Tag Archives: Mahavidyas

Day Ten Navaratri Parana, April 2016: Kamala, Lotus Goddess of Delight

Posted on by

Om Shrim Shrim Kamalatmika Shrim Swaha!

Om Shrim Shrim Kamalatmika Shrim Swaha!

Om Shrim Shrim Kamalatmika Shrim Swaha!

kamla-yantraThe tenth day of Navaratri is called Navarati Parana which means the end of the Navaratri celebration and fast. It is the 10th dashami tithi, 10 days after the New Moon and a day of victory. What a great time to embrace this sweet power rising out of the Devi’s victory over darkness just as Mars, planet of war and conflict, is slowing down to his intense retrograde station on Sunday morning, He will retrograde until late June in sidereal Scorpio, where Saturn is already retrograde. Retrograde malefics like Mars and Saturn become more difficult than usual. That means it’s time to be focused and vigilant and hold fast to our highest principles and practices. Everything that challenges us is teaching us to open our hearts and be in a state of unconditional love no matter what! If we can remain truly heart centered kings and queens of love, we are home free.

231839-bigthumbnailAnd, speaking of love, the 10th Mahavidya Goddess to whom I am dedicating my last day’s Navaratri contemplation is Shri Kamala Devi, also known as “Kamalatmika, She of the Lotus.” Kamala is the ultimate manifestation of the Devi in the world. When you are in the immense and often mind-blowing, heart-bursting beauty of nature, that is Kamala in action. She is goddess of not only love and beauty but also comfort, safety, wealth, happiness, and the bliss that comes in knowing one’s own true being (ananda swaroopa). Kamala’s other name is Shree (Shri) which means “Auspicious.”

“With a smiling face, her beautiful lily-white hands hold two lotuses, and show the mudras of giving and dispelling fear. She is bathed in nectar by four white elephants and stands upon a beautiful lotus.” (Todala Tantra) The lotus represents purity and divinity; and the elephants symbolize the four directions, elements, and purusharthas (dharma, artha, kama, and moksha) which are all brought forth and supported by Shri Kamala Devi. 

the_ten_mahavidyas__kamala_wi84Kamala is the consort of Sada-Shiva, the protector of the world who is much like Lord Vishnu who upholds the Earth. She is associated with the lunar mansion called Rohini in Taurus constellation, which is the Moon’s favorite wife (nakshatra). Rohini symbolizes sensuality, grace, and beauty. She is the youngest sister of oldest sister Dhumavati who lives in Jyestha/Scorpio which is directly opposite Rohini/Taurus. Kamala is like the highest frequency of Lakshmi. She came out of the great churning of the ocean known as Samudra Manthan, and she is the source of Satva Guna or spiritual essence.I feel that Kamala is the Alpha and Omega of the Devi, for everything comes from love. We propitiate Her to enhance and strengthen Venus, symbol of vitality-love-comfort-wealth in the Vedic horoscope.

Jai Maa Kamala Devi! We bow before you on this tenth day of Navaratri Parana and give great thanks for all Your blessings and boons that have come through our Divine Mother devotions, and for those which are still yet to come. We open to receive ever more of your Supreme Comfort as it flows like nectar onto our Earth and all sentient beings. May we fully know and experience Your peace, wisdom, and divine love in this Earthly realm. Jai Maa!

kamala

 

Day Nine Navaratri, April 2016: Matangi, Goddess of Royal Elephant Power

Posted on by

Om Hreem Aim Shreem

Namo Bhagavati Ucchisthachandali

Sri Matangeswari Sarvagyanavashamkari Swaha

220px-Matangi_yantra_colorThe ninth day of Navratri is known as MahaNavami. It is Ram Navami, the day of Lord Ram’s birthday which is celebrated as the victory of light over dark. The Todala Tantra (Ch. 10) correlates Lord Vishnu’s ten incarnations with the ten Mahavidyas as follows: “Tara Devi is the blue form; Bagla is the tortoise incarnation; Dhumavati is the boar, Chinnamasta is Narasimha; Bhuvaneshvari is Vamana, Matangi is the Rama form; Tripura is Jamadagni, Bhairavi is Balabhadra; Mahalakshmi is Buddha, and Durga is the Kalki form. Bhagavati Kali is the Krishna murti.” So today is devoted to Lord Ram and also the Goddess Matangi. It is also the day of Saraswati, who is related in some ways to Matangi.

