Jvara (), also called Jvarasura, is the personification of

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

in Hindu tradition. He is the servant, and sometimes the attendant, of the pox-goddess,

Shitala Shitala (, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) , also spelled as Sheetala, śītalā and Seetla, is a Hindu goddess venerated primarily in North India. She is regarded to be an incarnation of the goddess Parvati. She is b ...

Hinduism

When

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

was not invited to Daksha's yajna, his wife, Sati, was swept by sorrow. Observing the unease of his wife, Shiva's third eye issued a drop of sweat, and a fearful creature emerged out of the sweat, gleaming like a flame. The creature was dwarfish, with penetrating eyes, donning a green moustache, with hair standing erect on his head and body, looking like hybrid of a hawk and an owl, jet-black in hue, and was dressed in a blood-coloured cloth. He named the creature Jvara, and the creature proceeded to cause a fever to all the devas. Once,

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

was inflicted with the fever of Jvarasura, when in the form of

Hayagriva Hayagriva ( IAST , ) is a Hindus, Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a Danava (Hinduism), danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who had the head of a horse a ...

. He then killed the fever-demon by cutting him into three pieces using his discus, the

Sudarshana Chakra The Sudarshana Chakra (, ) is a divine discus, attributed to Vishnu in the Hindu scriptures. The Sudarshana Chakra is generally portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu, who also holds the Panchajanya (conch), the Kaumodak ...

. However, Jvarasura was later revived by

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

, who joined the three parts. But, by that time, each three parts had grown a head and a limb. Thus, Jvarasura is depicted as having three faces, three feet, and remarkable ability to move in all directions at once. He was later selected as servant of the pox-goddess,

Cult

The cult of Shitala-Jvarasura is widely popular in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

culture. Incidentally, in

, Oriya and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

languages, fever is referred to as ''Jvara''. and

Asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

means demon. The name Jvarasura is combination of these two words - ''Jvara'' (meaning fever) and ''Asura'' (meaning demon) - Jvarasura. Thus, Jvarasura means the demon of fever. Jvarasura is disguised as a young servant.

, Jvarasura is widely worshipped by village folk in whole of North India, as a protector of pox and fever diseases.

Buddhism

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

tradition, Jvarasura is depicted sometimes as consort of Paranasabari, the Buddhist goddess of diseases. In some images, these deities are shown as flying away, to escape from wrath of

Vajrayogini Vajrayoginī (; , Dorjé Naljorma) is an important figure in Buddhism, especially revered in Tibetan Buddhism. In Vajrayana she is considered a female Buddhahood, Buddha and a . Vajrayoginī is often described with the epithet ''sarvabuddhaḍā ...

, the Buddhist goddess and destroyer of diseases.

References

{{Reflist Hindu folk deities Tibetan Buddhist mythology Asura Plague gods Forms of Shiva

Hinduism

Cult

Buddhism

See also

References