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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Makara}} | {{DISPLAYTITLE:Makara}} | ||
Makara (Sanskrit मकर makara m.) is an Indian name, used by the Indian Vedic tradition. Most of these names are roughly 3000 years old and pre-date Hinduism but were taken over by it. It refers to a constellation in [[Capricornus]]. | Makara (Sanskrit मकर makara m.) is an Indian name, used by the Indian Vedic tradition. Most of these names are roughly 3000 years old and pre-date Hinduism but were taken over by it. It refers to a constellation in [[Capricornus]] depicted as a mythical mixed sea-creature. | ||
==Concordance, Etymology, History== | ==Concordance, Etymology, History== | ||
[[File:An Amalgamation of Wonder.JPG|thumb|A makara is a mythical fusion of different animals. Above is one with tail of a peacock, body of a lion, face of a crocodile. It is depicted as a vahana | [[File:An Amalgamation of Wonder.JPG|thumb|A makara is a mythical fusion of different animals. Above is one with tail of a peacock, body of a lion, face of a crocodile. It is depicted as a ''vahana'', a vehicle (CC BY Subbhashinee S).]] | ||
A "makara" is a mythological figure, a mixed mythical sea creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Frequently, it is depicted as a hybrid with the body of a crocodile, fish, or seal, and the head of an elephant, stag, or deer. It serves as the ''vahana'' (mount) for the river goddess Ganga and the ocean god Varuna. As a guardian of gateways and temples, it symbolizes protection, transformation, and the unity of nature's forces. | A "makara" is a mythological figure, a mixed mythical sea creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Frequently, it is depicted as a hybrid with the body of a crocodile, fish, or seal, and the head of an elephant, stag, or deer. It serves as the ''vahana'' (mount) for the river goddess Ganga and the ocean god Varuna. As a guardian of gateways and temples, it symbolizes protection, transformation, and the unity of nature's forces. | ||
The Sanskrit term means "crocodile". | |||
=== Origin of Constellation === | === Origin of Constellation === | ||
In mythology, cult and religion, the makara is attested since the Vedic tradition (second millennium BCE). However, the constellation of the makara only occurs as the tenth "rāśi", the Indian version of the Graeco-Babylonian zodiacal signs. These were introduced only in the middle of of the first millennium CE, when Hinduism took over the zodiac as an additional division of the ecliptic. | |||
=== Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation === | === Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation === | ||
Revision as of 08:28, 31 January 2026
Makara (Sanskrit मकर makara m.) is an Indian name, used by the Indian Vedic tradition. Most of these names are roughly 3000 years old and pre-date Hinduism but were taken over by it. It refers to a constellation in Capricornus depicted as a mythical mixed sea-creature.
Concordance, Etymology, History
A "makara" is a mythological figure, a mixed mythical sea creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Frequently, it is depicted as a hybrid with the body of a crocodile, fish, or seal, and the head of an elephant, stag, or deer. It serves as the vahana (mount) for the river goddess Ganga and the ocean god Varuna. As a guardian of gateways and temples, it symbolizes protection, transformation, and the unity of nature's forces.
The Sanskrit term means "crocodile".
Origin of Constellation
In mythology, cult and religion, the makara is attested since the Vedic tradition (second millennium BCE). However, the constellation of the makara only occurs as the tenth "rāśi", the Indian version of the Graeco-Babylonian zodiacal signs. These were introduced only in the middle of of the first millennium CE, when Hinduism took over the zodiac as an additional division of the ecliptic.
Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation
Religion/ Tales/ Mythology
mnemonic tales and cultural significance
Weblinks
References
- References (general)
