ORIGIN Hindu [India].
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa AD 300 until present.
SYNONYMS Dharme.
CENTER(S) OF CULT none specific.
ART REFERENCES stone and metal sculptures.
LITERARY SOURCES epic texts including Ramayana and Mahabharata; Puranic texts, but also see the Rg Veda.
The god of law who originates as a creator god and one of the sons of Brahma, but almost certainly derives from the dharmas or archetypal patterns of society identified in the Rg Veda.
According to tradition he is the consort of thirteen daughters of DAKSA and the father of Yudhisthra.
Also regarded as a minor avatara of VISĖNU, appearing as a bull standing for the redemption of souls.
In Bengali tradition Dharme (probably of the same derivation) has been annually engaged in a sacred marriage to the earth at the time of year when a tree known as the sal is blossoming. Birds are sacrificed in a sacred grove after which the tribe repairs to the hut of the village shaman and the marriage is enacted between the priest and his wife, followed by a sexual free-for-all.
Witch's Well 