Goddess Durga

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Goddess Durga

 

In Hindu mythology, Durga is a fierce form of Devi, the Mother Goddess, the

all-powerful almighty goddess. According to a legend the gods could not defeat

the buffalo demon Mahish, who was threatening the existence of the universe.

They begged Shiva for his assistance, and Shiva advised all the gods to release

their shaktis.

 

The shaktis of the gods emerged in female form. These goddesses fused together

in blinding light from which arose a magnificent goddess with many arms. She was

as beautiful as she was deadly. Durga was born fully-grown and is depicted as

extremely beautiful and full of rage.

 

The gods called this goddess Durga, the invincible one, and they armed her with

all their weapons. Thus armed, Durga rode to the top of a mountain on a lion. In

a bloody battle, she defeated Mahish and his army of demons and thus saved the

Universe from this demon’s menace.

 

 

Forms of Durga

 

She comes every year to Calcutta in autumn bringing with her, mellow days and

festivity. The Mother goddess returns to earth and, during this season, rising

food prices, sit-down strikes, overflowing gutters are pushed into the

background as, for one brief and glorious moment Calcutta becomes Camelot.

 

When a goddess is as splendour as Durga, it becomes increasingly difficult to

unveil the thousand mysteries that surrounded her. Who can catch the roaring

wind and imprison it in mere words? Who can give shape and form to the thrashing

of ocean waves or fetter the gurgle of mountain streams? Try and pluck a humble

star and the firmament will tremble. Set adrift an unknown planet and the

universe will never be the same again. Durga is indeed unfathomable and the

myths that surround her have changed like the fabled moon from shield to sickle

through aeons of light and darkness.

 

For five fevered days, every autumn, she is worshipped in Bengal. The frenzy is

maddening even as the images of the mother-goddess get installed on the day of

shashti and after the reverence and fervour of shaptami, ashtami and navami,

they are set adrift on the bosom of the Ganga when the sun streaks the sky in

gold and evening comes a-tumbling on Vijayadashami. The craftsmen in Kumartuli

set to work when the monsoon clouds thin in August and the first rusk of kash

blossoms wave their feathery white heads in fecund fields that roll into distant

horizons.

 

Durga idols are crafted with much love and care. And the day the artisans

breathe life into her, that particular dawn when they actually paint in her

large, beautiful eyes, the almanac must be consulted to decide the precise

auspicious moment when the goddess will finally look upon the world of mortals.

She is shakti, the destroyer of evil. Armed with lethal weapons in her ten

mighty hands she rides a ferocious lion and is the triumphant slayer of

Mahishasur, the demon king. She is Uma, beloved daughter of King Daksha and

Queen Menoka who, for the sake of love, forsaked a kingdom and earned her

father’s wrath. She is Kali, black as the night and omnipotent, terrible in rage

and fury, with just a string of skulls as her garland and her only garb. She is

Parvati, serene, pretty consort of the mad, half-naked Lord Shiva cooling her

heels on the snow-bound peaks of Kailash. She is Bhawani, symbol of life. She is

Sati, the object of death. She is Basanti, the heralder of springtime. She

is Mahishasurmardini, the vanquisher of evil in autumn. She is the epitome of

salvation and sacrifice. She is the mother of bounty and wealth, as also of

beauty and knowledge, for her daughters are Lakshmi and Saraswati.

 

 

 

 

 

MYTHS OF DEVI DURGA

Durga Puja, the festival of Bengalis is the worship of 'Shakti' or the divine

power. Most of the religious celebrations in the world have legends surrounding

them. The fables are generally the fight between the evil and the good, the dark

forces eventually succumbing to the divine. Worship of Goddess Durga is based on

myths where Durga symbolizes the divine power. ACCORDING TO THE INDIAN

MYTHOLOGY Mahishasura, the king of Asuras, through years of austerities, was

once granted a boon by Lord Bramha, that no man or deity would be able to kill

him. The immense power filled in him the urge to rule over the world. He started

to terrorize heaven and the inhabitants. He pervaded the world with his

battalion of Asuras and plundered and ruthlessly killed the people. Chaos and

anarchy reigned. Gods were driven from heaven and Mahishasura usurped the

throne.

The Gods scared and unable to combat him, requested Lord Shiva, Lord Bramha,

Lord Vishnu to stop Mahishasura's tyranny. In answer, the three Gods combined

their divine energy and summoned up a feminine form so brilliantly glaring that

it illuminated the heavens. From the glow emerged Devi Durga, a beautiful yellow

woman with ten arms riding a lion. Despite her grace she bore a menacing

expression, for Durga was born to kill. Fully grown and beautiful Durga was

immediately armed by the gods and sent forth against Mahishasura bearing in each

of her ten hands, symbols of their divine power.

