Mârîchi
(Sk.)
One of the “mind‐born” sons of Brahmâ in the Purânas. Brahmans make of him the personified light, the parent of Sûrya, the Sun and the direct ancestor of Mahâkâsyapa. The Northern Buddhists of the Yogachârya School, see in Mârîchi Deva, a Bodhisattva, while Chinese Buddhists (especially the Tauists), have made of this conception the Queen of Heaven, the goddess of light, ruler of the sun and moon. With the pious but illiterate Buddhists, her magic formula “Om Mârîchi svâha” is very powerful. Speaking of Mârîchi, Eitel mentions “Georgi, who explains the name as a ‘Chinese transcription of the name of the holy Virgin Mary’” (!!). As Mârîchi is the chief of the Maruts and one of the seven primitive Rishis, the supposed derivation does seem a little far fetched (TG).
DATA
To show: Mârîchi; sortable: Marichi
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Shortly: One of the “mind‐born” sons of Brahmâ in the Purânas. Brahmans make of him the personified light...