Panthoibi
Photo: অজয় দাস, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Panthoibi (/pan.tʰoi.bi/) is the most venerated goddess of Sanamahism, the traditional Meitei religion. She is the Meitei Goddess of civilization, courage, fertility, handicraft, love, victory, warfare and wisdom. Due to her versatility, she is worshipped by masses with deep reverence. Thousands of her sacred sites are scattered over Manipur and a few significant in Assam, Tripura, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Goddess Panthoibi has three alternate forms, one is standing or sitting alone or with her divine consort but featuring no creatures (divine animals) together, another one is that of riding on a tiger and another one is that of riding on a white horse. The last feature is extremely rare among her iconography but it is the most popular one among the re-enactment by the actresses.
UnderstandThe Meitei female given name "Panthoibi" is made up of three words, "Pan", "Thoi" and "Bi" . "Pan" means to rule over a country, kingdom, land, nation or state. "Thoi" means to exceed, or to win, or to excel.
TalkClassical Meitei (Classical Manipuri) is the liturgical language of the sacred scriptures associated with goddess Panthoibi of the traditional Meitei religion (Sanamahism).
SeeThe most exciting part is to roam around her temples and sacred sites during the celebration of the annual religious festival dedicated to her.
See also
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Panthoibi" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: অজয় দাস, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons