Jvara (), also called Jvarasura, is the personification of

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

in Hindu tradition. He is the consort, and sometimes the attendant, of the pox-goddess,

Shitala Sheetala (, IAST: ) , also spelled as Shitala and Seetla, is a Hindu goddess venerated primarily in North India. She is regarded to be an incarnation of the goddess Parvati. She is believed to cure poxes, sores, ghouls, pustules, and diseases, an ...

Hinduism

When

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

was not invited to Daksha's yajna, his wife, Sati, was swept by sorrow. Observing the unease of his wife, Shiva's third eye issued a drop of sweat, and a fearful creature emerged out of the sweat, gleaming like a flame. The creature was dwarfish, with penetrating eyes, donning a green moustache, with hair standing erect on his head and body, looking like hybrid of a hawk and an owl, jet-black in hue, and was dressed in a blood-coloured cloth. He named the creature Jvara, and the creature proceeded to cause a fever to all the

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

. Once,

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

was inflicted with the fever of Jvarasura, when in the form of

Hayagriva Hayagriva, also spelled Hayagreeva ( sa, हयग्रीव IAST , ), is a Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who ...

. He then killed the fever-demon by cutting him into three pieces using his discus, the

Sudarshana Chakra Sudarshana Chakra (Sanskrit: सुदर्शन चक्र, lit. "disc of auspicious vision", IAST: Sudarśana Chakra) is a spinning, celestial discus with 108 serrated edges, attributed to Vishnu and Krishna in the Hindu scriptures. The Sud ...

. However, Jvarasura was later revived by

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

, who joined the three parts. But, by that time, each three parts had grown a head and a limb. Thus, Jvarasura is depicted as having three faces, three feet, and remarkable ability to move in all directions at once. He was later selected as servant of the pox-goddess,

Cult

The cult of Shitala-Jvarasura is widely popular in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

culture. Incidentally, in

, Oriya and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

languages, fever is referred to as ''Jvara''. and

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

means demon. The name Jvarasura is combination of these two words - ''Jvara'' (meaning fever) and ''Asura'' (meaning demon) - Jvarasura. Thus, Jvarasura means the demon of fever. Jvarasura is disguised as a young servant.

, the consort of Jvarasura is widely worshipped by village folk in whole of North India, as a protector of pox and fever diseases.

Buddhism

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

tradition, Jvarasura is depicted sometimes as consort of

Paranasabari Parnashavari (IAST: Parṇaśabarī, sa, पर्णशबरी), also spelt as Paranasavari (Paranasabari), is a Hindu deity adopted as Buddhist deity of diseases, worship of which is believed to offer effective protection against out-breaks ...

, the Buddhist goddess of diseases. In some images, these deities are shown as flying away, to escape from wrath of Vajrayogini, the Buddhist goddess and destroyer of diseases.

References

{{Reflist Hindu folk deities Tibetan Buddhist mythology Asura Plague gods

Hinduism

Cult

Buddhism

See also

References