Tapati

Tapati (Sanskrit: तपती, tapatī) is a goddess found in Hinduism. She is known also as the goddess of the river Tapati and mother-goddess of the South (home of the sun) where she brings heat to the earth. According to certain Hindu texts, Tapati was a daughter of Surya (the Sun god) by Chhaya, one of the wives of Surya.[1]

Tapati
Goddess of Tapi River
Affiliation	Devi, River Goddess
Abode	Suryaloka
Mantra	Om Suryaputri Ma Tapi Namah
Symbol	Water
Mount	Fish
Personal information
Parents	Surya and Chhaya
Siblings	Shani, Bhadra, Yami, Yama, Ashvins, Revanta, Sugriva, Karna
Consort	Samvarana
Children	Kuru

Tapati's name literally means the "warming", "the hot one", "burning one".[2][3] It had been said that no one in three worlds could match her in beauty, having perfect features, and severe religious self-discipline.[4] This name is possibly connected to that of the queen of the Scythian gods, Tabiti,[5][6] and it is possible that there was originally a dominant fire goddess in ancient Proto-Indo-Iranian religion.[7]

History

Tapati is originally mentioned in the Mahabharata two dozen times, as a wife of Samvarana having a son named Kuru (the founder of the Kuru dynasty and the Kuru Kingdom). The story of both characters has also been found in other Hindu texts such as Srimad-Bhagavatam & Purāṇam. According to these texts Tapati's home was situated on the banks of river Tapati .[8][9]

In Mahabharata, Arjun asked Gandharva about the origin of the name Tapatya, so the Gandharva said that the sun had a beautiful daughter named Tapati, whom he was concerned to marry off. An early Kaurava king Samvarana worships the sun and was elected as her husband. One day out for hunting the king saw her and fell in love and proposed a marriage but she referred him to her father for his approval.

After that the king started to worship the sun and took the help of sage Vasistha and sent him before the sun, Vasistha then requested sun to approve the marriage of Samvarana and Tapati and the sun agreed to it.[10]

Significance

According to the Hindu texts Tapati was famous for her devotion and neither goddess, nor demon, nor Apsara nor Gandharva was her equal in beauty, disposition or knowledge of the vedas.[11]

Mode of Worship

Since the river Tapati was probably named after Tapati, people worship her both in the form of a goddess and in that of an important river having many admirable qualities, enumerated in Hindu texts.[12]

Relatives

According to the Hindu texts which mention her, Tapati has the following relatives : Surya as her father and Chhaya as her mother, she was a wife of Samvarana and the mother of Kuru, she was a younger sister of Yami and Bhadra and had two brothers Shani and Yama [13][14]

Representation in art

There seems to be multiple plays performed on both the legend characters story Kaurava king Samvarana and Tapati such as Tapatisamvarana play, Kuttiyattam drama tradition in Kerala.[15]

References

1. Hewitt, J. F. History and Chronology of the Myth-Making Age. Рипол Классик. ISBN 9781143716454.
2. Gandhi, Maneka (2004). The Penguin Book of Hindu Names for Girls. Penguin Books India. ISBN 9780143031697.
3. Coulter, Charles Russell; Turner, Patricia (2013-07-04). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Routledge. ISBN 9781135963903.
4. "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Chaitraratha Parva: Section CLXXIII". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
5. Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 378–379
6. MacLeod, Sharon (Dec 7, 2013). The Divine Feminine in Ancient Europe: Goddesses, Sacred Women and the Origins of Western Culture. McFarland. p. 116-128.- Retrieved 2018-12-17
7. J.Harmatta: "Scythians" in UNESCO Collection of History of Humanity – Volume III: From the Seventh Century BC to the Seventh Century AD. Routledge/UNESCO. 1996. pg 182
8. "Tapati - AncientVoice". ancientvoice.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
9. "Kuru - AncientVoice". ancientvoice.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
10. Buitenen, J. A. B. van; Buitenen, Johannes Adrianus Bernardus (1973). The Mahabharata, Volume 1: Book 1: The Book of the Beginning. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226846637.
11. Historical and Descriptive Account of British India: From the Most Remote Period to the Conclusion of the Afghan War. Oliver & Boyd. 1844.
12. Singh, Mahesh Prasad; Singh, J. K.; Mohanka, Reena (2007). Forest Environment and Biodiversity. Daya Publishing House. ISBN 9788170354215.
13. "Tapati - AncientVoice". ancientvoice.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
14. Dalal, Roshen (2014-04-18). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184752779.
15. Verma, Archana (2011-01-18). Performance and Culture: Narrative, Image and Enactment in India. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443828321.