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Sacred Animals
Vāhanas, divine companions, and animals sacred to each tradition
68
Entries
✦
120
Unique sacred animals
🦁 Sacred Animals
🦚 Sacred Birds
🌳 Sacred Trees
🪷 Sacred Flowers
🌿 Sacred Plants
🪔 Sacred Offerings
🥥 Sacred Fruits
🌾 Sacred Grains
🦁
cow
4
🌸
Baladev
Lord of Animals
🔱
Dattatreya: The Triple Divine
Hindu
🌸
Jagannath
Lord of the Universe — the wooden deity of Puri
🌸
Lakshmi
Goddess of Wealth, Fortune & Prosperity
🦁
antelope
3
🔥
Chandra
The Moon God — Lord of Mind & Emotions
🔥
Rudra: The Vedic Form of Shiva
Hindu
🔥
Vayu
God of Wind — Lord of Prana
🦁
deer
3
🌿
Hidimbā Devi of Manali
Hidimbā Devi — the Pandava-era goddess of Kullu Valley
✦
shiva-nataraja
Shiva
🔥
Vayu
God of Wind — Lord of Prana
🦁
goat
3
🪔
Amman
Mother Goddess
🌿
Durgā-amma — the coastal Karnataka village goddess
Durgā-amma — the coastal Karnataka village goddess
🌿
Kāḷūbāi of Mandhardevi
Kāḷūbāi — the dark goddess of the Western Ghats
🦁
horse
3
☸️
Dharma Thakur
Dharma Ṭhākur — folk deity of Bengal and Bihar
🔱
Khaṇḍobā of Jejuri
Mārtāṇḍa Bhairava — Shiva as warrior-pastoralist lord
🔱
Male Mahadeshwara
Male Mahādeśvara — hill-Shiva of the Kuruba shepherds
🦁
jackal
3
🪔
Chamunda Devi
Fierce Form of Durga
🪔
Chamundeshwari
Goddess of Chamundi Hill — royal deity of Mysuru
🪔
Kali
The Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation
🦁
tiger
3
🔱
Ayyappa
Hariharaputra — the celibate god of Sabarimala
🪔
Chamunda Devi
Fierce Form of Durga
✦
shiva-nataraja
Shiva
🦁
buffalo
2
🪔
Kamakhya
Goddess of Desire — Shakti Peetha of the Yoni
🔥
Yama
Lord of Death — The First Mortal
🦁
bull
2
🌸
Baladev
Lord of Animals
🔥
Rudra: The Vedic Form of Shiva
Hindu
🦁
crow
2
🪔
Kali
The Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation
🔥
Shani
Karmic Lord of Justice — Planet Saturn
🦁
dog
2
🌿
Ayyanar
Village Sovereign — the meditating warrior of the Tamil boundary
🌿
Karuppasamy
Black God
🦁
dragon
2
☯️
Yu Huang Shangdi
Jade Emperor — Supreme Ruler of the Celestial Bureaucracy
🌿
Pakhangba
Pākhaṅgbā — serpent-god of the Meitei of Manipur
🦁
elephant
2
✦
Ashta-Lakshmi
Hinduism
🌸
Jagannath
Lord of the Universe — the wooden deity of Puri
🦁
makara
2
🔥
Ganga
The Sacred River Goddess
🔥
Varuna
God of Cosmic Order & Water
🦁
parrot
2
🔱
Kamadeva
God of Desire — Lord of Love
🪔
Kanchi Kamakshi
Goddess of Kanchipuram
🦁
rooster
2
🪔
Amman
Mother Goddess
🌿
Durgā-amma — the coastal Karnataka village goddess
Durgā-amma — the coastal Karnataka village goddess
🦁
serpent
2
🪔
Kali
The Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation
🔱
Kartikeya
The Divine Warrior — Son of Shiva
🦁
tortoise
2
🌸
Lakshmi
Goddess of Wealth, Fortune & Prosperity
🔥
Varuna
God of Cosmic Order & Water
🦁
vulture
2
🪔
Kali
The Dark Goddess — Time & Liberation
🔥
Shani
Karmic Lord of Justice — Planet Saturn
🦁
airāvata (elephant)
1
🔥
Indra
