[Shaktheyem] Bala Tripurasundari

[Guest guest]

 

 

 

jai gurudev

 

 

dear sir,

 

 

a very DIVINE article !!!!

 

 

 

om shakti

 

gopal

 

 

On 7/26/09, Group Owner <para_anuloma wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In reply to query regarding Bala Tripurasundari:

 

Dear Venugopalan ji,

 

 

 

Some members have been stating to me over years that Bala and Rajarajeshwari are one and the same.And even some pictures as in below are reffered to erroneously as Balatripurasundari:

 

 

 

The source of the confusion mainly emnates in Tamizhnadu(among brahmins) who seem to give more importance to Bala than Her Mother, Rajarajeshwari Devi Herself.Some ask me whether Bala can be worshipped with Srichakra,some ask me whether Bala and Tripurasundari are one and the same,some go ga-ga over the " kid-goddess " ,some ask me questions regarding the sexual imagery of Bala described in some texts and express their horror of a child being associated with sexual imagery(obviously refferring to adolescent Bala) and ask me clarifications,some ask me the age of Bala,some whether Bala sits in the bindu of the srichakrawhether they can chant Lalitha Sahasranama(There is a nAma and mUrti bheda here. lalitA is the focus of this sahasranAma and not bAlA. Hence, an upAsaka of lalitA is qualified for reciting the sahasranAma and not one of bAlA),etc.I have seen that 99% of the queriests are Tamils.

 

 

 

 

 

While, I do accept that Bala and Rajarajeshwari Devi are one,Lakshmi Devi and Rajarajeshwari Devi are one,Saraswathy and Rajarajeshwari Devi are one and that Murthyabhedarupa is to be seen,etc.One should also cognize that there exists a difference in inchoation,form and content.All Gods are one but to attribute one thing of one source of divinity to another is but naive.

 

 

 

In Tamizhnadu, there is a lot of emphsis on this form of worship being passed on from one generation to another and finally they even relate Rajarajeshwari Devi through Balatripurasundari.This is surprising because Bala mantra is given as a preliminary to the final mantradeeksha of Panchadasi whereby one gets the right to chant even Lalitha Sahasranaama(In other words, one cannot chant the Lalitha Sahasranama litany,technically, with mere Bala initiation).

 

Many times, when one talks of the word shrIvidyA, people tend to refer to bAlA as laghu shrIvidyA, which seems to me to be a colloquial notion than anything else and the source of confusion for many.Laghu Shrividhya(shortened form of Srividya worship) being referred to Bala, has been construed by many to think both Baalambika and Mhatripurasundari are one and the same.I find this really funny.

 

That bAlA is distinguished from lalitA for all practical purposes, is illustrated by counting bAlA sahasranAma among the mukhya sahasranAmas:

 

The following verse comes in Lalitha Sahasranama:

 

teShu mukhyaM dashavidhaM nAmasAhasramuchyate ||

ga~NgAshyalakA balarAsabhA: ga~NgA, gAyatrI, shyAmalA, lakShmI, kAlikA, bAlA, rAjarAjeshwarI [here referring to mahArAj~nI], saraswatI and bhavAnI. nAvdiyAvedine brUyAt nAbhaktAya kadAchana |yathaiva gopyA shrIvidyA tathA gopyamidaM mune ||pashutulyeShu na brUyAt janeShu stotramuttamam |yo dadAti vimUDhAtmA shrIvidyArahitAya tu ||

tasmai kupyanti yoginyaH so.anarthaH sumahAn smR^itaH ||   Srividhya Upasaka Harsha Ramamurthy scribes thus: "   One should never discuss or give the sahasranAma to the one without a formal initiation into panchadashI. The Sahasranama should be kept as a secret [i.e. restricted to those formally initiated into shrIkula] like the shrIvidyA and never divulged to the pashus. The word pashu has been explained earlier by the Lord [mantrarAjaM na vetti yaH]. One, who breaks this rule and offers the sahasranAma to the uninitiated, will earn the wrath of the Yoginis " . This statement seems to be taken at a face value by most and ignored. If one does not believe that Yoginis are present guarding the Sahasranama, as stated here, why would one believe the claims in the same work that reciting these names grants merit? Discussing sampradAyika rahasyas like shrIvidyA mantra tattva, mantrArtha etc. in front of an unqualified audience brings welfare to neither the listener nor the preacher and the proof here, other than the shAstra pramANa of course, is the experience of various illustrious upAsakas. H H Mahasannidhanam during his visit to Bangalore in the late 90s [was it 99?] remarked: These days, especially in Andhra Desha, every person discusses Srividya like the local news.(This is an obvious reference to Devipuram activities)   Sometimes, H H Chandrshekhara bhAratI mahAsvAminaH gave lalitA sahasranAma as upadesha to some disciples. But that was specific to that case and he never stated it to be a general rule. Once, Brahmasri Kamakoti Shastrigal, who played a very important role in the way things shaped up after the infamous daNDatyAga incident at Kanchipuram, recollected the visit to Mutt by an old lady from Kumbhakonam to see Paramacharya. The situation was still tense in the Mutt and H H was busy performing Sahasranama Archana. The lady, along with her son, came in and said: " Gurunatha, there is nothing I can do in these testing times. Please assign this lowly being some mantra that I can recite in these tense times " . H H smiled and said, " You have Bala upadesham from Sundararama Shastrigal right? Recite Sahasranama in front of Tulasi 3 times every evening. . Both the old lady and her son, who also was initiated into bAlA, fell at his feet and said, â " We shall follow your orders " . H H immediately remarked, " Thyagaraja, how can you recite the sahasranAma? You do not have shrIvidyA upadesha. I only allowed your mother to recite. You perform Gayatri Japa, till you get initiated " . "