Vishnu's discus; Shiva's trident; Varuna's conchshell; Agni's flaming dart;

Vayu's bow; Surya's quiver and arrow; Yama's iron rod; Indra's thunderbolt;

Kubera's club and a garland of snakes from Shesha and a lion as a charger from

Himalayas. A fierce battle took place. Finally when Mahishasura in the guise of

a buffalo charged against Durga, the Devi beheaded the buffalo and from it

emerge Mahishasura in his original form. Durga pierced his chest with the

trident and relieved the world from the evil power. That is why she is

'Durgatinashini Durga', our mother goddess who destroys the evil, protects her

devotees and establishes peace and prosperity on earth.

 

 

We worship Durga as the mother goddess, the epitome of 'Shakti' (divine power),

to deliver us from the evil and bring peace and prosperity in our lives. But the

most interesting part of Durga Puja is that, instead of placing Durga on a high

alter and worshipping her from a distance the Bengalis embrace her in their

hearts and make her an inseparable member of the family. We welcome Durga to the

earth as our daughter who comes at her parents' home for her annual visits.

Durga stays for four days-Shashti, Saptami, Ashtami and Nabami along with her

children, Ganesha, Laxmi, Kartik and Saraswati and sets for her husband's abode

on Vijaya Dashami.

Durga's mode of journey to the earth is detailed in scriptures. The modes, an

elephant, a horse, palanquin, boat all signify luck or omen which influence the

life on earth. The elephant signifies prosperity and good harvest while journey

on a horse back indicates drought, a palanquin spells wide spread epidemic and

the boat suggests flood and misery.

The worship of Devi Durga however owes its origin to Sree Rama. He hastily

worships Durga, the goddess of 'Shakti', just before he sets for Lanka to rescue

Sita from Ravana. According to Puranas, King Suratha, used to worship the

goddess Durga in spring. Thus Durga Puja was also known as Basanti Puja. But

Rama prepones the Puja and worships the Devi in autumn and that is why it is

known as 'Akal Bodhon' or untimely worship. Over the years, this Akal Bodhon has

become the tradition among Bengalis (Bengalis) and in Bengal.

 

 

 

 

 

Durga & Mahish

 

 

According to Hindu mythology, a demon named Mahish had threatened gods out of

heaven and established his evil dominion there and this devil was a constant

threat to the existence of the universe.

 

Origin of Goddess Durga

Threatened by mahish, a buffalo demon all gods approached Shiva for his

assistance. Shiva advised them to release their energies(spiritual powers)

locked within their bodies.When these powers were united, Goddess Durga was

born. Gods praised her and gave to her their divine gifts. The 'Devatas also

contributed their share of energy to form the various limbs of the goddess and

armed her with the best jewellery and deadly weapons - thus Durga represented an

awesome combination of supreme beauty and deadly power Now equipped with the

fearsome weaponry of the gods and dressed in golden armour and jewels she set

off, seated gracefully upon that lion. All the demons were destroyed in a great

battle as with her divine sword she cut them to bits.

 

The Death of Mahish, the buffalo demon

Mahish, the demon king was completely enraged by the events of the battlefield,

where his army of demons was slaughtered by Durga. He reverted to his own form,

a buffalo, and charged about on the battlefield. He ran wildly at Durga's divine

soldiers goring many, biting others and all the while beating them with his

long, whip-like tail. Durga's lion, angered by the presence of the

demon-buffalo, attacked him. Durga jumped on Mahishasura pushing him to the

ground with her left leg. She grasped his head in one hand, pierced him with her

sharp spear held in another, and with yet another of her ten hands she wielded

her bright sword, beheading him. At last he fell dead, and the gods returned to

heaven, and along with the sages of the earth, they sang praises of the Goddess

Durga. After that day Durga is worshipped by all the gods in heaven and by all

the human beings on earth, she is considered as an eternal mother who resolves

all hardships of her devotees. Mahishasura is there too,

impaled by Durga's spear and prostrate beneath her left foot.

 

 

 

The Festival

What makes Durga Puja intoxicating is the tension between calm spirituality and

ecstatic sensuality, the twin poles of Hindu religious worship. The festival of

Durga Puja is celebrated all over India with different festivities and rituals.

Durga Puja is celebrated in the autumn, in the month of September/October. It is

the time when the weather remains at its best giving the atmosphere a festive

mood. The advent of autumn is impossible to overlook in any corner of the land.

It arouses one from bed at dawn, with the sound of high-pitched, ululations, the

frantic blowing of conch shells and bell metal cymbals. This simple ceremony

marks the arrival of the Mother Goddess Durga, for the festival of Durga Puja.

