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Showing posts from June 11, 2017


Goat in Hindu Scriptures as a Vahana or Vehicle of Gods

Animal goat is mentioned both as a symbol and as a vehicle of Gods in Hindu scriptures. In the Samkhya system of Hinduism, Prakriti is depicted as a female goat. Prakriti represents the Mother Nature. The color of goat is red, black or white and represents the three gunas – Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. The vehicle of Goddess Kali is a black goat. Agni rides Mesha – a ram. Kubera, the god of wealth, also has a ram as his vehicle. A ram is an uncastrated adult male sheep. After the self-immolation of Sati, Shiva beheads Daksha and later, on repentance, Shiva breathes life into Daksha by replacing his head with that of a goat. Goat finds mention occasionally in Puranas and Vedas. It is mentioned that the seed which fell from Prajapati transformed into a male-goat. There are incidents in Puranas involving Indra and goat. Goat is also mentioned in Tantric texts both as an animal and as a symbol. Sadly, Goats are also sacrificed to Goddess Kali and other village de