What Is the Other Name for Devi the Great Goddess Female Divinity in South Asian Art

Combining merriment with organized religion and transforming ritualism and thrift into a carnival : evenings of festive crowds overwhelming lanes and streets, houses, even mud-huts, bathing in rare lustre, temples , large or pocket-sized, along their towers, walls, facades and each part : interior or exterior, illuminating in colourful lights, hawkers selling balloons and toys swarming all around, gaiety and vigour revealing in everything, and purity, on every face …, a celebration affording to organized religion the culture of colours, and to civilization, a binding : ethical and spiritual, is what defines the nine days long Nava-Ratri festivities. Rigorous fasts, temples thronged by crowds of devotees : hymns-humming elders and fancy-dressed curious children feigning mystic seriousness stealing at present and so a glance away to fascinating toys and balloons, sounds of bells, throats exalting the Devi for her exploits, coils of fragrant fume rising from ritual hearths, richly bejeweled and brilliantly costumed damsels, young and old, dancing in rings around the ritual pot, symbolic of accented good – 'sarva-mangal' that the Devi equally Sarva-Mangala, the Nava-Ratri'south presiding deity, represents, manifest the socio-religious texture of Nava-Ratri, one of the Bharat's most widely celebrated festivals.

Durga Pooja

Theology's New Goals as Sets Nava-Ratri

A ritual festival, Nava-Ratri abounds in a strange contradiction, or it is at to the lowest degree the festival that assimilates ii widely unlike, if not diagonally opposed, facets, though both, positive and creative : one, purely spiritual in which reflects man's want for achieving ends beyond this birth, and the other, a desire to seek in this nativity itself world'south all colours, freedom from ills and skillful for all, that is, spiritually attaining worldly ends, or seeking in worldly means accomplishment of spiritual goals. This strangeness reveals also in the evolution of the Nava-Ratri cult practically from a no-celebration stage to a nine-twenty-four hour period long fix of rituals and festivities, especially in assimilating a strong social and cultural aspect and deep-rooted private and national concerns – not the domains of early theology, with ritualism expanding over nine days and rigorously observed austerities, all dedicated to Devi, whichever her form, forms or manifestations.

Navaratri- When Devi Comes Habitation

Substantially the theology's new confront, the Nava-Ratri sets before it new goals, individual, social and national. It transforms personal austerities, the entire range of deity-forms these austerities are dedicated to, and rituals as evolved in the theological traditions, into the tool of the highest good aiming at invigorating society's morale and conclusion to stand united and fight against all wrongs.

The Early Cult of Worshiping the 'Female"

The practice of worshiping some female deity – perhaps born of their reverence for 'the mother', the only relation they identified with definiteness, has been prevalent in India since eternity. As suggests the recurrence of the term 'devi' in the Rig-Veda , the seers of the Veda attributed to the 'female' the status of a goddess and around this Devi-worship emerged the elaborate ritual practices. Some scholars argue to have sought in the Rig-Veda even specific allusions to the Devi, though well-nigh others feel that the term has been used merely every bit a common epithet expressing the Vedic seers' reverence for a female class they saw manifesting in 'Vak', 'Ushas', or 'Shri' similar constituents of the creation. Even so, the Mahabharata , the bully epic, is considered as the primeval to allude to the Devi with accented specificity, both past her name as Devi itself and also every bit Durga.

The Consummate Mahabharata (The But Edition with Sanskrit Text and Hindi Translation) - Half dozen Volumes

Exalting her as 'Parajayaya shatrunam Durgastotra mudiraye' – commemoration of Durga Stotra : 'mantra' or hymn, defeats enemies, the Mahabharata celebrates her as the supreme power of battlefield that assured victory in war.

Evolution of Devi-cult and Devi-Mahotsava During and Later on the Puranas'

Though scarcely, allusions to Devi every bit Durga or otherwise keep pouring in till well-nigh sixth-7th century when sage Markandeya almost overwhelmed the Brahmanical pantheon past his timeless 'Devi-Mahatmya',

The Markandeya Purana

the most significant and popular part of his text , the Markandeya Purana . The 3-aspected Devi of sage Markandeya manifests as Mahakali , Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati .

Devi-Mahatmya is followed by another significant text 'Devi Bhagavata ' lauding Devi in her various forms.

Practically the Puranic literature , subsequent to Devi-Mahatmya is flooded with allusions to Devi'south exploits, in her form as Devi as as well in her other manifestations; however, none of these early Puranic texts alludes to a Devi-festival and certainly not to ane extending over nine days as the Nava-Ratri. Literary texts talk a lot of Vasantotsava dedicated to the dearest god Kamadeva

Devi Mahatmya (The Crystallization of The Goddess Tradition)

but, except a few allusions to individually performed Devi rituals, a 'Devi-mahotsava' or 'Devi-utsava' – Devi festival, does non comprise such texts' theme. Alike allusions to Devi's diverse manifestations are in affluence but the concept of her ix manifestations, each presiding over 1 each of the nine days rituals, does not have a place in the early Devi-related texts. Puranas apart, Nava-Ratri celebrations are also not a function of whatever ancient sectarian practice or of a social/religious convention ever in prevalence.

