In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: Wisdom Library: The Matsya-purāṇa

Bhagānandā (भगानन्दा) is the name of a mind-born ‘divine mother’ (mātṛ), created for the purpose of drinking the blood of the Andhaka demons, according to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.8. The Andhaka demons spawned out of every drop of blood spilled from the original Andhakāsura (Andhaka-demon). According to the Matsya-purāṇa 179.35, “Most terrible they (e.g., Bhagānandā) all drank the blood of those Andhakas and become exceedingly satiated.”

The Matsyapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 20,000 metrical verses, dating from the 1st-millennium BCE. The narrator is Matsya, one of the ten major avatars of Viṣṇu.

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Bhaganandā (भगनन्दा).—An attendant woman of Subrahmaṇya. (Śalya Parva, Chapter 46, Verse 11).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Bhagānandā (भगानन्दा).—A mind-born mother.^*

• * Matsya-purāṇa 179. 11.

Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and places

Bhaganandā (भगनन्दा) refers to the name of a Lady mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. IX.45.11). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Bhaganandā) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)

Source: Google Books: Manthanabhairavatantram

Bhagānanda (भगानन्द) refers to the “bliss of the Yoni”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—[...] The triangular Yoni is in the centre of the maṇḍala that is itself the Yoni. Accordingly we are told that the energy in the middle of the Yoni is called ‘bhaga’ which is a synonym for Yoni. So the goddess in the middle of the Yoni is in the form of the Yoni. Generated from the bliss of the Yoni (bhagānanda), she is the bliss that pervades it. [...]

Source: Kamakoti Mandali: The Yoginis of Narasimha Vyuha

Bhagānandā (भगानन्दा) is the name of a Mātṛkā-Śakti created by Mahārudra in order to control the plague of demons created by Andhakāsura.—Accordingly, Andhaka-Asura tried to kidnap Umā (Devī Pārvatī), and was fiercely attacked by Mahārudra who shot arrows at him from his mahāpināka. when the arrows pierced the body of Andhakāsura, drops of blood fell to earth and from those drops, thousands of Andhakas arose. To control this plague of demons, Mahārudra created Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Bhagānandā] and ordered them to drink the blood of the demons and drain them dry.

Source: Kamakoti Mandali: Nrisimha matrika-mandala

Bhagānandā (भगानन्दा) refers to one of the various Mātṛkā-Śaktis created by Rudra in order to destroy the clones that spawned from Andhaka’s body.—Accordingly, [...] Andhakāsura attempted to abduct Girājanandinī (Pārvatī) and thus ensued a fierce battle between Andhakāsura and the great Rudra, the Lord of Umā. Like raktabīja, every drop of blood that fell from the body of Andhaka created another Asura like him and in no time, the entire world was filled with Andhakas. To destroy the growing number of Andhakas, Rudra created innumerable Mātṛkā-Śaktis [viz., Bhagānandā]. These Śaktis of immense power at once began to drink every drop of blood that flowed from the body of Andhaka, but they could still not effectively contain the emergence of more and more demons.

context information

Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Bhaganandā (भगनन्दा):—[=bhaga-nandā] [from bhaga > bhaj] f. Name of one of the Mātṛs attending on Skanda, [Mahābhārata]

[Sanskrit to German]

Bhagananda in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Bhaga, Nanda.

Starts with: Bhaganandana.

Ends with: Subhagananda.

Full-text: Subhaganandanatha, Subhagananda.

Relevant text

Search found 3 books and stories containing Bhagananda, Bhagānandā, Bhaganandā, Bhaga-nanda, Bhagānanda, Bhaga-nandā, Bhaga-ānanda; (plurals include: Bhaganandas, Bhagānandās, Bhaganandās, nandas, Bhagānandas, nandās, ānandas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

List of Mahabharata people and places (by Laxman Burdak)

Starting with B

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Mahabharata (English) (by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)

Section 46 < [Shalya Parva]

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The Padma Purana (by N.A. Deshpande)

Chapter 46 - Purificatory Rites of a Brāhmaṇa < [Section 1 - Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa (section on creation)]

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