https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=HimavatHimavat - Revision history2026-07-31T04:10:59ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Himavat&diff=378502&oldid=prevImportMaster at 19:32, 23 October 20222022-10-23T19:32:13Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Hindu personification of the Himalayas}}<br />
{{Infobox deity<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology--><br />
| type = Hindu<br />
| image = Everest North Face toward Base Camp Tibet Luca Galuzzi 2006 edit 1.jpg<br />
| name = Himavat<br />
| caption = The Himalayas mountains<br />
| Devanagari = हिमवत्<br />
| affiliation = <br />
| abode = [[Himalayas]]<br />
| consort = Menā<br />
| children = [[Ganga in Hinduism|Ganga]]<br>[[Parvati]]<br>[[Mount Mainak|Mainaka]]<br>Krauñja<ref>https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/himavan</ref><br />
| deity_of = Personification of the Himalayas<br />
| siblings = [[Jambavan]], [[Narada]]<br />
| father = [[Brahma]]<br />
| mother = [[Saraswati]]<br />
| god_of = <br />
}}<br />
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'''Himavat''' ([[Sanskrit]]: हिमवत्, lit. ''frosty'') is the personification of the [[Himalayas|Himalayan mountains]] in [[Hinduism]]. He is the guardian deity of the [[Himalayan mountains|Himalayas]], and finds mention in the epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and other [[Hindu texts|Hindu scriptures]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2017-03-08 |title=Himavat: 15 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/himavat#introduction |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Nomenclature ==<br />
Various Hindu scriptures refer to the personification of the Himalayas by different names, and hence Himavat is also called '''Himavant''' ([[Sanskrit]]: हिमवन्त, lit. ''icy),'' '''Himavān''' ([[Sanskrit]]: हिमवान्, lit. ''snowy''), '''Himaraja''' ([[Sanskrit]]: हिमराज, lit. ''king of snow''), and '''Parvateshwara''' ([[Sanskrit]]: पर्वतेश्वर, lit. ''god of mountains'').<br />
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== Legend ==<br />
Himavat fathered [[Ganga in Hinduism|Ganga]], the river goddess, as well as Ragini,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|last1=Jones|first1=Constance|last2=Ryan|first2=James D.|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9780816075645|language=en}}</ref> and [[Parvati]], the second consort of [[Shiva]]. His wife and [[queen consort]] is the Vedic goddess Mainavati, the daughter of [[Mount Meru]],<ref>[[#Wil|Wilkins, p. 287]]</ref> according to the [[Ramayana]], or is the daughter of Svadhā and her husband Kavi, a member of the class of Pitṛs, as per some other sources like the [[Vishnu Purana]].<br />
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The [[Shiva Purana]] describes the wedding between Himavat and Menā.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2018-10-04 |title=The marriage of Himācala [Chapter 1] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/shiva-purana-english/d/doc226065.html |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><br />
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The sacred text of ''[[Devi Gita]]'', which is found in the last nine chapters (31-40) of the seventh ''skandha'' of [[Devi-Bhagavata Purana]], is a dialogue between [[Parvati]] and her father Himavat. It deals with the universal form of the ''[[Devi]]'', meditations on the major texts of ''[[Upanishad]]s'', ''ashtanga-yoga'', the [[yoga]]s of ''jnana'', ''karma'' and ''bhakti'', locations of the temples dedicated to the ''Devi'' and the rituals pertaining to her worship.<br />
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His story also finds mention in ''[[Brahmanda Purana]]'' and ''[[Kena Upanishad]]''.<ref>''Kena Upanisad'', III.11-IV.3, cited in Müller and in Sarma, pp. ''xxix-xxx''.</ref><br />
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[[Krishna]] once performed a [[Tapas (Indian religions)|tapasya]] on the peaks of the Himalayas to appease Himavat, which led to his eldest son, [[Pradyumna]], being born to his favourite wife, [[Rukmini]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2019-01-28 |title=Story of Himavān |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/compilation/puranic-encyclopaedia/d/doc241620.html |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
* {{cite book |title=Hindu Gods and Goddesses|author= W. J. Wilkins |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=2003|isbn= 0486431568|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I67W9aqtfOwC&q=King+himavat&pg=PA287 |ref=Wil }}<br />
*''[[Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend]]'' ({{ISBN|0-500-51088-1}}) by Anna Dallapiccola.<br />
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[[Category:Hindu gods]]<br />
[[Category:Characters in Hindu mythology]]<br />
[[Category:Himalayas]]<br />
[[Category:Mountains in Buddhism]]<br />
[[Category:Mountain gods]]</div>ImportMaster