Ravalnath ( knn, रवळनाथ, ), also widely known as Roulu, (रवळू, ) is a popular Hindu deity in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

and the Sindhudurg district of coastal

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, in western India. Shrines of Ravalnath are also found in border areas of

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

specially in Karle and

Uttar Kannada Uttara Kannada is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Uttara Kannada District is a major coastal district of Karnataka, and currently holding the title of the largest district in Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Bela ...

districts as well as coastal areas of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He is worshipped as the main deity or an affiliate deity in most temples of Goa. He is associated with the guardian aspect of

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 ...

. Ravalnath is a guardian deity (

Kshetrapala Kshetrapala ( Pronounced: Xetra pala) is a guardian deity in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. According to Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Kshetrapala, that is, the lord of the farmland, is a deity who was originally a deity of the farmland, particu ...

) who protects the locality from climatic disasters, witchcraft and snakebites. Ravalnath along with

Santeri Shantadurga (Devanagari:शांतादुर्गा, ) is the most popular form of the Hindu goddess Durga revered in Goa, India, as well some parts of Karnataka. She is a form of the ancient Mother goddess known as Santeri. She is wors ...

Bhumika Bhūmikā (Sanskrit: भूमिका) is derived from the word, ''Bhūmi'', meaning ''earth'', ''soil'', ''ground'' or ''character''. Hinduism The Upanishads speak about the seven ''bhūmikās'' or ''jñānabhūmis'' (fields of knowledge) or ...

, Bhutnath and

Betal Betal or Vetal ( Konkani: वेताळ), a Bhairava form of Shiva is a popular god in Goa, Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra and Karwar of Karnataka in India. Betal is also known as Vetoba in the Konkan area of Maharashtra and Goa, and in t ...

is a popular folk deity worshipped as Gramadevata (village god) in most villages of Goa and Sindhudurg of Maharashtra.

Etymology

The origin of word Ravalnath is a matter of conjecture. The word Ravalnath is derived the word from the word ', who is one of the Ashta Bhairava, eight forms of the god

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhairava ...

- a ferocious aspect of the god

. The iconography of Ravalnath is same as that of Bhairava. Word ravala is also rerived from the word "ravaNa" which means "screaming","yelling", which is same as "ruru" as mentioned earlier and vedic corpus attributes these epithets to different forms of "Rudra". According to

Shenoi Goembab Waman Raghunath Shennoi Varde Valaulikar (23 June 1877 – 9 April 1946), known popularly as Shenoi Goembab, was a noted Konkani writer and activist. Early life Waman Shenoi was born on 23 June 1877 at Bicholim, Goa. He came from a notable ...

, the word ''Raval'' (from the word ''Ravalnath'') comes from the word ''Rahulbhadra'' which was also the personal name of Buddhist philosopher

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

Rahul Rahul is a popular male name in India and has a variety of meanings. The earliest meaning found in the Upanishads is "conqueror of all miseries." Later use of the word is attributed to the Buddha, who named his son '' Rahula'' as he felt that fa ...

was also the name of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

's son. As per his view during the Buddhist period, some Buddhists might have come to Goa and the worship of Ravalnath was mainly due to this Buddhist tradition. These views of Shenoi Goembab are not accepted by mainstream scholars. Some other speculations suggested that the word Ravalnath is derived from

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

word ''Iravalnath'' and in Tamil ''Iraval'' means begging for alms, and is connected to aspect of Shiva. Ravalnath is sometimes considered as one of the three hundred '' '' of Shiva. Yet others derive the word "ravala" from the word "roinn" of Mundari origin meaning an ant-hill. The ritual worship of Ravalnath is supposed to have been influenced by ''

Natha Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Hoysala period. In another inscription from Goa, Ravalnath is referred to as ''Ravaloba'' as well as ''Ravaleshwar''. Southern Silaharas, who ruled North Goa and the present Sindhudurg and part of

Ratnagiri district Ratnagiri District (Marathi pronunciation: �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The administrative headquarter of the district is located in the town of Ratnagiri. The district is 11.33% urban. The district ...

and

Kadambas of Goa The Kadambas of Goa were a dynasty during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, who ruled Goa from the 10th to the 14th century CE. They took over the territories of the Shilaharas and ruled them at first from Chandor, later ...

