Jyestha (goddess)

Jyestha
Goddess
Jyestha, Kailas temple, Kanchipuram.
Affiliation	Devi
Mount	Donkey
Consort	Sage Dussaha

Jyestha or Jyeshtha (Sanskrit: ज्येष्ठा, Jyeṣṭhā, "the eldest" or "the elder") is the Hindu goddess of inauspicious things and misfortune. She is regarded as the elder sister and antithesis of Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune and beauty.

Jyestha is associated with inauspicious places and sinners. She is also associated with sloth, poverty, sorrow, ugliness and the crow. She is sometimes identified with Alakshmi, another goddess of misfortune. Her worship was prescribed for women, who wished to keep her away from their homes.

Jyestha appears in the Hindu tradition, as early as 300 BCE. Her worship was at its peak in South India in the 7th-8th century CE, but by the 10th century, her popularity waned pushing her into oblivion. Today, numerous ancient images of Jyestha still exist, though she is rarely worshipped.

Texts that elaborate on the iconography of Jyestha are: the Agamas such as the Amshumadbhedagama, the Suprabhedagama and the Purvakarangama; the Vishnudharmottara Purana and other shorter references in the Baudhayanagrhyasutra. The earliest recorded bilingual inscription detailing the iconography and worship practices from the 8th century is found in the caves of Tiruparankunram near Madurai.

Jyestha is usually depicted with two arms. Her nose is long and prominent to the extent that she is sometimes called elephant-faced. Jyestha is described as having "large pendulous breasts descending as far as her navel, with a flabby belly, thick thighs, raised nose, hanging lower lip, and is in colour as ink." Her large stomach is described to support her swollen pendulous breasts. Her complexion is black or red. She wears blue-black or red garments. She is often depicted seated comfortably on a throne with her feet on the ground.

According to textual descriptions, Jyestha holds a blue or white lotus in her right hand. A water-pot is held in her left hand or placed near her throne or placed in the hand that makes the abhaya mudra - gesture of protection. Her left hand usually rests on her seat or on her thigh. Sometimes, Jyestha holds a broom, in her hand.