maata~Ngii (fwd)

[Guest guest]

Dear Aravind,

 

Thanks for your valuable input.

 

Ravi

 

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Sat, 08 Jan 2000 18:10:28 CST

Aravind Krishna <seeksha

msr

Re: maata~Ngii

 

 

Dear Ravi,

I thought of elaborating on Matangi in two places, Bhrahmavidhyaamba (The

deity at ThiruveNkaadu where mataN^ga rishhi had his ashram) and Miinakshhi

posts.

 

Just to add some points,

 

The nAmAs ShyaamaLaa, Maatangi and miinakshi represent the same deity. First

she incarnated as ShyaamaLaa along with lalitaa. Shyaamalaa is the minister

of Lalitaa, 'mantriNI'.

 

' mantriNI nyasta rAjya dhUH'

 

She destroyed the son of bhaNda named 'vishaN^ga' in the battle.

 

mantriNI ambA virachita vishhaN^ga vadhatoshhitA

 

(There is a little confusion in this. In Brahmanda puraaNa when elaborating

on the battle it is said that vishaN^ga was defeated by vaaraahi the

commander in chief of lalitaa's army, but in sahasranaama we read vishhaN^ga

vadha was done by mantriNI. In such disputes its better to consider

sahasranaama)

 

She is seated on geya chakra or giiti chakra ratam besides lalitaa who is

seated in Sri chakra ratam.

 

geya chakra rathA rUDha mantriNI parisevitA

 

Devas saluted her with 16 names when she manifested from the sugarcane bow

of lalitaa. They are

 

(e.m klI.m sauH)

 

OM sa.mgiitayoginyai namaH

OM shyaamaayai namaH

OM shyaamaLaayai namaH

OM mantranaayikaayai namaH

OM mantriNyai namaH

OM sachiveshannyai namaH

OM pradhaaneshyai namaH

OM shukapriyaayai namaH

OM viiNaavatyai namaH

OM vaiNiikyai namaH

OM mudriNyai namaH

OM priyakapriyaayai namaH

OM niipariyaayai namaH

OM kadambeshyai namaH

OM kadambavanavaasinyai namaH

OM sadaamadaayai namaH

 

(I have given it in naamaavaLi format for the ease of performing archanaa).

 

Dikshitar has sung this swarUpam of Devi in the raaga kannada,

 

'giiti chakra ratha stitaayai guruguha nuta shyaamaLaayai namaste namaste

....'

 

If you note the word maataN^gi is not in this sixteen names, Devi manifested

as the daughter of mataN^gi later. As matanga was a chandaaLa she is known

as uchista chandaaLi. 'mati' is bhuddi or intellect. mata is thought. First

thought manifests and then we try to convey that through sound. Devi in the

form of 'naada' or the eternal subtle sound shapes the thoughts in the form

of words (MAtanga). Such bhudi shakti is known as maataN^gi. This is the

reason why she is the deity of sangiitam or naadopasanaa. Dishshitar's life

serve as a standard testimony as to how a person gets to jiivan mukti

through naadopaasanaa.

 

To visualize, maataN^gi is seated under a kadambaa tree with viiNaa in her

hands. A parrot is seen on her shoulder that sings in tune with her viiNaa

gaanam. Such a dhyaanam itself is extremely pleasing. She holds similar

status as lalitaa and hence called as raaja maatangi. KaaLidaasa was an

ardent devotee maataN^gi. His shyaamaLaa daNdakam begins visualizing the

above form of Devi.

 

MaaNikyaviiNaamupalaaLayantiiM

madaalasaaM maJNjuLavaagvilaasaam.h |

maahendraniiladyutikomaLaaN^giiM

maataN^gakanyaaM manasaa smaraami ||

 

This hymn deals in detail the swarUpa of MaataN^gi. Devi navamaNi maala,

Ananda lahari and tripura sundari stotram also have verses on shyaamaLaa.

 

(If you visit Rajaraajeshwari temple in Madras(NangallUr), this form of

shyaamaLaa is beautifully seen in the kolu maNdapam)

 

She is one among the ten vidhyaas. (Shadagopan Sir has elaborated on that).

Mantra mahodhari explains in detail about her mantraas and its prayoga. Her

sahasranaama is available in brahmaanda puraaNa itself. Hayagriiva reveals

her 1000 names before lalitaa sahasranaama. She is worshipped in the nineth

aavaraNa along with lalitaa in sri chakra. A separate chakra is also there

for shyaamaLa with AvaraNa shaktiis.

 

The entire tail of lalitopakyaanam has been sing in simple tamil songs by

'Sri niilakanta shivan', The incarnation of devi as shyaamaa is beautifully

explained in the kambOgi krithi

'sangiita yogini shiva shankari mantriNi yaana shyaamaLai vanduditaaL'

(unfortunately I don't remember the entire song)

 

You know about miinakshi more than I do.

 

Regards

Aravind

 

 

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