Thoughts on Katyayani

[Guest guest]

Katyayani means "Virgin", "Eternal Virgins". In the

beginning as

Shailputri she is the Daughter and a Wife, then in Skandamata she is

the Mother, so how does she becomes a Virgin now. It didn't make

sense. What I am about to write too may not make sense, but we have

seen that there is a lot of things around us didn't make sense,

and

yet people still accepts them. I do not expect anybody to accept what

I have written. These are my thoughts. Throw it out if you think its

rubbish. Laugh it out if you think they are funny and entertaining.

To me it does not matter.

 

This spiritual journey is the march of the human soul to its

destination. A transformation of a spiritual being with an aspiring

soul is a continuous one. It does not stop half way for once you stop

you cease to exist. The stationary condition is the beginning of the

end.!

 

Our body is the temple. Going to the temple, is like diving deep

within us. The sanctum is the place were our "Goddess"

resides. The

moment we enter into the "temple", we undergoes a

metamorphosis. Our

secular character remains without. We shed it, like a snake shedding

its sledge. Once inside we may have said to die to time and returned

to the World Womb, the World Navel, the Earthly paradise – To the

Goddess. That is what happens in Skandamata. We go back to the

Mother, to the Goddess. "When changes is happening deep within

us and in this transformation, you are never the same again". We

emerge from the temple a spiritually reborn person. We become a

Virgin. We become Katyayani.

 

Katyayani. Who is she? Why is she carrying a weapon, a sword this

time? Sword is a very powerful weapon if you compared it to all the

other weapons she carries as Chandraghanta and Kushmanda. One strike

and it can sever your head. So when you see somebody carry a sword

you stay far far away. LOL.

 

Lets see what others wrote about her.

 

1. This form of the Mother once stayed in the Ashram of sage

Katyayan for penance, hence She is called Kaatyayani. She too sits

astride a lion, with three eyes and four arms. On the left She holds

a weapon and a lotus; on the right, the mudras of defending and

granting. Her complexion is golden!

 

Now my question is why does she wants to do penance? She is beautiful

girl, she can have princes and kings asking her for hand in marriage,

but why go to the Ashram of Sage Katyayan and do penance? Isn't

this against the social norm? Who is she doing penance for?

 

"In the Siva-Parvati myth, it is Siva who has momentarily

forgotten

that Parvati is none other than Sati or Daksayani, while Parvati has

known all along of her previous birth and her destiny of being

reunited with Siva. Siva's remembrance is brought about by the

persona of Parvati, her penance, and her successful withstanding of

the interrogation by Siva in disguise. It is remembrance or smarana

which was brought about by the Darpana (mirror) of Parvati leads Siva

to a cognition in which he sees himself."

 

"As per the Abhinabagupta, recognition means liberation."

 

 

"The Great Lord Shiva is bull-bannered. His body is smeared with

ashes. His hair is matted. He is clad in the hide of a tiger. He has

covered his body with the hide of an elephant. He holds the skull.

Serpents twine around his limbs. Poison had left a mark on his neck.

He eats even forbidden stuff. He had odd eyes and is definitely

awful. His birth and pedigree cannot be traced. He is devoid of

enjoyment of a householder. …. He is almost naked and is ever

accompanied by ghost and goblins. What is the reason whereby you wish

him to be your husband? O gentle lady where has your wisdom gone?

"

Siva purana.

 

Parvati have known that there is only one who can possess her.

 

The concept of Virgins is rather different from an ancient and modern

conception. From an ancient conception, virgin had little to do with

abstinence from sexual intercourse. Virginity is an indication of an

independent autonomous woman. A woman who does not require to answer

to any man or child. A woman who knows what she wants. A woman who

will do anything to maintain her dignity (thus her sword. To keep

others from distracting her?)

 

I remember this verse about Kali: "No man can own Kali or tell

her

how to act for she is mad with the love of the Divine"

 

Katyayani is when one has undergone a "virginal birth". The

birth of

a spiritual human and the birth of the compassion. Katyayani is a

point when one is liberated? One becomes almost a Divine being?

[Guest guest]

On a related note, could somebody indicate the scripture where the

Durga-Katyayanyai Gayatri mantra takes its source from? I recently came across a

set of sectarian Gayatri mantras, each dedicated to a particular Goddess. Are

these real mantras; i.e. do they have a proper rishi, kilaka, etc? Can reciting

them lead to moksha?

 

 

btw, thanks for the invite.