King of Gods — God of Thunder & Rain
🦁
ananta śeṣa (serpent)
1
🌸
Vishnu
The Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism
🦁
apasmāra (dwarf of ignorance) — trampled
1
✦
shiva-nataraja
Shiva
🦁
aruṇa (charioteer)
1
🔥
Surya
The Sun God — Source of Life
🦁
bandicoot rat
1
✦
Ganesha
Lord of Beginnings — Remover of Obstacles
🦁
bear (jāmbavān)
1
🌸
Rama
The Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu
🦁
black chicken (released, not sacrificed)
1
🌿
Dharmeś — a Bhojpuri-region folk god, deified hero
Dharmeś — a Bhojpuri-region folk god, deified hero
🦁
buffalo (historically sacrificed; now pumpkin)
1
🌿
Kāḷūbāi of Mandhardevi
Kāḷūbāi — the dark goddess of the Western Ghats
🦁
buffalo (in telugu traditions)
1
🔥
Shani
Karmic Lord of Justice — Planet Saturn
🦁
buffalo (mahiṣāsura as trampled demon)
1
🪔
Durga
The Divine Mother — Warrior Goddess
🦁
buffalo (sacrificed traditionally; now replaced by pumpkin)
1
🌿
Yellamma of Saundatti
Yellamma / Reṇuka — the mother goddess of northern Karnataka
🦁
bull (bos indicus, humped zebu)
1
🔱
Nandi
The Sacred Bull — Vehicle of Shiva
🦁
bull (in roman mithraism the bull-slaying)
1
🔥
Mithra
Yazata of Covenant, Light, and Oath
🦁
bull (nandi)
1
🔱
Shiva
The Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic
🦁
bull (vṛṣabha)
1
🔥
Indra
King of Gods — God of Thunder & Rain
🦁
calf
1
🌸
Krishna
The Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love
🦁
cobra
1
🌿
Manasā Devi
Manasā — the snake-goddess of Bengal
🦁
cobra (all serpents)
1
🪔
Manasa Devi
Manasā Devī — snake-goddess of Bengal
🦁
cobra (vāsuki around neck)
1
🔱
Shiva
The Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic
🦁
cobra (vāsuki)
1
✦
shiva-nataraja
Shiva
🦁
cow (go-mātā)
1
🌸
Krishna
The Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love
🦁
deer (associated with golden-deer episode)
1
🌸
Sita
The Ideal Consort — Wife of Rama
🦁
deer (golden, mārīca in disguise)
1
🌸
Rama
The Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu
🦁
deer (mṛga held in hand)
1
🔱
Shiva
The Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic
🦁
dog (khandoba's companion)
1
🔱
Khaṇḍobā of Jejuri
Mārtāṇḍa Bhairava — Shiva as warrior-pastoralist lord
🦁
dog (pack of dogs roam the temple freely, regarded as muthappan's companions)
1
🌿
Muthappan of Parassinikadavu — the Theyyam god who is always available
Muthappan of Parassinikadavu — the Theyyam god who is always available
🦁
eagle (garuḍa)
1
🌸
Narasimha
The Man-Lion Avatar of Vishnu
🦁
eagle (jaṭāyu)
1
🌸
Rama
The Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu
🦁
elephant (gaja — in gaja-lakṣmī)
1
🌸
Lakshmi
Goddess of Wealth, Fortune & Prosperity
🦁
elephant (indra's preceptor-context)
1
🔥
Brihaspati
Guru of Gods — Planet Jupiter
🦁
elephant (terracotta)
1
🌿
Ayyanar
Village Sovereign — the meditating warrior of the Tamil boundary
🦁
fish
1
🔥
Varuna
God of Cosmic Order & Water
🦁
