Jwala (goddess)
| Jwala | |
|---|---|
Sanskrit (above) and Persian (below) inscriptions from the Ateshgah (fire temple) of Baku, Azerbaijan. The Sanskrit inscription is a religious Hindu invocation in old Devanagari script while the Persian inscription is a couplet. The Sanskrit invocation begins with: I salute Ganesha (श्री गणेशाय नमः), a standard beginning of most Hindu prayers. The second line venerates the holy fire Jwala Ji (जवालाजी). The inscription is dated to Vikram Samvat 1802 (संवत १८०२, i.e. 1745 CE). Unlike the several Sanskrit (written in Devanagari) and Punjabi (written in Gurmukhi) inscriptions in the temple, the Persian quatrain below is the sole Persian one and, though ungrammatical, also refers to the fire and dates it to Lunar Hijri 1158 (١١٥٨, i.e. again 1745 CE). | |
| Other names | Jawalaji, Jwaladevi, Jwalamukhi |
| Consort | Mangala of Navagraha |
Jwala (Pahari: जवाला जी, Punjabi: ਜਵਾਲਾ ਜੀ, Hindi: ज्वाला जी) is a Hindu goddess. The physical manifestation of Jwala is typically a set of eternal flames.
The Hindu temple Jwala/jawala(flame) or Jwala Mukhi (a person with a face glowing like fire) is mentioned in the Mahabharata and other religious scriptures. There is a natural cave where flames continue to burn due to natural gas deposits found underground seeping out from the rocks and ignited by an unknown source. Several schools of Buddhism also share the symbolism of a seven-forked sacred flame.