Renuka

2021-08-06T07:54:01Z

2409:4071:E19:913D:0:0:2188:910E: /* Different names */

{{Other uses}}
{{short description|Hindu goddess}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| image =
| alt = Renukok/Renuk
| caption = The icon of Renuk at the sanctum of the [[Mahur, Maharashtra|Mahur]] temple, a [[Shakti Peetha]]
| Devanagari = रेणुका
| Sanskrit_transliteration = Rénûka/Renu
| affiliation = devi
| abode = [[Mahur, Maharashtra|Mahur]]
| consort = [[Jamadagni]]
| children = [[Parshurama]], Vasu
| mount = Lion
}}
'''Reṇukā''', also referred to as '''Renuga''' and '''Renu''', is a [[Hindu]] goddess worshipped predominantly in [[Karnataka]], [[Maharashtra]] and southern Indian states of, [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]], and [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.renukaparameswari.org/|title = Sri Renuka Amman Parameswari|access-date = 2015-04-29|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150518065743/http://www.renukaparameswari.org/|archive-date = 18 May 2015|df = dmy-all}}</ref> ancient Renuka Yellamma Devi temple at
[[Saundatti|Savadatti]] is one among the prominent shakthi peetas in Karnataka, Renuka's temple at [[Mahur, Maharashtra|Mahur]] in Maharashtra is one of the [[shakti peetha]]s.

==Different names==
'''Renuka/Renu''' or '''Yellamma''' or '''[[Ekvira]] '''or '''Ellai amman '''or '''Ellai amma '''([[Marathi language|Marathi]]:श्री. रेणुका/ येल्लुआई (Shree Renuka/ Yelluai), [[Kannada]]: ಶ್ರೀ ಎಲ್ಲಮ್ಮ ರೇಣುಕಾ, [[Tamil language|Tamil]]: ரேணு/Renukai ambal/ரேணுகை அம்பாள், [[Telugu language|Telugu]] : శ్రీ రేణుక/ ఎల్లమ్మ) is worshipped as the goddess ([[devi]]) of the fallen, in the [[Hindu]] pantheon. Yellamma is the patron goddess of [[Karnataka]], [[Maharashtra]] and the south Indian states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]], and [[Andhra Pradesh]], . Her devotees revere her as the "Mother of the Universe" or "[[Jagadamba]]".

==Legends==
{{Unsourced section|date=June 2021}}
The legends of Renuka are contained in the [[Mahabharata]], the [[Harivamsa]] and in the [[Bhagavata Purana]].

[[File:Saundatti Renuka Sagara 21.11.2008.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Renuka Sagara, [[Malaprabha River]], [[Saundatti]]. ([[Belgaum District]]), [[North Karnataka]], [[Karnataka]]]]

===Early life===
King Reṇu (father of Reṇukā) performed a [[yajna]] — a ritual performed to maintain peace and good health. He was blessed with a daughter, who originated from the fire of this yajna. Reṇukā was a bright and active child and became the most beloved child of her parents.

When she was eight, [[Agastya]], who was the [[guru]] of king Reṇu, advised him to have his daughter married to [[Jamadagni]] when she reached maturity. Jamadagni was the son of Ruchik Muni and Satyavati and had obtained the blessings of the gods by performing severe [[penance]]. Renuka and Jamdagni Muni lived in the Ramshrung mountains, near the present day Saundatti area of [[Belagavi district]]. Renuka helped the Jamdagni Muni in all of his tasks of performing various rituals and [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]]. Gradually she became close and dear to Jamdagni.
After a while Renuka was blessed with another daughter called Anjana (Anjana Devi).
Renuka would wake up early in the morning to bathe in the [[Malaprabha River]] with complete concentration and devotion. Her devotion was so powerful that she was able to create a pot to hold water made only of sand, one fresh pot every day. She would fill this pot, on the bank of the river and would use a snake which was nearby, turning it into a rope-like convolution and placing it on her head, so that it supported the pot. Thus, she brought the water to Jamdagni for his rituals of oblation. ("Renuka" is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] for "fine grain of sand".) Another temple of Renuka is situated at near [[Zamania]], Ghazipur.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}.
There is another temple in Tamilnadu near vellore (padaiveedu) where the goddess is in the form of swayambhu ( the Murti itself originated from the land).