, were devotees of Shiva. However, references to Ravalnath are not found either in Silaharas or Kadamba inscriptions. There are a two inscriptions in

Nagari script Nagari may refer to: Writing systems * Nāgarī script, a script used in India during the first millennium * Devanagari, a script used since the late first millennium and currently in widespread use for the languages of northern India * Nandinag ...

and from ''Velus'' village of Sattari taluka referring to Ravalnath from Vijayanagara period. Famous

Jyotiba Jyotiba Temple ( mr, ज्योतिबा) is a holy site of Hinduism near Wadi Ratnagiri in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra state in western India. The deity of the temple is known by the same name. An annual fair takes place on the full m ...

of Kolhapur is also called Ravalnath, and is tutelary deity of ''Sendraka'' (

Shinde Shinde (pronunciation: �in̪d̪e is a clan of the Maratha clan system of Kunbi (Kurmi) origin; variations of the name include Scindia and ''Sindhia'', '' Sindia''. The ''Shinde'' last name may be also found in the Dalit community. The Scindia ...

) royal house, masses and the upper castes alike.

Iconography

As per shastra icons of Ravalnath are in accordance with that of Ruru Bhairava which is: निर्वाणं निर्विकल्पं निरूपजमलं निर्विकारं क्षकारं हुङ्कारं वज्रदंष्ट्रं हुतवहनयनं रौद्रमुन्मत्तभावम् । भट्कारं भक्तनागं भृकुटितमुखं भैरवं शूलपाणिं वन्दे खड्गं कपालं डमरुकसहितं क्षेत्रपालन्नमामि ॥ Thus Ravalnath is epicted standing, with his left leg slightly bent. He has four hands and holds in the front right hand sword () and in the left hand bowl of ambrosia (), in the lower right hand a

trishula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. In Nepal and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' " staff". Unlik ...

(trident) and in left hand, a

damaru A damaru ( sa, डमरु, ; Tibetan ཌ་མ་རུ་ or རྔ་ཆུང) is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In Hinduism, the damaru is known as the instrument of the deity Shiva, associated with Tant ...

(drum). He wears a crown, a garland of human skulls () and a

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the I ...

. He has a moustache. A female attendant with a

fly-whisk __NOTOC__ A fly-whisk (or fly-swish) is a tool that is used to swat flies. A similar gadget is used as a hand fan in hot tropical climates, sometimes as part of regalia, and is called a ''chowrie'', ''chāmara'', or ''prakirnaka'' in South Asia an ...

() may be shown on his side; occasionally two attendants on either side are seen. Ravalnath is also worshiped in the form of

Linga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

(Shiva's aniconic form). A horse is mostly depicted as his mount in iconography.

Worship

Ravalnath is a popular deity of all social classes in coastal Maharashtra and Goa. Although, the priest here are usually from ''Gurav'' community who perform the daily Pooja in the temple and do ''Kaul Prasad'' for the devoties. Here Ravalnath is ''Kshetrapala'' and ''Bhairava'' and is worshipped according to the rituals prescribed for him. The rituals for Ravalnath are especially performed between Dasara to Kojagiri Purnima and on

Shigmo Shimga, or Shishirotsava is a spring festival celebrated in the Indian state of Goa, where it is one of the major festivals of the Hindu community. It is also celebrated by Konkani diaspora and Indian festival of Holi is part of it. Etymology T ...

in some places. Icons of Ravalnath (as well as some other local guardian deities) are usually images, but festive bantons called ''Taranga'', decorated with nine yard sarees and a metal ''palm'' or a face of the deity is fitted on the top of the banton. Possessions (''Bhaar'' or ''Avsar'') is a very important aspect of Ravalnath worship, where the god communicate and bless the devotees via a possessed medium. Blood sacrifices of cocks or goats are offered to him in some places. The ritual of sprinkling the blood of the cocks offered to tarangas on cooked rice is called ''charu''.

Temples

There are eight independent temples of Ravalnath in Goa where he is the presiding deity and more than 42 shrines where he is venerated as a subsidiary (.

Notes

*Most of the old documents of the colonial era mention the name ''Roulu'' which is a Portuguese version of the local word ''Ravalu''. Ravalu or Roulu is also a common

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

in Goa. *As mentioned about Ravalnath has been commonly known as ''Raulu'', the word Raulu can be derived from the word ''Ruru'', In Konkani ''Ru'' can be sometimes pronounced as ''Rau'' as in ''

Rudra Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Rud ...

'' is pronounced as ''Roudiro''. The change of ' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

:र) to ' (

:ल), also common in most

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily ...

, furthermore in Konkani ' (

:ल) changes to (

:ळ).

References

External links

Shri Shivanath Ravalnath Mandir, Karwar, KarnatakaShri Ravalnath Mandir, Satarda, MaharashtraTarang utsav during Dasara at Pedne Ravalnath temple, Goa
{{Hindu temples in Goa Hinduism in Goa Konkan Regional Hindu gods Forms of Shiva