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Sacred Animals

Vāhanas, divine companions, and animals sacred to each tradition

64Entries

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115Unique sacred animals

🦁 Sacred Animals 🦚 Sacred Birds 🌳 Sacred Trees 🪷 Sacred Flowers 🌿 Sacred Plants 🪔 Sacred Offerings 🥥 Sacred Fruits 🌾 Sacred Grains

🦁cow4

BaladevLord of Animals

Dattatreya: The Triple DivineHindu

JagannathLord of the Universe — the wooden deity of Puri

LakshmiGoddess of Wealth, Fortune & Prosperity

🦁antelope3

ChandraThe Moon God — Lord of Mind & Emotions

Rudra: The Vedic Form of ShivaHindu

VayuGod of Wind — Lord of Prana

🦁goat3

AmmanMother Goddess

Durgā-amma in Yakṣagāna countryDurgā-amma — the coastal Karnataka village goddess

Kāḷūbāi of MandhardeviKāḷūbāi — the dark goddess of the Western Ghats

🦁jackal3

Chamunda DeviFierce Form of Durga

ChamundeshwariGoddess of Chamundi Hill — royal deity of Mysuru

KaliThe Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation

🦁tiger3

AyyappaHariharaputra — the celibate god of Sabarimala

Chamunda DeviFierce Form of Durga

shiva-natarajaShiva

🦁buffalo2

KamakhyaGoddess of Desire — Shakti Peetha of the Yoni

YamaLord of Death — The First Mortal

🦁bull2

BaladevLord of Animals

Rudra: The Vedic Form of ShivaHindu

🦁crow2

KaliThe Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation

ShaniKarmic Lord of Justice — Planet Saturn

🦁deer2

VayuGod of Wind — Lord of Prana

shiva-natarajaShiva

🦁dog2

AyyanarVillage Sovereign — the meditating warrior of the Tamil boundary

KaruppasamyBlack God

🦁dragon2

Yu Huang ShangdiJade Emperor — Supreme Ruler of the Celestial Bureaucracy

PakhangbaPākhaṅgbā — serpent-god of the Meitei of Manipur

🦁elephant2

Ashta-LakshmiHinduism

JagannathLord of the Universe — the wooden deity of Puri

🦁horse2

Khaṇḍobā of JejuriMārtāṇḍa Bhairava — Shiva as warrior-pastoralist lord

Male MahadeshwaraMale Mahādeśvara — hill-Shiva of the Kuruba shepherds

🦁makara2

GangaThe Sacred River Goddess

VarunaGod of Cosmic Order & Water

🦁parrot2

KamadevaGod of Desire — Lord of Love

Kanchi KamakshiGoddess of Kanchipuram

🦁rooster2

AmmanMother Goddess

Durgā-amma in Yakṣagāna countryDurgā-amma — the coastal Karnataka village goddess

🦁serpent2

KaliThe Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation

KartikeyaThe Divine Warrior — Son of Shiva

🦁tortoise2

LakshmiGoddess of Wealth, Fortune & Prosperity

VarunaGod of Cosmic Order & Water

🦁vulture2

KaliThe Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation

ShaniKarmic Lord of Justice — Planet Saturn

🦁airāvata (elephant)1

IndraKing of Gods — God of Thunder & Rain

🦁ananta śeṣa (serpent)1

VishnuThe Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism

🦁apasmāra (dwarf of ignorance) — trampled1

shiva-natarajaShiva

🦁aruṇa (charioteer)1

SuryaThe Sun God — Source of Life

🦁bandicoot rat1

GaneshaLord of Beginnings — Remover of Obstacles

🦁bear (jāmbavān)1

RamaThe Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu

🦁black chicken (released, not sacrificed)1

Dharmeś / Dharam Mahārāj — Bhojpur village hero-godDharmeś — a Bhojpuri-region folk god, deified hero

🦁buffalo (historically sacrificed; now pumpkin)1

Kāḷūbāi of MandhardeviKāḷūbāi — the dark goddess of the Western Ghats

🦁buffalo (in telugu traditions)1

ShaniKarmic Lord of Justice — Planet Saturn

🦁buffalo (sacrificed traditionally; now replaced by pumpkin)1

Yellamma of SaundattiYellamma / Reṇuka — the mother goddess of northern Karnataka