===Married life===
Renuka gave birth to five sons: Vasu, Viswa Vasu, Brihudyanu, Brutwakanwa and Rambhargav. Rambhargav was the youngest and most beloved, gaining the favour of Lord [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]]. Bhargav Ram did severe penance and was bestowed with an Axe (Parshu) and henceforth called as [[Parashurama]], (the sixth incarnation of [[Vishnu]]).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sunil.A.Shah|url=http://religion.divyabhaskar.co.in/2010/05/13/a-great-lord-parshuram-966560.html|title= ચિરંજીવી, શૌર્યતા, જ્ઞાનના સંગમ સમાન ભગવાન પરશુરામ|trans-title=Ciran̄jīvī, śauryatā, jñānanā saṅgam samān Bhagavān Paraśurām|language=gu|work=[[Divya Bhaskar]]|date=May 2010|access-date=2015-04-29}}</ref> One day when Renuka went to the river, she saw [[Gandharva]] and [[Apsaras]] dwelling over the pond. She was captivated byv the sight for a moment as a result of which she lost her concentration and devotion to her husband for a moment. As she was distracted, she lost her power of collecting water in unbaked pots, which she had gotten from her chastity. She lost the water which she had collected. Disappointed by this, she returned to the [[ashram]] in worry. Jamadagni had seen these events through his yogic power and was furious when she returned in the Ashram.

After being cursed by her husband, Renuka went east and sat in the forest to meditate. In her penance, she met with the saints Eknath{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}  and Joginath; she requested to them and asked to gain the mercy of her husband. They first consoled her, then instructed her to follow their advice exactly as told. They told her to purify herself, first bathing in a nearby lake, and then to worship a [[Shivalinga]], which they had given to her. Next, she should go to the nearby town and beg for rice from the houses (this ritual, called "Joga Bedodu", is still carried out by women during a particular month in Karnataka/ "Jogawa" in marathi, "Yellamma Jogu" in Telangana).

After collecting the rice, she was to give half to the saints and cook the remaining half, adding jaggery, partaking of the cooked rice with full devotion. They said that if she performed this ritual for three days, she would be able to visit her husband on the fourth day.

[[File:Yellamma temple at Badami.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Yellamma temple at [[Badami]].]]
Knowing the anger of Jamadagni, they warned her that she may not be fully pardoned by him, and that she would have to experience the most difficult time of her life for a few minutes. "After that," they said, "you will be eternally revered and will be blessed with your husband. You will be worshiped by all the people henceforth." After blessing her this way, they disappeared. Renuka followed their instructions with devotion and worshipped the Shivalinga with full care and reverence. On the fourth day, she went to see her husband.

===Punishment and resurrection===
Jamadagni was still furious with Renuka and ordered his elder four sons to kill Renuka Devi but all of them refuse to kill their mother. Jamadagni, cursed his four sons and reduced them to ashes for disobeying his order. Then Jamadagni called his fifth son Parashurama who was meditating on Lord Shiva and ordered him to behead Renuka Devi. [[Parashurama]] immediately obeyed his father's words and beheaded his mother with his axe. Jamadagni was pleased by Parashurama's devotion and obedience towards him.

[[File:Renuka temple 2.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Renuka temple at Yallammagudi, [[Saundatti]] ([[Belgaum District]] ). [[North Karnataka]], [[Karnataka]]]]

He then offered a boon to Parushurama, who wisely asked for his mother and brothers to be brought back to life. Jamadagni was impressed by Parshuram's intelligence and brought Renuka and her four sons back to life. Jamadagni felt a strong remorse for what he had done to his beloved and compassionate wife. He then vowed not to get angered ever again and gave up [[Krodha]] forever.

