LS: Jwaalaa-maalinikaa-kshipta-vahni-praakaara-madhyagaa

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

Since this is Lalita-sahasranaama year I venture to post

the following which is actually a copy of pages 112-113

from my book Essentials of Hinduism, published in 1989, now

out of print. This is about the power of the name beginning

with ‘jwaalaa-maalinikaa’ in the sahasranaama. The context

in my book was a chapter on ‘Miracles, Mysticism and

Mythology’.

______

The time was around 7-30 in the evening, during the

nineteen-fifties, on one of those days of the Navaraatri

festival. The scene was the outermost open corridor, the

Adi veedhi of the Minakshi temple at Madurai. Several

thousands had gathered to listen to the daily lectures of

Sengalipuram Anantharama Dikshidar, specially arranged as a

nine-day series (navaahaM) during the Navaraatri. But as

fate would have it, along with the people squatting on the

Adi veedhi, several threatening clouds had also gathered in

the sky, as if they also wanted to listen to the lectures

of the renowned Dikshidar. Thunder boomed; the clouds seems

about to burst. Restlessness spread through the crowd and

it seemed that, at any moment, they would decide to

disperse, though reluctantly. Were the Gods going to

disturb the navaahaM and allow the clouds to burst? It

certainly looked like it. There was no place in the covered

portion of the temple to accommodate the thousands who had

gathered in the open corridor.

 

Dikshidar came on the scene a little ahead of time,

occupied his seat on the dais and in his characteristic

resounding metallic voice urged the audience, by a wave of

hands, to repeat with him the line

 

*jwAlaa-maalinikaa-kshipta-vahni-praakaara-madhyagaa*

 

The chorus rang out loud and clear. Inspired by Dikshidar,

the chanting took on a greater and greater intensity. Even

those who did not know the line were able to pick it up

after a few repetitions by the few who joined the

Dikshidar. The same line was repeated perhaps some twenty

or twenty-five times. It was a thrilling scene to witness

–the clouds dispersed and the sky became totally clear. The

day’s lecture was delivered as usual.

 

The line that was chanted only means: ‘She is seated amidst

a massive fortress of fire called Jwaalaa-Maalini’. There

are also other esoteric meanings, but as we saw it, it was

not necessary to know the meaning to get the effect of the

mantra. For, except the Dikshidar and a few learned members

of the audience, the several thousands of the masses who

repeated it could not have known what it meant.

 

In the personal experience of the author, the same mantra

was used by him for a similar purpose with the same effect.

It was Shiva-raatri day, 25th February 1979. It was around

7-30 in the morning. A three-hour special Sai Bhajan was

scheduled to start in another half an hour in the open

corridor of the Saraswati temple in Pilani, Rajasthan. The

author and a friend were setting up the place for the

Bhajan, hanging pictures of Gods, dcorating them with

flowers, spreading mats and durries, in short making all

the preliminary arrangements for the gathering of devotees,

expected to number 100 to 150. From the morning, the sky

had been clouded, but, as it was not a season for rain ,

nobody took any notice.

 

But, as the final arrangements were being made, the clouds

gathered in great strength and it was surely going to rain.

In fact, a few drops were already on them, the few who had

gathered already. It was suggested that they repeat the

name

‘jWaalaa-maalinikaa-kshipta-vahni-praakaara-madhyagaa’. The

advice was taken by those present and each, in his own

individual way, repeated the line to himself. It did rain

around 5 minutes to 8, but only for a minute or two. The

clouds passed away and the bhajan went on uninterruptedly

as scheduled. And, believe it or not, after the bhajan was

over, in the afternoon of that day, it did rain and that

too, really hard!

______________

PraNAms to all devotees of Mother Goddess

profvk

 

 

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

 

New on my website, particularly for beginners in Hindu philosophy:

Empire of the Mind:

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/ManversusMind.html

 

Free will and Divine will - a dialogue:

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/FWDW.html