Common rituals and Some Important FactsDurga Puja is basically a festival with a

long series of rituals followed on every day of the Puja. Starting from the day

of the Mahalaya, the days of Sashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami or

Bijoya Dashami every day has its own unique

rituals to follow. But it is not only the festival that has rituals associated

with it, but also the making of Durga idols is governed by a series of rituals.

These rituals are closely related with the holy river Ganga. The elemental

ritual, which is most commonly followed, is that the ingredients that are used

to make the idol of goddess Durga come from the holy river. The activity of

immersing the idol in the Ganga at the end of the festival this way points to a

theme of cyclical regeneration too. Generally, the idol of Durga is flanked by

the idols of Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh, all of whom are believed to

be her children. The goddess sits atop a lion, which is her vahan. The favourite

tableau is of her stabbing Asura, the demon. It is symbolic of the victory that

she had achieved for the gods over the demons Some Important Facts Time of the

year: October 2001

Places to visit: West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa,Bihar and Mysore

Duration: Nine to five days

Best Idols Made in: Kumartuli

Day of drawing eyes on the idol: Mahalaya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Temples of Andhra Pradesh

 

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Kanakadurga Temple at Vijayawada

 

 

Deities: Kanakadurga

 

This famous temple in Vijayawada has an imposing image of Kanakadurga

 

Access and Accomodation: Vijayawada

 

Vijayawada

Temples of Andhra Pradesh

Abodes of Shiva

 

 

The city of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh is home to three distinctive temples -

the Kanakadurga temple, the Malleswara temple and the Vijayeswara temple. Near

Vijayawada is the hill temple complex of Mangalagiri dedicated to Narasimha.

 

Historically the Malleswara temple goes back to the period of the Tribhuvana

Malla, a Chalukyan ruler of the 10th century CE.

 

The Malleswara temple enshrines a Shivalingam believed to have been held in

worship by the sage Agastya. Legend also has it that this temple was established

by the Pandava prince Yuddhishtra. It is believed that the Lakshmi Narasimha

temple at the foothills of Mangalagiri nearby was also built by Yuddhishtra the

Pandava prince, and that the Vijayeswara temple was founded by Arjuna.

 

It is believed that Agastya worshipped Shiva at this temple as Jayasena, while

Arjuna worshipped him as Malleswara.

 

The Indrakila hill in Vijayawada is said to be associated with the legend of

Arjuna (Vijaya) obtaining the Pasupataastram from Shiva. The Vijayeswara temple

has this and many other such legends illustrated in stone sculpture.

 

The Kanakadurga temple is a well visited temple in Vijayawada enshrining the

Chandi or the Durga aspect of Shakti. The spiritual leader Aadi Sankara is

believed to have visited this shrine and installed a Sree Chakra.

 

 

 

 

Lord Bramaramba MalleswaraTemple Of Kanakadurga

 

Legend has it that Arjuna, of the epic Mahabharata, prayed on top of

Indrakiladri hill and won the blessings from Lord Shiva. The name of

'Vijayawada' is derived from this 'Vijaya' - victory. Kanaka Durga, goddess of

power, riches and benevolence is considered the presiding deity of Vijayawada.

The temple is set on Indrakiladri hill. A temple of Lord Maheswara is also

within the city area. It is said that Adi Sankara visited this temple and

installed Sri Chakra here. Special celebrations are held during Dussehra

festival. At the Kanakadurga temple, the enchanting four-foot high icon of the

deity gleams into sight even before one enters the garbha griha. The goddess

with eight hands and equipped with eight powerful weapons is seen in a standing

posture over the demon Mahishashura and piercing him with her trident. The

Goddess bedecked in glittering ornaments and floral decorations is the epitome

of beauty. Devotees worship goddess Kanakadurga to bestow them with health,

wealth and

prosperity. The temple authorities at the Kanakadurgeswari shrine have made

elaborate arrangements for devotees to have darshan from different points. The

first is the special darshan from within the sanctum sanctorum in close

proximity of the deity and the second special darshan is from just outside the

sanctum sanctorum. The third type of darshan is from a distance. Chanting of

mantras and devotional music euphonises the air in the mornings creating a

serene atmosphere.

 

 

 

Kanakadurga Pilgrimage Attractions

Mataaka Durga temple located at Indrakila hill.

 

 

Lord Bramaramba Malleswara Poojas

Lakshakumkum archanais performed everyday, except on Friday and Sunday

 

 

 

 

History

This temple was constructed for Goddess Durga by Arjuna.

 

Festivals celebrated

Sivarathri, Dasara & Vasantotsavam

 

How to Reach

Public and private transport is available from Vijayawada bus stand to

Kanakadurga temple.

