Historical PeriodEra
Oral / medieval / documented history
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Deities
MeldÄ« MÄtÄ
MeldÄ« ā goddess of Gujarati PÄraįøÄ« and Vaghri communities
MeldÄ« ā goddess of Gujarati PÄraįøÄ« and Vaghri communities
Hindu / Gujarati / Folk
MeldÄ« MÄtÄ is the kuldevÄ« of many traditional Gujarati pastoralist and trader communities (Paradi, Vaghri, Rabari). She protects cattle and grants wealth; her shrines sit at the boundary of villages. Iconography: a tall goddess on a he-goat (vÄhana), holding a sword. The annual MeldÄ« MÄtÄ JÄtrÄ in BhÄdra (AugustāSeptember) draws devotees from Gujarat diaspora worldwide.
India's sacred landscape embraces Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian, tribal, regional-folk traditions ā each with its own cosmology and priestly lineage. This entry honours Hindu on its own terms.
