatyai Maha-shrayayai Mahasweta Maha-vani (the transcendent word) Maha-vidyayai (holder of supreme knowledge) Maho-tsahayai Malinyai Mantra-vidyayai Munda-kambi-katai Neela-jamghayai Niranja-nayai Padmakshmai Padma-lochanayai Padma-nilayayai Padma-vaktri-kayai Praharanayai Prithudar Pustaka-stayai Rakta-beejani-hantrai Rakta-madhyayai Ramayai Rupa-soubhagya-daeinyai Saktirupini (whose form is power) Sarada (giver of essence) Sarbasukai Sarswatyai Sarva-devastu-tayai Sarvatmi-kayai Satarupa Savitryai Seetayai Shastra-rupinyai Shivanu-jayai Shonapunya (one purified of blood) Shubha-dayai Shumbha-sura-pramadhinyai Shweta-sanayai Smirtishakti (the power of memory) Soudaminyai Soumyayai Sree pradayai Subha-drayai Sudha-murtayai Sura-puji-tayai Surasayai Sura-sura-namaskrutayai Sura-vandi-tayai Suvaa-sinyai Suveenayai Teevrayai Traeimurtyai Vagdevyai Vagishvari (mistress of speech) Vaishnavyai Vani Dayyani (recipient of speech) Varahyai Vara-pradayai Vara-rohayai Varijaa-sanayai Varnajanani (mother of letters) Varnesvari (Goddess of letters) Vasudayai Veena Vandini (veena player) Vidya-rupayai Vidyayai Vidyunma-layai Vimalayai Vinapani (due to holding the Vina) Vindhya-vasayai Vindyayai Vini-drayai (she who is always awake) Vishalayai Vishvayai

Ushas is the Hindu Goddess of the dawn. Each morning, this beautiful maiden appears, riding in a chariot pulled by cows. The sun, struck by her beauty, chases her across the sky. As she passes, Ushas drives off the dark and creatures of the night. She does this every morning, tirelessly bringing light and life to mankind.

Mariamman is a Hindu Goddess of fertility and rain. She is Mother Earth, worshipped especially in southern India and by Tamils around the world. Mariamman is often identified with Shitala, the Goddess of smallpox, and as such, she is also said to be able to cure disease. The rain she brings washes villages clean, taking the disease away. Mariamman is usually depicted with a reddish hue to her skin, and she wears a red dress. In some villages, she is represented only by a stone in the ground, symbolizing her head--the whole village is seen as her body. One myth that explains Mariamman's origin says that she was once a beautiful woman named Nagavali. One day, while her husband was out, the Trimurti (a three-headed figure representing Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) came to see if the stories of her beauty and virtue were true. Not knowing them, Nagavali turned the Gods into little children. They then cursed her--her beauty faded away to be replaced by pox, which she carried to the people around her. She then became known as Mariamman, "the goddess who changed". Alternative versions of her name include Mariamma, Marika, Amman, Mari, Mahamaayi, and Maariamma.