Talk:Marichi

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I am familiar with Marichi as a female deity within Vajrayana Buddhism. She has a similar attribute as the Hindu Marichi in that she is associated with the sun. She is a deity within with Kriya Tantra, which is the lowest of the 4 levels of Tantra. I have seen images of her with a sewing needle and thread and also riding a vehicle pulled by sows.

Typically in Sanskrit, the "i" ending denotes the feminine gender.

Kala means "time" or "black", sometimes taken as a name for Shiva, the consort of Kali. Again, the "a" ending typically denotes the masculine gender.

Since I am not a Hindu practitioner or scholar, I did not feel I could take the liberty of editing or questioning directly on the entry page. However, because there seems to be not one, but 2 cases gender confusion, I felt I must bring it up. There are many overlaps between the Buddhist Sanskrit tradition and Hinduism, and I felt it could not be a mere coincidence that there were two Marichis unrelated, and also two Kalas who were also unrelated.

This is from Media:http://www.khandro.net/deities_female.htm Marichi (Ozer Chenma) is reddish-gold with 8 arms. She is the embodiment of sunrise or dawn. As a form of Tara, she is depicted standing, one pair of hands holding a needle and thread. She is also identified with Vajravarahi (Dorje Pa'mo.)

Her most widely found image is the one with three faces, one of which is that of a sow, in which she drives a cart pulled by seven swine. Marici's seven-swine cart may derive from the Indian myth that describes Surya's vehicle as drawn by seven horses. Her practice may also derive from that of the Vedic dawn goddess, Ushas. Clodya (talk) 19:38, 14 January 2008 (UTC)