  

 

  However, this in no way steals the thunder of what the " kid " deity is all about.Like the Tamizhs say: " Paalai vida iniyadhu veru baanam-illai, Baalavai vida sirandhadhu veru deivam illai " ( " No drink is better than milk and no deity superior to Baala.This saying uses the rhyming words Paal(milk) and Baala(the deity).

 

Bala is not to be worshipped using Srichakra unless some great adept has specifically given an exception as a Guru.Ba+La is from the Swadhistana Chakra beejas Bam to Lam.Balaambika has Her own yanthra.There is murthy  and rupa bheda between Lalitha,Rajarajeshwari,Bala,Bhairavi,Sundari,etc despite the Abhedha(non-differential existence).Each have a set of mantras,yantra paddhathi,form cognizance,etc and have to be recoginzed and respected.

 

Here again, Harsha Ramamurthy's erudite comment(based on the translation of 3 sanskrit verses which would be too much of an over-kill to mention here) eases the understanding of the matter, which I mention below instead of me belabouring the points in my own words and spending too much of time on it:

 

" As the upAsanA of bAlA through this yantra is taught as a preparatory practice to the worship of lalitA in shrIchakra by various upAsana shastras, the yuktatva of worship of bAlA in her own yantra becomes evident. This is the case when the mukhya devatA worshipped is bAlA and not as a parivAra devatA of shrI lalitA. As there is an explicit pramANa in this regard, I do not see the need to resort to mImAmsA to support this statement.

 

To summarize, there can be two cases:

 

a. The person is an upAsaka of bAlA alone: In this case it is quite evident that he needs to worship bAlA yantra. The same shAstras which describe shrIyantra in relation to lalitA, speak of a separate bAlA yantra. If the upAsaka of bAlA could worship shrIyantra, bAlA yantra would more or less be redundant. trikUTA rahasya states pa~nchadashI as the least requirement for pravesha into the navAvaraNa yantra of sundarI. bAlA (tryakSharI or shadakSharI) is a pUrvA~Nga of lalitA like mahAgaNapati, worshipped prior to undertaking the upAsanA of lalitA.

 

b. The person is an upAsaka of sundarI: If this is the case, in both nitya and naimittika pakShas, he would need to worship sundarI and not bAlA. This is based on the assumption that he received initiation into the Supreme vidyA of sundarI after the prescribed upAsanA of bAlA, generally a pre-requisite in many sampradayas. The lack of need for worshipping pUrvAnga devatas after initiation into the mukhya vidyA is discussed at length twice by rAmeshvara sUrin. In the case of kAmya pakSha, if one desires to worship bAlA for a specific purpose, he can then make use of the sarva-shakti-samaShTitva clause of the shrIchakra and worship bAlA within the shrIchakra, based on the pramANa from tantrarAja or kAdimata "  

 

Rajamahendravaram,Andhrapradesh(Rajamundry as nomenclated by British)--Sri Balatripurasundari Ancient temple idol.

 

 

2nd day of Navaratri --Balatripurasundari Alankarana for Indrakeelaadrivaasini(Kanakadurgamma Thalli of Vijayawada)

 

One legend has it that one Asura by name Balaasura got a boon from Brahma that he would not be killed any deity or any force or any weapon except a child whose age is 9 years old and that too the child must be born after pralaya(in other words, He should see the Pralaya) and that the child if she comes with an intention to kill him would die.