fish (gaṅgā's waters)
1
🔥
Ganga
The Sacred River Goddess
🦁
four dogs
1
🔱
Dattatreya: The Triple Divine
Hindu
🦁
ganges river dolphin (platanista)
1
🔥
Ganga
The Sacred River Goddess
🦁
garuḍa
1
🌸
Krishna
The Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love
🦁
garuḍa (eagle)
1
🌸
Vishnu
The Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism
🦁
goat (for ritual)
1
🪔
Kamakhya
Goddess of Desire — Shakti Peetha of the Yoni
🦁
goat (in yajña offerings)
1
🔥
Agni
God of Fire — Messenger Between Worlds
🦁
hayagrīva (horse-form)
1
🌸
Vishnu
The Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism
🦁
horse (chariot)
1
🔥
Mithra
Yazata of Covenant, Light, and Oath
🦁
horse (rides into villages at night to patrol)
1
🌿
Periyaṇṇan Sāmi
Periyaṇṇan — the Elder Brother guardian of southern Tamil Nadu
🦁
horse (steppe-influenced vahana)
1
🌿
Karuppasamy
Black God
🦁
horse (terracotta)
1
🌿
Ayyanar
Village Sovereign — the meditating warrior of the Tamil boundary
🦁
horse (the prince's mount)
1
🌿
Hardaul / Hardevji
Hardaul — the tragic prince deified in Bundelkhand
🦁
horses (celestial)
1
🔥
Gandharva
Celestial Musician
🦁
kūrma (tortoise)
1
🌸
Vishnu
The Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism
🦁
leopard
1
🔱
Ayyappa
Hariharaputra — the celibate god of Sabarimala
🦁
lion
1
🪔
Chamunda Devi
Fierce Form of Durga
🦁
lion (per north indian puranic text)
1
🪔
Ambaji
Ambājī Mātā — one of 51 Śakti Pīṭhas
🦁
lion (puranic siṃha; steppe import)
1
🪔
Parvati
The Divine Mother — Consort of Shiva
🦁
lion (puranic siṃha; tiger in deccan practice)
1
🪔
Ambabai / Mahalakshmi
Karvir Nivasini — The Great Goddess of Kolhapur
🦁
lion (puranic; tiger in deccan practice)
1
🪔
Tulja Bhavani
Tuḷjā Bhavānī — Kuladevī of Chhatrapati Shivaji
🦁
lion (siṃha — puranic sanskrit term, used in north indian iconographic texts)
1
🪔
Durga
The Divine Mother — Warrior Goddess
🦁
lion (siṃha lāñchana — jain emblem, not a mount; tīrthaṅkaras do not ride animals)
1
🪷
The Great Hero of Jainism
The Great Hero of Jainism
🦁
lion (simha)
1
🌸
Narasimha
The Man-Lion Avatar of Vishnu
🦁
makara (on banner)
1
🔱
Kamadeva
God of Desire — Lord of Love
🦁
matsya (fish)
1
🌸
Vishnu
The Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism
🦁
monkey (vānara, hanumān)
1
🌸
Rama
The Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu
🦁
monkey (vānara)
1
🌸
Hanuman — The Monkey God
The Devoted Monkey God — Symbol of Devotion
🦁
mouse (mūṣika)
1
✦
Ganesha
Lord of Beginnings — Remover of Obstacles
🦁
nandi bull
1
🔱
Male Mahadeshwara
Male Mahādeśvara — hill-Shiva of the Kuruba shepherds
🦁
narasiṃha (lion-man)
1
🌸
Vishnu
The Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism
🦁
owl
1
✦
Ashta-Lakshmi
Hinduism
🦁
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
🪔
Meenakshi
Fish-Eyed Goddess of Madurai
🦁
peacock
1
🔱
Kartikeya
The Divine Warrior — Son of Shiva
🦁
peacock (feather crown)
1
🌸
Krishna
