HINDU GODS IN SOUTH KOREA

                                           

THE  WORLD  IS  SMALL..

In 2018, I met a South Korean in a book shop in Upper West-Side , Manhattan ,New York. He was looking for a book on  Indian god Shiva. I helped him to buy one and in the course of our discussions, he told me this:-

“  India and South korea have strong cultural ties since ancient times . Many Indians,  more particularly people from Cashmire ( Kashmir ) gave us Buddha , Shiva , Brahma and Indra .In Korea, we have a concept of the creator of the universe . We call  Brahma as Beomcheon . We call Indra as Joseokcheon and and Skanda as Witaecheon.  Those who came to teach us Mahayana Buddhism , were worshippers of Hindu deities as well. Indra and Brahma sculptures can be seen in some old temples of Korea . Skanda is also Kartikeya or son of Shiva and Parvati.All these Hindu gods were absorbed in our culture and became Buddhist gods in South Korea. We gave them Korean names. 

We Koreans have a deep and strong link with Ayodhya city . Our history tells us that a  princess of Ayodhya named Heo Hwang-ok, also known as Suriratna, went all the way to South  Korea some 2000 years ago to marry King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya. They are our ancestors . We know Lakshmai , Sarsawati and  Durga .”

( Avtar Mota )

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