He thought this to be a safe boon and started to torment everyone from Vishnu to Humans.Lord Vishnu,Brahma and Shiva ran to Mahatripurasundari for help.

 

 

 

 

She created a Pralaya in which She stood by ( " Pashyanthi " --One who witnesses Pralaya--as mentioned in Lalitha Sahasranama) and watched everyone except Herself and Balasuraa dissolve and then created from Her own shakthi Baalambika.Then She re-created all the Shakthis,Vishnu,Shiva,etc from Her womb and then these Shakthis were given the Pre-pralaya memory of what happened(sort of a mega-permanent-dejavu) and then each of the deity came with their best weapon(Brahma with Brahmaastra,Vishnu with Narayaanaastra,etc)and gave it to Mahatripurasundari, then she with Her immense shakthi merged all these astras and also induced her power and created a small dagger with a very very sharp point and razor side to protrude and dangle from the small Balaambika.She then called the Kid Goddess and gave Her the small Knife and asked Her to play with it and sent Her to this Baalaasura.

 

 

 

Baalambika being a very very cute kid attracted the attention of this asura, who wished He had a daughter like that and placed her on his lap.The knife which was dangling split his thigh and due the immense shakthi-lden power, he died!

 

This is one story of the origin of Baalambika.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bhagavan Sri Parasurma in Deekshaa Prakarana of His Kalpa sutra has said: " Tatra Baalaam Upadishet;paschaath istaa mantram dadhyaath " , directly indicating that first Bala mantra has to be imparted before the Srividya deeksha.

 

Balatripurasundari is as described in Lalithopaakhyana: 9 years of age(some say 7 to 9 years of age)

 

 

(Balatripurasundari)

 

Lalithopaakhyana also states that She bears a startling resemblance to Rajarajeshwari Devi(Tripurasundari) Her mother.Maybe this is the source of the confusion.So, many pictures/images refer to them synonymously.

 

 

 

" Bhandaputravadhodhyuktha Baalavikrama Nanditaa "

 

Sowbhaagyabhaskara Bhaashyam says for this 74th Naama thus:

" Bhandaasurasya Putraanaam Chaturbaahvaadhyupamaayavanthaanaam Trimshathsakhyaakaanaam Vadhe' udhyukthaayaah: Baalaakhyadevathaayaah Navavarshaayaah(9 years) swaputryaa Vikramena Nandithaa Hrushtaa! Ukthamcha Brahmaande, " Taabhirnivedamaanaani saa devi Lalithaambikaa putraabhujaapadaanaani shruthwaa preethim samaayayaa " vithi.

 

 

This image is being popularized by Devipuram temple team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The narrative of the war scene in Lalithophaakyaana goes thus:

 

 

 

" At the instance of Lalita devi, Jwalamalini devi made a compound wall of fire around the devi's army The fire wall was 100 yojanas wide and 30 yojanas tall. (1 yojana is approximately 8 miles).

 

 

At the southern end of fire wall was a 1 yojana long entry, to enable devi's army go out and fight because Shunyapuram is facing this end.(Lalitha sahasranama reference: " jwaalaamaalini-kaashipta-vahnipraakaaramadhyagaa " )

 

Stambhini devi a member of Dandanatha devi family along with 20 Akshohini senas was protecting this entry point. She is also called Vighna devi. By then it was dawn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon hearing this Bhandasura was in deep despair and started to mull over what could be done.He called his advisors Visukra and Vishanga to assist him with a battle tactic.In the meantime, Devi created Mantrini(Shyamala) from Her sugarcane bow and Dandini(Vaarahi) from Her arrows.In Tamizhnaadu, they consider Meenakshi of Madurai and Anikka's Akhilaandeshwari as Mantrini and Dandini's amsas.

 

This time he changed his strategy and sent all his 30 sons(starting from Chaturbaahu to Upamaaya) for the war. After listening to the news that Lalitaambika's daughter Bala only wanted to fight these demons herself.Maybe he thought it was not worth the energy to fight a mere 9 year old kid!

 

 

 

Bala devi is the daughter of Lalita devi .She resembles Lalita devi very much but is Nithyanavavarshakanya(ever at 9 years of age only). She stays permanently with Her mother in Chintaamani Gruha and sometimes appears before Srividya upasakas(apart from Her upasakas) for various purposes.She is red-saffron coloured like Her mother(arunakirana jaalaihi...) and has the capacity to make the entire horizon red by the rays emnating from Her rupa( " Nijaaruna prabhaapoora majjadbrahmaanda mandala! " ).She is considered the embodiment of divine wisdom,has four hands with one hand holding a rosary(Vidhrutha Japavaatika),one holding a sacred book and the other two hands in the front showing Abhaya and Varada mudras.