A Mass Move Born of an Agitating Heed

Certainly not a one-time or an private being's initiative, the Nava-Ratri : the commemoration role and the rituals, the expression of a heed unwilling to concede the evil that prevailed as the foreign rule eroding the nation's prestige and shaking the very roots of her faith, seems to have grown over a menses of time along this mind'south agitation. Obviously a late cult – not datable in any carefulness, the festival might have grown out of some prevailing belief mandating a ready of personal austerities dedicated to Shakti, the supreme female power, for the achievement of a desired end as the Devi-Mahatmya, Devi-Bhagavata and other texts perceived her capable of accomplishing.

The Srimad Devi Bhagavatam 2 parts (bd.in ane)

Maybe, it sprung out of a shrine's confine, its rituals exploding its four walls storming the streets and the minds of masses seeking to revive the nation's inherent conclusion and spiritual strength to fight confronting evil in whatever course and for any period. A celebration or a set of rituals, in whatever case Nava-Ratri seems to have evolved more like a movement accomplishing national ends, correcting social ills and people's attitude, specially in regard to a daughter kid, and inducing the spirit of austerity in personal life.

A Socio-Ritual Cult

Now the Nava-Ratri is a socio-ritual festival defended to the Devi, more oft seen manifesting as Durga, the Devi'south evil eradicating manifestation and the most highly worshipped goddess of Indian masses held in alike reverence in other sectarian lines, even Buddhist and Jain, that worship her as the wrathful Tara and the nurturing mother Ambika respectively. She is revered as the ultimate divine power capable of destroying every evil and every wrong, nurturing good and sustaining life in whichever course it exists. In believing minds this form of the Divine Female or any of her ix manifestations that preside over and inspire the Nava-Ratri austerities is not a mere epiphenomenal presence or a disembodied divine authority, and correspondingly, the festival, a mere expansion of the India'due south colourful civilization, but a dynamic presence with a form, ofttimes personalized and operative, engaged in eradicating the dark and everything agin to life and sustaining expert and righteous.

Festivals of Republic of india: Navaratri (Indian Traditional Celebration) (DVD)

A class evolved of late, the Nava-Ratri is a cult with spiritualism, its core, festivity, celebration and sociality, it torso, and social and national concerns, its guiding principles, and as is any cult, Nava-Ratri is not a creation, an act of hands or even intellect or the product of a twenty-four hour period but an evolution through many known and unknown avenues and over a long period of time – manifest or unmanifest. Hence, despite that the Puranic texts do non talk of the Devi festival or public display of one's reverence to the Divine Female, it is widely in the Devi-related texts spanning a period of a millennium or more that the Nava-Ratri has sought its manifest trunk comprising the Devi's various manifestations, aspects of divine energy that these manifestations represent, Devi'south exploits and her confidence-generating acts against evil, and its basic spirit, mass entreatment and perhaps its guiding force, in the people's desire to regain what the nation had lost. The Nava-Ratri is thus a multi-textured event which combines theology, social and national concerns and the desire to celebrate, and accordingly at that place cropped up around the term Nava-Ratri not merely Devi's various forms or styles of imagery but also various sets of rituals and modes of celebrating information technology, sometimes varying region-wise.

Evolution of Devi's Nene forms : Reflection of India's Visual Culture

Thus, despite that the festival is dedicated to the Devi, more than often in her form as Durga, the Nava-Ratri austerities grew effectually her various forms, ix being more significant, each day's austerities being dedicated to one of them.

Nava Durga- The Ix Forms of The Goddess

This cult of the Devi's diverse forms is inspired perhaps by Bharat's basic visual culture – the timeless distinction of her soil, that discovers forms even of the abstruse; apart, the Indian mind perceives in the Devi the divine power to inhabit or take to any course : a flame emitting from a lamp, a young daughter or a woman of advanced years, a painted epitome or even a line-drawn diagram, perceiving the Devi in any form, or perceiving in any form, the Devi's divinity – myriads being thus her forms. The Divine Female, and perchance she alone, has the ability to choose any form as her vehicle and conduct her powers through it. This power confined to Devi, the Divine Female who to an Indian is non a mere presence or a symbol but an agent effective and operative, ane who interacted with humans and is the same equally her homo vehicles.

Three Initial Forms of Devi and Nava-Ratri Rites

At present a festival dedicated to Devi's nine manifestations, in its initial form it did not accept such diverseness. Initially, the festival evolved pursuing the classical tradition born of texts like the Devi-Mahatmya or the Devi-Bhagavata. These texts came out with the Devi's three forms or manifestations : Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. Accordingly the Devi-festival, whatsoever its name but celebrated for nine days equally now, was defended to these 3 forms, worshipping Mahakali – representing 'tamas' : the textile aspect of cosmos, and the destroyer of all impurities and vices, for the first three nights, Mahalakshmi – representing 'rajas', activity or passion, the binding aspect of cosmos, and the destroyer of poverty and provider of means and abundance, for the next iii, and Mahasaraswati – representing 'sattva', purity, the lustrous aspect of creation, and the destroyer of ignorance and provider of divine wisdom, for the last three.

