Hariti

Hariti (Sanskrit हारिती Hariti, also हारीती Hariti, " The Blue "; Chinese诃 利 帝/诃 利 帝, Pinyin hēlìdì, Japanese Karitei ) is the name of a female deity or demon from pre-Buddhist period, the input in as a protector of children the mythology of Mahayana Buddhism took place. It is particularly known in East Asia in the followers of Nichiren Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra.

Naming

In Sanskrit it is called Hariti, Chinese reproduced as Hēlìdì and, derived from Japanese Karitei. She is known by several other names. So it is also called Karitei -mo (Japanese, from Chinese诃 梨 帝 母/诃 利 帝 母, Pinyin hēlìdìmǔ, Blue Mother '), Kangimo (歓 喜 母, "Joy Mother " ), Kishi mojin or Kishi Bojin ( 鬼子母 神, " diabolical mother goddess " ) referred. In Nepal and the Himalayan region (see Buddhism in Tibet) is also known as Ajima, " grandmother ", known and worshiped in this form as a protective deity against smallpox.

Origin

On the origin Haritis there are different interpretations. First, it is as originally Hindu or Brahmanical gods that were found Yakshi ( nature spirit or deity of lower rank ) considered equated to others with the formerly locally known in Bactria goddess Ardoxso of Zoroastrianism, in the wake of the spread of Buddhism in this region in the tradition has been adopted. Her companion Panchika accordingly applies either also as Yaksha or acquisition of the Zoroastrian God Pharro. The myth symbolizes their conversion in both cases the transition from pre-Buddhist religions to Buddhism.

Mythology

According to the Buddhist tradition Hariti was a demon or lower deity who lived in northern India near the city of Rajgir. With her husband Panchika she had five hundred children. She lived cannibalistic and killed the children of other mothers to eat or to feed their own children with them. For this they enlisted the help of ten female Rakshasas (demons; Chinese十 罗刹 女/十 罗刹 女, Pinyin shí Luo chà nǚ, Japanese Jūrasetsunyo ) to complete.

The mothers of murdered children asked Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, for help, and this hidden one of her children to point Hariti to their evil deeds. When she complained about the disappearance of her child, he told her that the pain of a mother whose only child she killed, it would be far greater than the one they have at the loss of one of their five hundred children. Hariti regretted her actions and was henceforth protector of children and mothers.

Besides the importance of its role as guardian of the children it is considered early on as a protective goddess of the Vihara, the place of refuge of wandering monks from which later developed Buddhist monasteries. In popular belief, North India Hariti / Ajima was sometimes mistakenly equated with the known from the Brahmanism goddess Sitala, which are also for help against smallpox and other skin diseases, for the particularly sensitive children, is called.

Japan

In Buddhism in Japan Hariti was introduced in the beginning of the Kamakura period ( 12th to 14th century ) and became as Karitei -mo especially in Nichiren Buddhism importance. It is regarded as the protector of children and patron goddess of child-rearing and the harmony between man and woman, love and well-being, as well as the safety of the family. Women wishing to become pregnant to consult them in hope.

Iconography

Representations of Hariti or Karitei -mo they usually show with a pomegranate as a symbol of fertility in her right hand and a small child in her left arm.

The earliest surviving statues and reliefs of the Hariti from the 2nd century Gandhara and Mathura come from and from surrounding regions such as Nepal, where several images from the early days of the Licchavi dynasty have survived in Lalitpur and in the temple complex at Swayambhunath Kathmandu. They testify in the several centuries evolving design language from the transition of the Indian nor Hindu dominated, to the designated well of Bactrian styles later Buddhist art. Accordingly, the influence of Greek mythology in Gandhara and the subsequent kingdom Kushan, which led to a partial syncretism with the Buddhist tradition ( Graeco- Buddhism), Hariti was sometimes identified with Tyche, which among other things, in the representation with a cornucopia, an attribute of Tyche, was expressed. In the late period of the Buddhist kingdoms of Central Asia (now Afghanistan and Pakistan ), common representations Haritis with her ​​companion Panchika were widespread. Towards the end of the 8th century lost the worship Haritis in northern India and Nepal in importance. At the same time she became known as part of the tradition of Buddhism in parts of East and Southeast Asia, where among other things, Candi Borobudur temple in Mendut close (Java) a representation of relief from the early 9th century is to be found.

One of the most famous depictions of the Karitei -mo of Japan located in the Hokekyō -ji, the head temple of Nichiren Buddhism, in Ichikawa and should come from Nichiren himself. In Tokyo, to find images in temples in Zoshigaya and Meguro. In the Daigo -ji in Kyoto, a scroll painting from the Kamakura period is obtained.