 

( " Senkadiraal disai patthayum semmai sey sevvuruvum

   Angkaigal naangil varaadaabhaya mani yakkavadam

   Tunganal Putthakam thaangi anigal sentusaniyum

    Pangaya vaasanab-baalaik-kamalaip-parashakthiye' "

Sri Kamalaalaya Parasakthi Malai 24th verse-- " Kattalai kalithurai' form of Tamizh poetry)

 

Lalithopaakhyana does not mention how Baalambika came about in the first place and starts with a war narrative which suddenly includes Her.If Sri Rajarajeshwari Ambika is the empress then Baala can be called the princess

 

 

Bala devi approached Her mother and requested permission to fight in the battlefield.At the outset, Lalita devi like any mother denied it but looking at the courage and will power exhibited by Bala devi she ultimately gave permission.

Lalithaambika bestowed Baala with an armour created from hr own armour,weapons like bow,arrows,goad and noose from Her own weapons, and a chariot created from the stem of Her sugarcane bow.It was a chariot drawn by swans and beautiful like a palanquin,hence called " Karni Ratha "

 

Seeing Bala devi preparing Herself for the war Mantrini(Shyaamala) and Dandini(Vaarahi) were astonished and beseeched her to get back.However Balaambika was adamant to fight the sons of the Asura so they stood as Her body guards and followed Her lest something should happen to Her(their thinking,apparently!).

 

Bala started fighting ferociously with Bhandasura's sons but with the ease of a kid and hence is referred to as " Baalaleela vinodhini "

 

Every one was surprised by her valour and agility in the battle field.

 

When the Bhandaputraaha(sons of Bhandasura) see the little girl approaching them they mockingly laugh with a raucous and derogatory, “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

 

Bala responds in a similar vein, “HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!” But Her laughter is imbued with the bijaksharam(Beejanigooditha), “HA” (as in “Ha....Hreem,” the middle line of the Panchdasi mantra). Her laughter thus strikes the Bhandaputras' hearts like fiery brahmaastras, instantly kindling immense terror among them.

 

Whole of the second day Baladevi fought valiantly not losing ground.

 

That evening she finally shoots 30 arrows and the Narayanaastra at a time and killed the 30 sons of Bhandaasuraa and the whole of their army.

 

Lalita devi was very happy and she embraced her daughter seeing her valour and victory on the battleground( " Bhandaputravadhodyukta bala vikrama nandita " ).Now, this name cannot go wrong, and I find it too much of abstractism to explain that Devi praised Herself in Her young form! This is reading too much into the lines.For simplicity sake understand that Baalatripurasundari came from the Kameshwari Kameshwara Kalayika and is the daughter of Mahatripurasundari Lalithaa Rajarajeshwari Parabhattarika Devi. "

 

 

 

 

Tripura Rahasya Chapters 63 and 64 of the Maahathmya Khaanda in Tripura Rahasyaa touch upon the interaction between Baalambika and Bhandaasuraa Himself :

 

" Bala faced Bhandasura on the battlefield Herself.

 

Here, Bhandasura lives the pitiable life of a demon because of past curse in his birth as Maanikya Shekara(Goddess Mahalakshmi's messenger).

 

His only period of bliss would come when facing Bala in war. So Bhanda was overjoyed at seeing Bala wreak a path through the battlefield toward him, because he would achieve moksha at Devi’s feet upon losing his life to Her.

He wanted to do puja to Bala, but could not forfeit his role as a worthy opponent. He was in a dilemma what to do, when Baalambika said " Assume that all is my nature " . He understood and then He shot two varunaastras at Her feet to wash them and then an arrow with the mantra of flowers to rain petals upon Her head.

 

In accordance with the game, Bala shot an arrow that took the form of a hand with five flowers as it sped through the air and touched his head in blessing!

 

Seeing all this Baalambaa's charioteer was wonder-struck.

 

Thereafter a firece battle was fought.It was lke a battle between a rat and a lionness! Yet, Bhandaasura put a brave front.The two started praising each other thus:

 

Bhandaasura: Devi, your battle skills are exemplary for your age!

Baalaamba: You are a pariseworthy warrior too!

Unlike other battle sequences in tales throughout the Mahabharata or Devi Mahatmyam, for example, this one was devoid of a fierce or even angry tone. Bhanda and Bala’s complimenting each other while exchanging arrows connoted the importance of sportsmanship over victory.

Moreover, the fact that Bhanda was going to attain mukti upon death connoted that everyone was a winner in Sacred battles, because the war was really just a heightened version of a game(Leela).

