Meldi Mata

Meldi Mata is a Hindu goddess and household deity who protects farmland. A legend says that she can grant any wish. She is mainly famous in the western state of Gujarat. She is a revered goddess for gujrati farming Hindus and people of Chunvalia Koli. Her vahana is a goat. She has eight hands which hold a variety of weapons.

Iconography

Goddesses worshipped in Gujarat are often distinguished by their animal mounts. Bahuchar Mata is associated with a rooster, Khodiyar Mata with a crocodile, and Meldi Mata with a goat. One origin narrative connects Meldi Mata to the goddess Parvati. Parvati gives her the goat as her mount and also grants her powers. Meldi Mata is represented in Gujarati devotional images in the Mata ni Pachedi textile tradition.

In popular lithographs, she is depicted with multiple arms holding different weapons such as a trident, sword, discus, and mace.

Protective and tantric associations

Meldi Mata has been associated with protection from spirits and other forms of danger. Modern devotional materials present her mantras (sacred chants) and yantras (ritual diagrams) as sources of protective and practical power. Meldi Mata is described as capable of granting fertility, pacifying enemies, warding off spirits, and providing other worldly benefits.

Worship

Worship of Meldi Mata varies among temples and communities. Common practices include arti, the singing and performing of bhajans and garbas, offerings of prasad, and different forms of a havana. As part of her worship through devotional music, the use of Meldi folk songs and bhajans at temples is prevalent.

At the Jasalpur temple, annual celebrations include garba singing and dancing. The celebrations also include a "garbo" procession in which women carry earthen pots containing lamps to the goddess's shrine.

Devotees visit Meldi Mata temples with requests concerning fertility, prosperity, migration, and other practical concerns. When their wishes are fulfilled, devotees may return with offerings or undertake pilgrimages.

References

  1. ↑ Kumar, Naresh (2003). Encyclopaedia of Folklore and Folktales of South Asia. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-1400-9.
  2. ↑ "Gods outside temples". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  3. ↑ Maa meldi tari mer. OCLC 71009991.
  4. ↑ Gujarat (India) (1977). Gazetteers: Surendranagar District. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications.
  5. ↑ Gujarat (India) (1975). Gujarat State Gazetteers: Junagadh. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Gujarat State.
  6. ↑ Gujarat. Popular Prakashan. 2003. ISBN 978-81-7991-106-8.
  7. ↑ Desai, Govindbhai Hathibhai (1932). Hindu Families in Gujarat: Being an Account of Their Domestic, Social and Economic Life. Baroda State Press.
  8. ↑ Tambs-Lyche, Harald (1996-12-31). Power, Profit, and Poetry: Traditional Society in Kathiawar, Western India. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 978-81-7304-176-1.
  9. ↑ Larson, Gerald James; Pal, Pratapaditya; Smith, H. Daniel (1997). Changing Myths and Images: Twentieth-century Popular Art in India. India Studies Program, Indiana University. ISBN 978-1-56727-006-8.
  10. ↑ Dwyer, Rachel (2013-09-12). What Do Hindus Believe?. Granta Books. ISBN 978-1-84708-940-3.
  11. ↑ Joshi, Om Prakash (1994). Gods of Heaven, Home of Gods: A Study of Popular Prints. Illustrated Book Publishers. ISBN 978-81-85683-05-8.
  12. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 1-2.
  13. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 182.
  14. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 191.
  15. ↑ Fischer 2014, p. 155,171-176.
  16. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 190-191.
  17. ↑ Dinnell 2019, pp. 190–196.
  18. ↑ Dinnell 2019, pp. 195–196.
  19. ↑ Dinnell 2019, pp. 366–367.
  20. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 198, 209, 222-223, 228-233, 249-254.
  21. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 208, 222, 228-233, 249-254.
  22. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 221, 232.
  23. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 253-54.
  24. ↑ Dinnell 2019, p. 253.

Sources