===Renuka vs. Yellamma===
In all traditions, Renuka and Yellamma are taken to be two names for the same goddess. According to these tales, Renuka apparently fled to a fisherman community when her son [[Parashurama|Parushurama]] was coming to kill her. A woman belonging fishing community is claimed to have helped Renuka Devi and asked her to hide in her hut. Parashurama found and apparently beheaded her, allegedly along with the woman who belonged to fishing community who had tried to protect Renuka Devi. When he later brought them back to life, he is claimed to have mistakenly attached the woman's head to Renuka's body, and vice versa. [[Jamadagni]] is alleged accepted the former as his wife Renuka, while the latter remained to be worshipped by all caste people as Yellamma, the mother of all. Renuka and Yellamma are names of the Goddess.<ref>{{cite book| last = Pattanaik| first = Devdutt| title = Indian Mythology| url = https://books.google.com/?id=zdkswFlJtjQC&pg=PA1| year = 2003| publisher = Inner Traditions / Bear & Co| isbn = 978-0-89281-870-9| page = 17 }}</ref>

==Temples and related places==
One of the famous temples of Renuka Yellamma Thalli is located at [[Balkampet]] in [[Hyderabad]] where every year in [[Ashadha]] month Yellamma Kalyanothsavam is celebrated with thousands of pilgrims performing special rituals to get the blessings of [[Renuka]] Yellamma Thalli. The Murti of the goddess, interestingly, is 10 feet deeper than the ground level. There is also a well in the Balkampet Yellamma temple complex and some devotees believe that the water in the well heals all ills. Therefore, a bath here is supposed to purify you of all disorders and skin diseases. This holy water is called ‘Theertham’. An [[Akhand Jyoti]] is also present in the temple that was lit during the renovation. In fact, [[Nita Ambani]] wife of India's richest person [[Mukesh Ambani]] visits the temple whenever she is in [[Hyderabad]] to express her faith in the deity.

Every year, there is a gathering of 200,000 to 600,000 devotees at the Yellamma Gudi temple (Yellamma Temple) in [[Saundatti]]<ref>{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=2017-01-12|title=Six lakh devotees throng Yellamma temple|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/Six-lakh-devotees-throng-Yellamma-temple/article17030361.ece|access-date=2021-05-30|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-01-30|title=Lakhs visit Yellamma temple on Bharat Hunnime fair|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/49861/lakhs-visit-yellamma-temple-bharat.html|access-date=2021-05-30|website=Deccan Herald|language=en}}</ref>

Two other very famous Temples of Renuka Yellamma are located in Bidarahalli, Gadag, and Chaandragutti, Shivmoga, Karnataka, India. Many devotees from different region come to temple in the month of kartik to celebrate Karthik of Renuka-Yellamma. It is believed that after marriage with the sage Jamadagni, Renuka devi lived in this place. Renuka used to wake up early in morning and have bath in the holy Tungabhadra River. With complete concentration and devotion to fill the pot, which she used to prepare out of the sand on the bank the river and would hold the snake which was there and turn it into a convolution and place it on head so that it supported to the pot. She bought the pot to Jamdagni for performance of rituals.

Another temple Renukambe [Yellamma] is atop a hill in Chandragutti, Soraba Taluk in [[Shivamogga|Shimoga]]. This temple is an example of ancient architecture and dates back to the [[Kadamba Dynasty|Kadamba]] period. Another temple is in [[Mahur, Maharashtra]], the supposed birthplace of the goddess, which finds mention in ''Devi Gita'', the final chapter of [[Devi Bhagawatam]] as, "Matripura in the [[Sahyadri]] mountain; here the Devi Renuka dwells ...".<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/dg/dg08.htm |chapter=Chapter XXXVIII: The Vow and the Sacred Places of the Devi |title=The Devi Gita |trans-title=Song of the Goddess |series=Excerpt from the [[Devi Bhagawatam|Srimad Devi Bhagawatam]] |translator=Swami Vijnanananda (Hari Prasanna Chatterji) |year=1921 |quote=O King of Mountains! Still I am now telling something out of My affection to My [[Bhakta]]s. Hear.}}</ref>

One of the temple of Renuka Devi is [[Chandwad]] in [[Nasik]]. The temple was constructed by her highness Maharani [[Ahilyabai Holkar]] of [[Indore]]. The second place is [[Mahur, Maharashtra|Matripura]] in the Sahyadrî mountains.

Another Temple of Devi is at Dhamnand-Posare, Taluka Khed, District Ratnagiri, Maharashtra known as "Devi Yalubai".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/dg/dg08.htm |title=Devi Yalubai |at=Verses: 3-10 |access-date=2013-03-03 |df=dmy-all |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012124820/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/dg/dg08.htm |archive-date=12 October 2013}}</ref> Another temple becoming famous is Nalgonda, Telangana where Tuesday is main auspicious day.