🦁bull (bos indicus, humped zebu)1

NandiThe Sacred Bull — Vehicle of Shiva

🦁bull (in roman mithraism the bull-slaying)1

MithraYazata of Covenant, Light, and Oath

🦁bull (nandi)1

ShivaThe Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic

🦁bull (vṛṣabha)1

IndraKing of Gods — God of Thunder & Rain

🦁calf1

KrishnaThe Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love

🦁cobra1

Manasā DeviManasā — the snake-goddess of Bengal

🦁cobra (all serpents)1

Manasa DeviManasā Devī — snake-goddess of Bengal

🦁cobra (vāsuki around neck)1

ShivaThe Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic

🦁cobra (vāsuki)1

shiva-natarajaShiva

🦁cow (go-mātā)1

KrishnaThe Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love

🦁deer (associated with golden-deer episode)1

SitaThe Ideal Consort — Wife of Rama

🦁deer (golden, mārīca in disguise)1

RamaThe Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu

🦁deer (mṛga held in hand)1

ShivaThe Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic

🦁dog (khandoba's companion)1

Khaṇḍobā of JejuriMārtāṇḍa Bhairava — Shiva as warrior-pastoralist lord

🦁eagle (garuḍa)1

NarasimhaThe Man-Lion Avatar of Vishnu

🦁eagle (jaṭāyu)1

RamaThe Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu

🦁elephant (gaja — in gaja-lakṣmī)1

LakshmiGoddess of Wealth, Fortune & Prosperity

🦁elephant (indra's preceptor-context)1

BrihaspatiGuru of Gods — Planet Jupiter

🦁elephant (terracotta)1

AyyanarVillage Sovereign — the meditating warrior of the Tamil boundary

🦁fish1

VarunaGod of Cosmic Order & Water

🦁fish (gaṅgā's waters)1

GangaThe Sacred River Goddess

🦁four dogs1

Dattatreya: The Triple DivineHindu

🦁ganges river dolphin (platanista)1

GangaThe Sacred River Goddess

🦁garuḍa1

KrishnaThe Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love

🦁garuḍa (eagle)1

VishnuThe Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism

🦁goat (for ritual)1

KamakhyaGoddess of Desire — Shakti Peetha of the Yoni

🦁goat (in yajña offerings)1

AgniGod of Fire — Messenger Between Worlds

🦁hayagrīva (horse-form)1

VishnuThe Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism

🦁horse (chariot)1

MithraYazata of Covenant, Light, and Oath

🦁horse (rides into villages at night to patrol)1

Periyaṇṇan SāmiPeriyaṇṇan — the Elder Brother guardian of southern Tamil Nadu

🦁horse (steppe-influenced vahana)1

KaruppasamyBlack God

🦁horse (terracotta)1

AyyanarVillage Sovereign — the meditating warrior of the Tamil boundary

🦁horse (the prince's mount)1

Hardaul / HardevjiHardaul — the tragic prince deified in Bundelkhand

🦁horses (celestial)1

GandharvaCelestial Musician

🦁kūrma (tortoise)1

VishnuThe Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism

🦁leopard1

AyyappaHariharaputra — the celibate god of Sabarimala

🦁lion1

Chamunda DeviFierce Form of Durga

🦁lion (per north indian puranic text)1

AmbajiAmbājī Mātā — one of 51 Śakti Pīṭhas

🦁lion (puranic siṃha; steppe import)1

ParvatiThe Divine Mother — Consort of Shiva

🦁lion (puranic siṃha; tiger in deccan practice)1

Ambabai / MahalakshmiKarvir Nivasini — The Great Goddess of Kolhapur

🦁lion (puranic; tiger in deccan practice)1

Tulja BhavaniTuḷjā Bhavānī — Kuladevī of Chhatrapati Shivaji

🦁lion (siṃha lāñchana — jain emblem, not a mount; tīrthaṅkaras do not ride animals)1

