CPREEC - EIACP Programme Centre, Resource Partner on Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sites of India

Scientific name

Panthera tigris Linn.

Common name

Bengal Tiger

Hindi

Bagh

Sanskrit 

Vyaaghraha

Distribution

Originally thought-out India, now limited   to a reserved forests and national parks.                         

Religious association

The more ferocious forms of Durga—Shakti and Kali—rides the tiger. The tiger is the vehicle of god Ayyappa, lord Mahadeshvara and Rahu, the serpent or eclipse, one of the navagraha or nine planets of Indian mythology.

The tiger is worshipped in northern Bengal, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.