[[File:Renugambal Amman Temple.JPG|thumb|Renugambal Amman Temple Padavedu, Thiruvannamalai District]]
In Tamil Nadu, Renugambal Amman Temple (it is Kuladaivam for Jambu Maharishi (Jamadagini) gotra Vanniyars), Senguntha Muthaliyars and other communities' people tracing their origin in that locality. The temple is situated in Padavedu, Thiruvannamalai District and it is one of the most important Sakthi Sthalas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.renugambal.com/ |title=Arulmigu Renugambal Amman Temple, A.K. Padavedu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108174225/http://www.renugambal.com/ |archive-date=8 January 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Renuka Lake.jpg|thumb|left|Renuka Lake in Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Renuka Lake]] in the [[Renuka Sanctuary]] in [[Himachal Pradesh]] is named after the goddess. According to one legend, the Haihaya King Sahasrarjuna ([[Kartavirya Arjuna]]) wanted the [[Kamadhenu]] cow from [[Jamadagni]] and Renuka. So for this he killed Jamadagni, and Renuka became sati along with Jamadagni at Mahurgadh, Maharashtra.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kohli |first=M.S. |title=Mountains of India Tourism, Adventure, and Pilgrimage |url=https://books.google.com/?id=GIs4zv17HHwC&pg=PA303 |year=2002 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-135-1 |page=303}}</ref>

Another famous temple for Renukambal is situated in Serampattu Village near Cheyyar in Tiruvannamalai district. Thousands of people gather here during Pongal festival. Another powerful temple of Renuka Parameshwari is located in Tiruchampalli near Sembanarkoil in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu.

One more temple of Ellamma is situated at a village of Ragupathi Naicken Palayam of Erode, [[Tamil Nadu|Tamilnadu]]. Ragupathi Naicken Palayam can be reached from Erode - Poondurai Road as well as Erode - Vellode Road. Although it is unclear when the temple was constructed, it is understood from the inscription placed at the temple that the temple was renovated by Late Mr. Duraisamy Naicker in 1923. He is said to belong to community of Banajiga (or Balija) of Lingayat Society which has origin in Karnataka, but settled in Tamilnadu in 19th century. The temple is maintained by people of the Banajiga community now. Maha Shivarathiri in the month of Maasi and Full Moon day of Karthigai
are celebrated by the Banajigas in this temple.

Goddess Renuka and Lord [[Jamdagni]] Muni are worshiped in villages around [[yamuna]] river in Rawain valley of [[Uttarkashi]] district in [[Uttaranchal]]. Many ancient temples in the region are dedicated to the divine couple – the famous being the [[Jamadagni]] temple at Thaan village near the bank of [[yamuna]] and Renuka temples in uphill village of Devadokhri, Banchangaon, and Sarnaul. The region has an age-old tradition of celebrations in commemoration of the local deities, and managing the temple affairs and customs. The priesthood is claimed on the basis of ancestry and merit both, and mainly held by Khanduri, Semwal, and Dimri Brahmins of [[Uttaranchal]]. The week-long annual festivities in the month of June are main attraction for the devotees around the region.

==In Sri Lanka==
In ancient [[Sri Lanka]], "Renuka" was the name of a minor goddess of wanton death and destruction, although at certain times was also a symbol of creativity and vibrancy{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}}.

==Further reading==
* ''The Village Gods of South India'' (London, 1921) by H. Whitehead
* ''Yellamma: A Goddess of South India'' (1995) by [[Channappa Uttangi]]
* ''Given to the Goddess: South Indian Devadasis and the Sexuality of Religion'' (2004) by Lucinda Ramberg
* {{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work: A-N. Vol. 1|editor=Melissa Hope Ditmore|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2006|ISBN=9780313329685|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fcYq72qYRTcC|pages=103-104}}

==References==
{{commons category}}
{{reflist}}

{{Hindu deities and texts}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]
[[Category:Rishis]]
[[Category:Hindu folk deities]]
[[Category:Renuka| ]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Renuka