Goddess Gayatri: Mother of all Gods

Brush up your mythology: In Hindu mythology, the goddess Gayatri is known as the Veda Mata — the mother of all the Vedas. To some, she is also seen as the mother of all Gods, and the culmination of Lakshmi, Parvati and Saraswati.

She is also known to be the consort of Lord Brahma. In religious terms, Gayatri is said to be the essence of Brahman, combining all the features of Brahman, that is past, present and future. That is why Gayatri is worshiped as the Trimurti combined into one.

Gayatri is normally shown seated on a red lotus, which connotes wealth. She has five forms. For instance, one depiction may show her with five heads, with 10 eyes looking in eight directions and her arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, while another might show her accompanied by a white swan and holding a book to depict knowledge in one hand, and a cure for illness in another.

Gayatri is also, in Sanskrit, a reference to a song or a hymn. In fact, the famous Gayatri Mantra, taken from the Rig Veda and attributed to Vishvamitra, is with reference to her. The Gayatri Mantra, simply speaking, consists of a formula taken from the Yajur Veda, and a verse from the Rig Veda. However, the Gayatri Mantra can be found in all four Vedas. By many Hindus, Gayatri is associated with Brahman and chanting the Gayatri Mantra is believed to be the easiest route to a divine awakening of the mind and soul. Only through chanting it can one achieve a union with Brahman and thus reach the highest peak of existence. Therefore, understanding the essence of the Mantra is believed to be one of the most powerful ways to reach God.

Hindu Mythology - The epitome of sacrifice

According to Hindu mythology, Sati or Dakshayani is the goddess of marital felicity and longevity. An avatar of Devi, Sati is the first consort of Shiva, the second being Parvati.

Sati took human birth at the bidding of Brahma, being born as a daughter of Daksha Prajapati.

Brahma had planned that she should please Shiva with her humble devotion, and thus marry him. So, as Sati grew to be a young woman, she gave up the luxuries of her father's palace and retired to a forest, devoting herself to a life of austerity. Her penance finally bore fruit when Shiva consented to make her his bride.

When Sati returned home to tell her father the news, she found him reluctant to give his approval. But eventually Sati's wishes were granted and the wedding was held. After the wedding, the angry Daksha disowned his daughter. Sati however had no idea of her father's rage - and when a grand yagna was organised with the omission of Shiva and Sati, she was bewildered. However, she thought that since she was family, a formal invitation was not needed, and so she set off home.

Sati was received coldly by her father. Sensing the reason behind his treatment of her, she confronted him about the issue. Their argument soon turned into a fullfledged fight. Sati realised that her father was incapable of appreciating her husband. Filled with rage, she prayed that she might, in some future life, be born the daughter of a father whom she could respect - and immolated herself. The act of sati, in which a Hindu widow immolated herself on her husband's funeral pyre, is supposedly patterned after this tragedy.

However, such a heinous practice was banned by the end of the 18th century, in all territories held by the European powers.