MahaviraThe Great Hero of Jainism

🦁lion (simha)1

NarasimhaThe Man-Lion Avatar of Vishnu

🦁makara (on banner)1

KamadevaGod of Desire — Lord of Love

🦁matsya (fish)1

VishnuThe Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism

🦁monkey (vānara, hanumān)1

RamaThe Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu

🦁monkey (vānara)1

HanumanThe Devoted Monkey God — Symbol of Devotion

🦁mouse (mūṣika)1

GaneshaLord of Beginnings — Remover of Obstacles

🦁nandi bull1

Male MahadeshwaraMale Mahādeśvara — hill-Shiva of the Kuruba shepherds

🦁narasiṃha (lion-man)1

VishnuThe Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism

🦁owl1

Ashta-LakshmiHinduism

🦁ox (riding westward into the hangu pass legend)1

Taishang Laojun (Deified Laozi)Supreme Venerable Sovereign — Deified Form of Laozi

🦁parrot (kāñcana-śuka — green parrot on her hand)1

MeenakshiFish-Eyed Goddess of Madurai

🦁peacock1

KartikeyaThe Divine Warrior — Son of Shiva

🦁peacock (feather crown)1

KrishnaThe Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love

🦁peacock (paravāṇi)1

Kartikeya / MuruganKaumaram (Shaivism)

🦁phoenix1

Yu Huang ShangdiJade Emperor — Supreme Ruler of the Celestial Bureaucracy

🦁pigeon1

KamakhyaGoddess of Desire — Shakti Peetha of the Yoni

🦁rabbit (seen in the moon markings)1

ChandraThe Moon God — Lord of Mind & Emotions

🦁ram1

AgniGod of Fire — Messenger Between Worlds

🦁rooster (for tuesday offering)1

Karumāriyamman of ThiruverkaduKarumāriyamman — the dark goddess of rain

🦁serpent (cosmic)1

PakhangbaPākhaṅgbā — serpent-god of the Meitei of Manipur

🦁serpent (disembodied head)1

RahuThe North Lunar Node — Shadow of Ambition

🦁serpent (subdued by peacock)1

Kartikeya / MuruganKaumaram (Shaivism)

🦁serpent (tail-form)1

KetuThe South Lunar Node — Spirit of Liberation

🦁serpents (as eternal prey)1

GarudaKing of Birds — Vehicle of Vishnu

🦁śeṣa-nāga (as balarāma's divine form)1

BaladevLord of Animals

🦁seven horses1

SuryaThe Sun God — Source of Life

🦁squirrel (blessed)1

RamaThe Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu

🦁swan1

Manasā DeviManasā — the snake-goddess of Bengal

🦁the bear clan as allies1

HanumanThe Devoted Monkey God — Symbol of Devotion

🦁three-legged crow (yatagarasu)1

Amaterasu ŌmikamiGreat Kami Who Shines in Heaven — Sun Goddess

🦁tiger (puli — in south indian shakta tradition, the 'siṃha' vahana is the tiger; chamundi hills iconography shows the tiger)1

ChamundeshwariGoddess of Chamundi Hill — royal deity of Mysuru

🦁tiger (puli — in south indian tradition)1

AmbajiAmbājī Mātā — one of 51 Śakti Pīṭhas

🦁tiger (puli — primary in south indian amman worship)1

AmmanMother Goddess

🦁tiger (puli — south indian amman tradition)1

Karumāriyamman of ThiruverkaduKarumāriyamman — the dark goddess of rain

🦁tiger (puli — south indian tradition; sanskrit 'siṃha' rendered as tiger)1

MeenakshiFish-Eyed Goddess of Madurai

🦁tiger (puli / vyāghra)1

ParvatiThe Divine Mother — Consort of Shiva

🦁tiger (puli)1

Kanchi KamakshiGoddess of Kanchipuram

🦁tiger (rode to subdue demons)1

Male MahadeshwaraMale Mahādeśvara — hill-Shiva of the Kuruba shepherds

🦁tiger (skin as garment)1

ShivaThe Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic

🦁two dogs (śyāma and śabala) — guardians of the path to his realm1

YamaLord of Death — The First Mortal

🦁ucchaiḥśravas (horse, secondary)1

IndraKing of Gods — God of Thunder & Rain

🦁varāha (boar)1

VishnuThe Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism

🦁water-buffalo1

VarunaGod of Cosmic Order & Water

🦁wild boar1

Rudra: The Vedic Form of ShivaHindu