The Dark Lord — Supreme Deity of Love
🦁
peacock (paravāṇi)
1
✦
Kartikeya / Murugan
Kaumaram (Shaivism)
🦁
phoenix
1
☯️
Yu Huang Shangdi
Jade Emperor — Supreme Ruler of the Celestial Bureaucracy
🦁
pigeon
1
🪔
Kamakhya
Goddess of Desire — Shakti Peetha of the Yoni
🦁
rabbit (seen in the moon markings)
1
🔥
Chandra
The Moon God — Lord of Mind & Emotions
🦁
ram
1
🔥
Agni
God of Fire — Messenger Between Worlds
🦁
rooster (for tuesday offering)
1
🌿
Karumāriyamman of Thiruverkadu
Karumāriyamman — the dark goddess of rain
🦁
serpent (cosmic)
1
🌿
Pakhangba
Pākhaṅgbā — serpent-god of the Meitei of Manipur
🦁
serpent (disembodied head)
1
🔥
Rahu
The North Lunar Node — Shadow of Ambition
🦁
serpent (subdued by peacock)
1
✦
Kartikeya / Murugan
Kaumaram (Shaivism)
🦁
serpent (tail-form)
1
🔥
Ketu
The South Lunar Node — Spirit of Liberation
🦁
serpents (as eternal prey)
1
🌸
Garuda
King of Birds — Vehicle of Vishnu
🦁
śeṣa-nāga (as balarāma's divine form)
1
🌸
Baladev
Lord of Animals
🦁
seven horses
1
🔥
Surya
The Sun God — Source of Life
🦁
squirrel (blessed)
1
🌸
Rama
The Ideal King — Avatar of Vishnu
🦁
swan
1
🌿
Manasā Devi
Manasā — the snake-goddess of Bengal
🦁
the bear clan as allies
1
🌸
Hanuman — The Monkey God
The Devoted Monkey God — Symbol of Devotion
🦁
three-legged crow (yatagarasu)
1
⛩️
Amaterasu Ōmikami
Great 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
🪔
Chamundeshwari
Goddess of Chamundi Hill — royal deity of Mysuru
🦁
tiger (puli — in south indian tradition)
1
🪔
Ambaji
Ambājī Mātā — one of 51 Śakti Pīṭhas
🦁
tiger (puli — primary in south indian amman worship)
1
🪔
Amman
Mother Goddess
🦁
tiger (puli — south indian amman tradition)
1
🌿
Karumāriyamman of Thiruverkadu
Karumāriyamman — the dark goddess of rain
🦁
tiger (puli — south indian tradition; sanskrit 'siṃha' rendered as tiger)
1
🪔
Meenakshi
Fish-Eyed Goddess of Madurai
🦁
tiger (puli / vyāghra)
1
🪔
Parvati
The Divine Mother — Consort of Shiva
🦁
tiger (puli)
1
🪔
Kanchi Kamakshi
Goddess of Kanchipuram
🦁
tiger (rode to subdue demons)
1
🔱
Male Mahadeshwara
Male Mahādeśvara — hill-Shiva of the Kuruba shepherds
🦁
tiger (skin as garment)
1
🔱
Shiva
The Destroyer — Supreme Ascetic
🦁
tiger (vyāghra — the primary mount in bengal, assam, and south india; lions were never native to eastern or southern india)
1
🪔
Durga
The Divine Mother — Warrior Goddess
🦁
two dogs (śyāma and śabala) — guardians of the path to his realm
1
🔥
Yama
Lord of Death — The First Mortal
🦁
ucchaiḥśravas (horse, secondary)
1
🔥
Indra
King of Gods — God of Thunder & Rain
🦁
varāha (boar)
1
🌸
Vishnu
The Preserver — Supreme God of Hinduism
🦁
water-buffalo
1
🔥
Varuna
God of Cosmic Order & Water
🦁
wild boar
1
🔥
Rudra: The Vedic Form of Shiva
Hindu
🦁
yak (appears in himalayan iconography)
1
🌿
Hidimbā Devi of Manali
Hidimbā Devi — the Pandava-era goddess of Kullu Valley
Sacred Animals — Sacred Associations — ELGODS