Nanda Devi

Nanda Devi is the name for one of the
tallest mountains in India, rising over
25,000 feet, in the Kumaon region of the
Himalayas. Nanda Devi is also a form of
the Goddess who is identified with that
mountain. With Nanda Devi, as for
many of the other goddesses of India,
divinity and the natural landscape are
inextricably connected. Nanda Devi is a
local Himalayan goddess who presides
over the Garhwal and Kumaon regions.
People in the region consider her to be a
“daughter” of the region, who had to
change her residence when she married
the god Shiva. Nanda Devi’s songs and
rites show strong connections with the
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Nanda Devi
life-cycle journeys of Himalayan
women. Songs associated with Nanda
Devi describe the difficulty of going
from her natal home to her marital
home, a reality for many Himalayan
women. In the same way, Nanda Devi’s
pilgrimages, which emphasize journeys
through the hills surrounding the
mountain, imitate the women’s periodic
journeys back to their own natal villages.
A major part of Nanda Devi’s mythology
is the adoption of an abandoned buffalo
calf, which is later discovered to be a
demon in buffalo form. The buffalo
demon grows large and troublesome,
and is eventually slain by Nanda Devi.
This myth parallels the narrative in the
Devimahatmya, the earliest and most
important source for the mythology of
the Goddess; this is the most influential
text used in Nanda Devi’s worship. For
further information on Nanda Devi, her
rites, and her connection with
Himalayan society, see William Sax,
Mountain Goddess, 1991.