Nongshāba
Nongshaba is a lion god in Sanamahism and Meitei mythology. He is also regarded as a king of the gods. He is credited with producing light in the primordial universe and is regarded as the maker of the sun. He is worshipped by the people of both the Ningthouja clans as well as the Moirang clans. Nongshaba was worshipped by the people of Moirang clan as a lineage deity and regarded as the father of the god Thangching.
He is the greatest of the but he made his only son Thangching the chief deity of Moirang.
History
The cult of Nongshaba was brought from Moirang by Mungyaang Ngairaangba and Yumnaam Tonba, who presented the deity to King Khagemba . The position Nongshaba's cult was buoyed by his recognition as an Umang Lai and installation as King of the gods, and the construction of a five storied-temple in his honour. Other Umang Lais became lesser deities. During the King's reign, a Meitei family, the Leithangbam, was given responsibility for the cult of Nongshaba. The Phura, a group of priestessess dedicated to Nongshaba was also established.During the reign of King Paikhomba , there was a spiritual and symbolical marriage ceremony of princess Yaosombi and Nongshaba, with the offering of an elephant to the deity. From the time of Khagemba until the accession of King Charairongba in 1687, the cult of Nongshaba was more popular than that of Lainingthou Sanamahi.
The cult of Nongshaba did not survive for long. During the early 18th century, Hindu priests from Sylhet arrived in Kangleipak to spread Gaudiya Vaishnavism. They were led by Shantidas Adhikari and his associate Gopal Das, who succeeded in converting King Pamheiba from Sanamahism to Vaishnavism in 1710. Pamheimba changed his name to Gharib Nawaz and made Hinduism the official religion of Manipur. In 1723, Gharib Nawaz had most of the shrines of Umang Lai destroyed, and Hindu Brahmins took over their temples. On 17 October 1732, he ordered the destruction of the temples.
Mythology
In Meitei mythology, Kangla Sha is a divine representation of Nongshaba.According to the Nongshaba Laihui, Nongshaba is the second son of the Universal Lord, and is also known as Tholbu Chinglen Nongdai Ningthou. According to the text, Nongshaba is neither assigned much duty did he take a big role in the creation of the universe. Unlike his younger brother Pakhangba, Nongshaba did not stand in the way of his elder brother Lainingthou Sanamahi. Unlike his younger brother Pakhangba, Nongshaba does not have any human descendants, and unlike his elder brother Lainingthou Sanamahi, he does not have any manifestation in human form.'.
The Nongshaba Laihui further describes Nongshaba as:
The same text describes all the Umang Lai deities, including Sanamahi, as the attendants of Nongshaba.
The second stanza of the Meitei poem Anoirol, sung in the Lai Haraoba, mentions many sky deities including Nongshaba, the god of the sky of Moirang.
Worship
Devotees worship Nonghsaba by offering white clothes, fruits, flowers, and fish, preferably sareng.In early times, Nongshaba was venerated, along with Pakhangba, in the Naoshumshang, the shrine of ancestral figures. Worshippers prayed to Nongshaba prayed for the longevity of the Meitei kings.
The Phura is a class of priestesses who manage the cult of Nongshaba.