Lord Kubera, ‘Treasurer of the gods’ and ‘King of Yaksha’s’, is also said to be the god of wealth according to Hindu scriptures. Lord Kubera is (Kuvera, Kuber or Kuberan) is associated with all kind of treasures that lies in this earth, such as minerals and jewels, and all the riches that human owns as a whole.
In Hindu religion, the guardians of the directions or Dikpalas are the one who protects the directions. Among 10 guardians of direction, Lord Kubera is the Dikpalas of the North direction. Due to this Lord Kuber is regarded as governor of North. According to Brahma Purana and Ramayana, Kubera is the half-blood siblings of the chief antagonist of Ramayan, Ravana. The Vishrava, the father of Kuber, married to Rakshasa princess Kaikesi who gives birth to four children: Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vivishana, and Surpanakha.
Ideology
The physical appearance of Kubera is portrayed as a dwarf, having lotus leaves the complexion with a big belly. Kubera was born with deformities in him. He has eight teeth, one eye, and three legs. These appearances, deformities, described him as the chief of an evil spirit in the Hindu book named Vedas. He is decorated with a large number of jewels down up to his belly bottom. According to the Puranas, he carries out a club (Shibika), a weapon, in one hand, and in another, he holds a money bag with some jewels and mongoose.
Names of Lord Kubera
It is believed that Kuber has no proven root of origin. However, there are some write-ups in Sanskrit, mythological event, and some beliefs which described the name Kuber.
In Sanskrit,
The deformed body structures give his name Kubera. More on, the name could also have been derived from the root of “Kumba” which means ‘to disguise or to belie’. Kubera joins with two words ‘Ku’ meaning earth and ‘vira or vera’ meaning heroic activities or heroism.
According to Pauranic Events,
- The enviousness towards Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati results in losing his one eye which further turns yellow eye by Parvati. Thus, gained the name Ekaksipingala (yellow-eyed person).
- Kuber, the son of Vishravas, which referred to as Vaisravana. The term reveals “fame”. Thus, sometimes Kuber is also called the ‘Son of Fame’.
- ‘Bhutesha’ is another name of Kuber because of his consideration as “God of Rakshasa”.
- In his representation of riding a man, he is also known as Nara-Vahana.
Family Status and Parenthood
In some Hindu scriptures like Mahabharata and Puranas, Kubera belongs to the son of different parents. In Mahabharata, the Kuber is the son of Prajapati Pulastya and his wife Idavida and the brother of sage Vishrava. However, Puranas describe it in different ways. According to the Puranas, he is the grandson of Pulastya Rishi and the son of Vishrava and his wife IIavida (or Ilivila or Devavarnini), daughter of the sage Bharadvaja or Trinabindu.
According to Puranas and Mahabharata, Nalakuvara and Manigriva are the son of yaksha king, Kubera, along with Mayuraja (“king of animals resembling men”); and a daughter called Minakshi (“fish-eyed”). Bhadra, daughter of asura Mura is the wife of Kubera who seats on the lap of Kubera who represents the journey of life.
Acquiring the Position of God
Before the Godhood, he is depicted as the chief of evil spirits. The Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata revealed the godhood of Kubera. This is the time when he started being revealed as the lord of wealth, dikpala (savior of the North direction), and lokpala (savior of the world).
According to Ramayana, acquiring godhood is noble by the grant of Lord Brahma as an accolade of his somberness. In addition, the Lord Brahma bestowed him with all the wealth of the world, gave him an equal position with other Gods, and a gift of Puspaka Vimana (a flying chariot). These rewards took him back to his domicile and rule the kingdom of Lanka.
Kubera’s Home
After the reward from Brahma with the Puspaka Vimana, he went to the kingdom of gold, Lanka, and ruled. However, later Ravana confiscates the kingdom from Kuber and exile him from the Lanka. He then settled on the Gandhamadana Mountain near Kailasa. Sometimes, Kailasa is referred to as Kubera’s abode as well. Kubera had a grove called Chaitrartha, where the leaves were made of jewels and the fruits were actually apsaras from the heavens. There was a beautiful lake in the grove called Nalini.
The Kubera has a magnificent hall which was also mentioned in the Mahabharata. In this hall, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati enjoys the entertainment and fun created by Gandharvas and Apsaras.
Kubera in Other Religion
There are many thoughts regarding the beliefs of Kubera’s existence. Hindu follows the Kubera with its own norms and cultural beliefs. Unlike Hindu, the Buddhist and the Jain have their own prototype.
Buddhism
Kubera in Buddhism is Vaisravana or Jambhala. He is also named as Bishamon by the people of Japan. In Buddhism, Kubera is equivalent to the Pancika whose wife Hariti is the symbol of abundance. The Japanese Bishamon, also considered as Tamon-Ten, is one of the Juni-Ten, a group of 12 Hindu deities, who are also considered to be guardian deities. The Juni-Ten group of deities was arrived at by adding four deities to the original group of Happou-Ten, the eight guardian deities of the eight main directions.
Jainism
In Jainism, Kubera is the attendant Yaksha of the 19th Teerthankara, Mallinath. He is usually referred to as Sarvanubhuti or Sarvahna and is portrayed with four faces, rainbow colors, and eight arms.
Furthermore, in Jainism, there are two believes regarding the appearance of Kubera or Sarvanubhuti. As per the Digambara sect, he has three heads and wields six weapons. The Svetambaras, on the other hand, portray him with six arms and holding numerous weapons that also carried a money bag and a citron fruit. He may be shown either riding a man or an elephant. He is related to the Buddhist Jambhala rather than the Hindu Kubera.
Worship
Kubera is the lord of wealth and prosperity. He is also known as the divine treasures of all wealth. He is mostly worshiped in the country of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In a country like Nepal and India, he is worshipped along with the Lord Ganesha, mostly during the festivals of lights or Deepawali. There are mantras or hymns which is used to please the deity during the rituals or worship.
Basically, Kubera is also worshiped with the Goddess Lakshmi. It is because the goddess Laxmi is the goddess of fortune and Kubera is the god of wealth. The statue of Kubera is found along with the statue of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi.
The temples like Sri Lakshmi Kubera Temple at Vandalur, Kuber Bhandari Temple at Gujarat, Harikesavanallur Kubera Temple at Tamil Nadu, Sri Kuberapureeshwarar Temple at Tamil Nadu, and Chettikulam Sri Kubera Temple at Tamil Nadu where Kubera is worshipped with Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi.
Here are some Kubera mantras that are chanted to please Lord Kubera with beliefs in becoming wealthy and prosperous.