 

 

 

 

 

KanakaDurga Temple

Shakthi

 

 

Idols : DurgaDescription :Kanaga Durga temple is on Indrakila hill. It is

dedicated to the Goddess Kanaga Durga, the protector of the city. The goddess

receives continual gratitude from her followers and the devotees credit her for

the growth of Vijayawada.The temple is very famous and is a number of devotees

from many parts of the state come here to get the blessings of the goddess. The

presiding deity is a Swayambu (self manifested) image.

Legends & Myths :Tradition is that, goddess Durga created a powerful form of

Shakthi called as Kaushika, who vanquished the evil demons who were notorious

for their inhuman activities for the people of Vijayawada. The people rejoiced

the death of the demons and offered prayers in her praise. Pleased with their

devotion, the goddess showered a rain of gold called as Kanaka Varsha. The

region glittered by the gold rain,and came to be called as Kanakawada and the

goddess as Kanaka Durga.Location :Vijayawada,AndhraPradeshTransportation :The

temple is in Vijayawada Town of Krishna District. The nearest Airport is

Gannavaram. The temple is about 8 kms from Vijayawada Railway Station and number

of state transport buses are available to this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Durga Aarti

JAI AMBE GAURII MAIYAA JAI SHYAAMAA GAURII NISHADINA TUMAKO DHYAAVATA HARI

BRAHMA SHIVAJII MAANGA SINDUURA VIRAAJATA TIKO MRIGA MADAKO UJJVALASE DAUU

NAINAA CHANDRAVANA NIIKO KANAKA SAMAANA KALEVARA, RAKTAAMBARA RAAJE RAKTAPUSHPA

GALAMAALAA, KANTHAHAARA SAAJE KEHARI VAAHANA RAAJATA, KHADAGA KHAPPARA DHAARI

SURA NARA MUNIJANA SEVATA, TINAKE DUKHA HAARI KAANANA KUNADALA SHOBHITA,

NAASAAGRE MOTII KOTIKA CHANDRA DIVAAKARA, SAM RAAJATA JYOTII SHUMBHA NISHUMBHA

BIDAARE, MAHISHAASURA GHAATII DHUUMRA VILOCHANA NAINAA, NISHADINA MADAMAATII

BRAHMAANII RUDRAANII, TUMA KAMALAA RAANII AAGAMA-NIGAMA BAKHAANII, TUMA SHIVA

PATARAANII , CHAUSATHA YOGINII GAAVATA, NRITYA KARATA BHAIRON BAAJATA TAALA

MRIDANGA, AURA BAAJATA DAMARUU TUMA HO JAGA KII MAATAA, TUMA HII HO BHARTAA

BHAKTANA KII DUKHA HARTAA, SUKHA SAMPATI KARTAA BHUJAA CHAARA ATI SHOBHITA, VARA

MUDRAA DHAARII MANAVAANCHITA PHALA PAAVATA, SEVATA NARA NAARII KANCHANA THAALA

VIRAAJATA, AGARU KAPUURA BAATII BHAALAKETU MEIN RAAJATA,

KOTIRATANA JYOTII

 

Translation

Glory to you, O divine Mother Gauri, glory to you, O Parvati, who are so rich in

maiden grace , the object of daily meditation by brahma,vishnu and shiva.

O Ambe! On your forehead is a mark of vermilion along with a mark of musk . Your

twin eyes are bright and your face beautiful as the moon.

Your body with a tinge of gold is beautifully dressed in red attire; on your

throat there is a wreath of red blossoms like a beautiful necklace.

Your vehicle, the lion, is, O Mother in keeping with your majestic form; you

hold a sword and a skull in your hands, and on you attend the gods, hermits, men

and your devotees, whose grief you drive away.

You are adorned with rings on your ears and with pearl on the tip of your nose,

your radiance looks as beautiful as that of myriad of moons and suns.

O slayer of the demon Mahish, you tore apart the bodies of Shumbha, Nishumbha

and Dhuumravilochana. Your eyes reflected a frenzy of wrath everyday and night.

You are the beloved companion of Brahma, Rudra and Vishnu. The Vedas and the

Shastras describe you as the queen companion of Shiva

Sixty-four Yoginis chorus your glory and glorify you, while Shiva dances in tune

to the accompaniment of the sound of tambour and drum .

You are mother of the universe, the almighty, its sustainer, reliever of your

devotees' hardships and bestower of prosperity and happiness

The four arms you have adorned your person, while the hand raised in benediction

reveals your compassionate aspect. Those among men and women who wait on you and

worship you have all their wishes fulfilled.

In a golden platter are beautifully laid aloe and camphor, both of which have

lighted; and the radiance of your forehead is reflecting the splendour of gems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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