matangi devi fierceIn fact, Sri Maa Matangi is considered the Tantric version of Goddess Saraswati and is said to rule over music, art, sound and learning. She is associated with living outside the normal bounds of society which symbolically refers to the sound current before it manifests in the world. Matangi is worshipped for power over enemies and for other kinds of mystical powers including attracting money and love as well as attaining the highest knowledge. She is often depicted as the color of emerald, with three eyes, wearing a crescent moon on her head, holding a hammer, noose, goad and shield in her four hands. Like Lalita she sometimes has a parrot with her. Matangi is propitiated for any issues related to the Sun in the Vedic horoscope, as Matangi is the shakti of Lord Ram the Sun God.Ram“The elephant, king of beasts, is the mount of kings and symbol of royal power, the power of domination. Indra, the king of heaven, is shown riding on an elephant. Siva, as the world ruler, the  dispenser of justice, the embodiment of kingly virtues, the destroyer of evil, is known as the Elephant Matanga. After the terror of the night appears the reassuring sunlight. The demons are defeated. Matangi, the Elephant power [consort of Matanga] establishes the rule of peace, of calm, of prosperity.” (The Myths and Gods of India, Alain Danielou, p 283).

Kalighat_Matangi

 

 

Day Seven Navaratri, April 2016: Dhumavati, Goddess of Letting Go

Posted on by

Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha

Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha

Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha

220px-Dhumavati_yantra_color“Perceived as the void, as the dissolved form of consciousness, when all beings are dissolved in sleep in the supreme Brahman, having swallowed the entire universe, the seer-poets call her the most glorious and the eldest, Dhumavati. She exists in the forms of sleep, lack of memory, illusion, and dullness in the creatures immersed in the illusion of the world, but among the yogis she becomes the power that destroys all thoughts, indeed Samadhi (death and liberation) itself.” ~ Ganapati Muni

Dhumavati (or Dhoomavati) is the seventh of the Mahavidya goddesses. She signifies a formidable aspect of the Divine Mother and can be quite intimidating to those who don’t understand Her emblem as the personification of the wounds of the earth, known as ksataviksata-privthi (Alain Danielou, The Myths and Gods of India, p 282). Portrayed as a haggardly ugly widow, Dhumavati is often depicted riding a crow or on a horseless chariot, but also usually she is shown offering blessings. She is the only Mahavidya without a consort, so widows often propitiate Her. As Sati, she was actually married to Shiva, but he could not satisfy her and she ate him, and later disengorged him and She became Dhumavati. Part of the legend of Sati and Shiva speaks to Dhumavati’s core principle as the destroyer of the “body of the world” (Danielou).

220px-DhumavatiDhumavati means the “smoky one.” She is said to take the form of smoke which has a highly protective quality for her devotees who like to offer her cigarettes and incense. Dhumavati is said to hang around murky places like foggy bogs, dark forests, smoky fires, smoldering volcanos, and cremation grounds. Her aspect in the form of smoke conceals the world of illusion and reveals the truth of the mystery of life behind the façade of the divine play of the world.

The mythologist Joseph Campbell once said, “Where you stumble and fall, there you will find gold.”

That’s Dhumavati. I have called on Her during some of my darkest times, and She always gave the gold.

Dhumavati_molaramPer Vedic astrology, Dhumavati can be propitiated for all issues related to Rahu and Ketu. Her essence is of the crone, the great grandmother spirit, the dark Moon, and the deep waning cycle of the Sun. She is connected to Jyestha and Mula nakshatras, which are home to the ancient dark goddesses named Jyestha and Niritti (also known as A-Lakshmi, without radiance), in the tail of the Scorpio constellation and near the galactic center, a place of profound, shadowy, and sometimes even dangerous power.

scorpio-mwJai Maa Dhumavati. I bow before you on this night and let go into your deepest wisdom.