Gods and Goddesses of Nainital

Nanda Devi and Sunanda Devi I t was described in the last post that the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda occur together in mythology and worship. Nanda goddess means the Bliss giving goddess whereas Sunanda means the good bliss giving goddess. One may wonder why the prefix good is added to Sunanda when in fact Nanda is the more active and senior goddess. The reason is perhaps that Nanda Devi also takes on fearful avatars in mythology when she goes about conquering evil demons and at such times adding good is not necessary. Goddess Nanda Devi has been regarded  variously as a human representation of the Great Mother Goddess and even as that of Mother Earth. Goddess Sunanda has appeared in mythology and  history from time to time as the companion goddess or sister of this goddess. In nature the Nanda Devi mountain, one of the highest in the Himalayas is regarded as a sacred and majestic representation of the Great Goddess on Earth. It is a twin peak mountain in which th...

S ome of the earliest mentions of divine Nanda and Sunanda are found in ancient Sanskrit texts. It cannot be confirmed if these references have any connection with more recent worship of these goddesses in Kumaon region but they deserve mention for the probable origin of these glorious goddesses. The Bhāgavata Purāna also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, is one of the Puranic texts of Sanskrit literature. It includes  many stories well known in Vedic tradition. The text credits Veda Vyasa, the revered ancient sage, with its authorship. Here is a verse from this text,  “ Also, Srutadeva, Uddhava and others, Nanda, Sunanda and other leaders of liberated souls who are constant companions of the Lord ” Canto 1 Chapter 14 According to this verse, Nanda and Sunanda are close to the eternal lord with the same position as the highest of Angels of the Lord and amongst the leaders of liberated souls that are constantly engaged in serving God. A story in chapter 12 of the s...