 

The aspects of good and evil are still present as in any playground game, but the trends of emphasis in Bala’s tales seem to be on playing rather than fighting(Baalaa leela vinodhini!), compassion rather than fury, and co-existence rather than destruction.

 

The duel continued for a long time.In the end, when Bhandaasuraa's strength began to fade, Vishanga,Vishukra and Kutilaaksha came to his aid with their armies.With fiery weapons they started to fight with Baalamba.But as expected she decimated their armies too.

 

Dandini arrived on the scene and wreaked destruction from another side.She was stunned seeing Baalambika fighting all alone.She entreated Baala to return to Shrimaatha Rajarajeshwari,because if Her mother would be unhappy if she knew Her daughter was fighting a lone battle.

 

Dandini somehow convinced Baalamba and ordered the chief of the horse contingent(Ashvaantha ashvaaruda) to take Baalamba with Her,leave Her in the care of Her mother.Asvarudini did as per Dandini's bidding.

 

Rajarajeshwari Maatha took her child onto Her lap and fondled her with affection after hugging Her and requested and cajoled Her not to venture out on Her own like that in future.

 

She asked  Baalamba why She left for the war-front without informing Her in the first place.Baalamba replied with an innocent childish smile that since Shrimaatha would never give permission, She had quitely left without asking.She pleaded to be forgiven,but admitted that She was infact not quite satisfied with the fighting She had done and regretted that Dandini had forcefully sent Her away from the battle field.Shreematha pacified Her.

 

This is how Baalmaba's heroic deeds are described in 63,64,65 chapters of Haritaayana Samhita Tripura Rahasyaa Maahathmya Khaanda(Mahathmay Khaanda has 6697 sholkas.Other Khaandas are Charya and Gnaana Khaandas)

 

 

 

 

 

A visit to Nemili Baala Peetham would prove fruitful for Baalambika devotees.

 

 

 

http://sribalapeetam.com/sribalapeetam.html

 

 

 

 

Red Hue of Baalambika:

 

Bala's red colour is commented as the vimarsha sanketha.That is,the self(individual consciousness) is identical with the undivided eternal consciousness(the supreme consciousness).Bhavopanishad states: " Lauhithaam etasya sarvasya vimarsha: "

 

In Saundarya Lahiri Adishankara Bhagavatpaada says: " Kaveendraanaaam chetha: kamalavana baalatapa ruchim japaanthe' ye santah: katichit arunaameva bhavatheem "

 

Bhagavan Krodha Bhattaraka Durvasa has said: " Aadaamraarkka sahasra deepthi paramaa "

 

In Tripuropanishad of Rg.vEda: " Aadiskathirarunaa vishwa janyaa " and in Lalitha trishathi " Sarvaarunaa " , " Laakshaarasa savarnaabhaA " expound the red hue of this child goddess.

 

The explanation given by Sri Vishnu Suri for the rudra mantra " Asau yas taamro aruna " is Paramaathma in union with the inherently satvaguna praakruthi,becomes red coloured owing to the rajoguna born out of it.Therefore since the creation of the universe is because of the discerning energy,He is in the form of the entire universe and utmost auspiciousness "

 

 

 

 

Japamaala represents shabda prapancha,the sacred book-artha prapancha,abhaya-removal of the stained knowledge(duality)(anartha nivritti) and varada-the attainment of bliss(aananda praapthi)

 

Brahma Sri Subramanya Ayyar(Chidaanandanatha) had given a small article on Balatripurasundari Dhyaana in 1955 Flower 1,petal2 Tamizh Srividya Magazine called " Sri Vidyai " .This article contains a beautiful description of the Upasana-Chitshakthi connection and the proper way to perceive the ultimate using Ahangirahopaasana.This would make for an interesting read.

 

I have just touched the tip of the iceberg here and not gone in detail into mantras,dipanee,yanthra,shadaakshari and poorvangavidhya,Pujapaddhathi,Mantragarbhaashtakam,Baalanyaasa,paatraasaadanam,Balakhadgmala,Balatrailokyamohana kavacham,adolescent Lefthanded Tantra Balambika,etc

 

As all these need initiation.Please excuse me here.

 

But I hope, you now have a clearer idea of this most wonderous child Goddess!

 

Arunakirana Jaaliranchitaasaavkaasaa

Vidhruta Japavaatikaa pusthakaabheethi hasthaa

Ithara karavaraadhyaa phulla kalhaara samsthaa

Nivasathu hrdi Baala Nithyakalyaana sheela!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shreeram Balijepalli

Hreem Rajarajeshwari Paradevatha!