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 Goddess Renuka or Mahur Renuka, also known as Renuka Bhavani, Yellamma Devi, is a Hindu mother goddess venerated predominantly in the South & Western Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh. She is regarded as the mother of Parashurama, the sixth avatar of the Vishnu and is considered a manifestation of the Mother Goddess or Shakti in regional devotional traditions in Hindu mythology.

Names

Renuka is venerated across India under various regional names, including Aai Yellamma, Ekvira, Yamai, Ellai Amman, Padmakshi Renuka, Ucchangi Mariamma, and Ellai Amma Mahar. Her worship spans multiple local traditions, where she is regarded as a protective mother goddess. She is worshipped in the Hindu pantheon as a goddess associated with several communities and is often regarded as the divine protector. Devotees revere her as Jagadamba Mother of the Universe.

Legends

Legends surrounding Renuka are chronicled in Hindu scriptures such as the Mahabharata, Harivamsa, and Bhagavata Purana.

Renuka Sagara, Malaprabha River, Saundatti. Belgaum District, North Karnataka, Karnataka

Incarnations of Adi Parashakti

In Hindu tradition, Renuka is identified as one of four principal incarnations of Adi Parashakti the primordial goddess:

Kamakshi worshipped in Kanchi.

Vishalakshi venerated in Varanasi, North India.

Renukakshi also called Padmakshi Renuka in Konkan, notably Alibag.

Meenakshi revered in Madurai, South India and Bahulakshi associated with East India.

Early life

Renuka was born to King Renu after he performed a yajna ritual fire sacrifice to ensure peace and prosperity. Emerging from the sacrificial fire, she became her parents' cherished child. At age eight, the sage Agastya, advised her marriage to Jamadagni, when she reached maturity. Jamadagni was the son of Richika and Satyavati, who had earned divine blessings through penance. Renuka assisted Jamadagni in rituals.

Renuka's daily ritual involved bathing in the Malaprabha River with intense focus. Her spiritual power enabled her to mold sand into an unbaked pot and use a coiled serpent as a rope to carry water for her husband's oblations.

Married life

Renuka and Jamadagni had a daughter, Anjana, and five sons: Ṛumaṇvān, Suhotra, Vasu, Viśvāvasu, and Rama Bhargava later known as Parashurama, Vishnu's sixth avatar. Parashurama earned Shiva's favor through penance, receiving an axe parashu, which became his namesake.

One day, when Renuka went to the river, she saw a king making love to his wives. She was captivated by the sight and momentarily lost her concentration and devotion to her husband. As she was distracted, she lost her spiritual power, granted to her through her chastity, causing her to lose the water she collected. When she came back to the ashram, Jamadagni divined these events through his yogic power, and cursed her lack of devotion.

After being cursed by her husband, Renuka went east and sat in the forest to meditate. In her penance, she met with the saints Eknath and Joginath; and requested them to gain the mercy of her husband. They first consoled her and then instructed her to follow their advice exactly as told. They told her to purify herself, first bathing in a nearby lake, and then to worship a Shivalinga, which they had given to her. Next, she was asked to visit the nearby town and beg for rice from the houses this ritual, called Joga Bedodu, is still carried out by women during a particular month in Karnataka  Jogawa in Marathi, Yellamma Jogu in Telangana.

After collecting the rice, she was to give half to the saints and cook the remaining half, adding jaggery, partaking of the cooked rice with full devotion. They said that if she performed this ritual for three days, she would be able to visit her husband on the fourth day.