Bhuvaneshvari (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: भुवनेश्वरी,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: ''Bhuvaneśvarī'') is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

goddess. She is the fourth amongst the ten Mahavidya goddesses in

Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...

, and one of the highest aspects of

Mahadevi Mahadevi (, , IPA: / mɐɦɑd̪eʋiː/), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, and Mahamaya, is the supreme goddess in Hinduism. According to the goddess-centric sect Shaktism, all Hindu gods and goddesses are considered to be manifestations of t ...

. She is identified as form of Adi Parashakti in the ''

Devi Bhagavata Purana The Devi Bhagavata Purana (, '), also known as the Devi Purana or simply Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the eighteen Mahapurana (Hinduism), Mahapuranas as per Shiva Purana of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit language, Sanskrit by Vyasa, Veda Vyasa ...

''.

Etymology

The word Bhuvaneshvari is a compound of the words ''Bhuvana Iśwari'', meaning "Goddess of the world" or "Queen of the universe", where the worlds are the ''tri-bhuvana'' or three regions of ''bhūḥ'' (

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

), ''bhuvaḥ'' (

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

) and ''svaḥ'' (Heavens).

Legends

According to David Kinsley, there is an origin myth from a contemporary Hindi-language source that states that

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

created the three worlds after being offered Soma by Rishis and being empowered by

Tripura Sundari Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरसुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Lalita, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Rajarajeshvari, is a Hindu goddess, revered primarily within the Shaktism tradition and recognized as o ...

, the main Shakti of that time. After having empowered Surya to create the worlds, the goddess "assumed an appropriate form and pervaded and directed the triple world". This form of her became known as Bhuvaneshwari, meaning goddess of the world". This myth emphasises that Bhuvaneshwari is a form of Tripura Sundari.

Temples

There are several temples dedicated to Bhuvaneshvari. Bhuvaneshwari is revered as the state goddess of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. This temple is a historical place and known as Bhivaneshwari temple. It is in Bhuvanagiri, Siddapur taluka, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. * Bhuvaneshwari is revered as the state goddess of

. Bhuvaneshwari temple is in Virupaksha Temple complex where Aluru Venkata Rao went

Hampi Hampi or Hampe (), also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the town of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is menti ...

and performed pooja. A statue of the goddess is under construction in the capital

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. * A powerful shrine of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari established by Sri Sri Santhananda Swamiji is located at Pudukkottai, TamilNadu (https://www.sribhuvaneshwari.org/) * A dedicated temple of Bhuvaneshvari Devi known as Anchumana Devi Templ

is located at Anchumana, India, Ernakulam in

kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. * A dedicated temple of Bhuvaneshvari Devi is located at Gondal in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

which was established in 1946. * In North America, Bhuvaneshvari is worshipped at Parashakthi Temple in Pontiac, Michigan. * In Sydney, Australia, Bhuvaneshvari is worshipped at Shri Shiva Mandir in Minto, NSW. * There is nearly 800 to 1000 year old Bhuvaneshwari.temple located on banks of River Krishna opposite side of Shreekshetra Audumbar at Bhuwaneshwar Wadi at Village Bhilawadi, T aluka-Palus, District-Sangli, State-Maharashtra, Pincode-416303

Etymology

Legends

Temples

See also

References

Further reading