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The austerities defended to these three forms, the three elemental constituents of the manifest cosmos, were believed to transcend the devotee from the perplexing diversity of the manifest being to his ultimate union with the Supreme : the spiritual perspective of the Nava-Ratri rituals.

Five Nava-Ratris

While most other festivals, religious or social, are almanac features, Nava-Ratri, perhaps for keeping live the spirit that it inspired, occurs five times a year, and each time for 9 days, that is, in Chaitra, Ashadha, Ashwina, Pausha and Magha – start, fourth, 7th, tenth and eleventh months under Indian calendar. The Chaitra Nava-Ratri is also known as Vasanta Nava-Ratri, Ashadha's, as Gupta Nava-Ratri, Ashwina'due south, as Sharada Nava-Ratri, and those of Pausha and Magha by the names of these months. Two of them, Vasanta and Sharada Nava-Ratris, respectively the first nine days of the 2nd halves of Chaitra and Ashwina, have greater significance than those occurring in the months of Ashadha, Pausha and Magha.

Mother Durga, Queen of Paraloka

These three relate largely to personal austerities observed by individuals and the rituals that they performed, the Vasanta and Sharada Nava-Ratris are multi-dimensional, abounding in great festivities and having implications not apparently seen. Except a Vasanta Nava-Ratri related minor fable centering around three kings : Dhruvasindhu of Koshal, Yudhajit of Ujjain and Viresen of Kalinga, and the incidence of arriving at the Devi'south 'bija-mantra' – seed-syllable 'klim' or 'kleem', and thereby the Devi'south vision and approval, the tradition, perchance aiming more at accomplishing social and national objectives and inducing austerities in personal life without beingness led away by myths or other contexts, has not sought to add together to the Nava-Ratri cult whatever kind of legendary or mythological colours.

Legendary Origin of Vasanta Nava-Ratri

A Tantric interpretation of Nava-Ratri cult, the Vasanta Nava-Ratri related legend links the festival with chance discovery of the Devi's 'mantra' leading to the recovery of lost state and prestige. As the legend has it, when prince Sudarshana, afterward his father king Dhruvasindhu of Koshal was killed past a lion during a hunting expedition, was readying to ascend Ayodhya'due south throne, king Yudhajit of Ujjain and Virasen of Kalinga, each greedy of usurping Koshal for settling his grandson there, simultaneously attacked Ayodhya. As a result a iii cornered battle ensued. Prince Sudarsana'southward mother Manorama, who knew that later on the decease of her husband king Dhruvasindhu Koshal was weak and unprepared to face a state of war, fled to the forest with her son and a faithful eunuch and sought refuge in the hermitage of sage Bharadwaj. In the war Virasen was killed and the victorious Yudhajit enthroned his grandson Shatrujit on Ayodhya'southward throne. After Yudhajit establish that Sudarshana and his mother Manorama were seeking sage Bharadwaj's shelter, he stormed the hermitage and asked the sage for handing over the custody of prince Sudarshana and his mother but the sage refused to oblige. The furious king wanted to raise arms confronting the sage but nether his ministers' communication restrained from doing so.

A Tantric Perspective

Providence had in the store better fortune for prince Sudarshana. Ane twenty-four hour period a young scholar, a hermit's son, came to the hermitage of sage Bharadwaj. The Sanskrit-speaking fellow addressed eunuch as Kleeba, the Sanskrit term for eunuch. Fascinated by the term'south rhythm and grace the prince decided to use it for addressing the eunuch and for memorizing it unknowingly repeated it. He pronounced it several times only every time faltered and could not keep beyond 'kli', the function he pronounced as 'klim' or 'kleem', which happened to be the well-nigh powerful sacred 'mantra' of the Divine Female, the Corking Mother. 'Kleem' was the 'Bija-akshara' – root syllable, of the great 'mantra' of the great Goddess. Repeating it the prince realised unusual peace of mind and to his utter surprise when then repeating the sacred syllable the Bully Mother appeared before him and blessed him and also gave him divine weapons and a quiver with inexhaustible arrows.

Development of Tantric Culture

The blessings of the Divine Mother began showing farther results. In due grade he was married to Shashikala, the daughter of the king of Banaras and the revival of his regal position was begun. King Yudhajit was besides 1 of the suitors at the 'swayamvara' : choosing a groom by one's own choice, of the princess Shashikala just she did non even look at him. Infuriated by this insult the arrogant Yudhajit ordered his forces to accept abroad Shashikala forcibly and declared war against the male monarch of Banaras and prince Sudarshana. Devi herself appeared in person. Prince Sudarshana exalted and worshipped her but Yudhajit only mocked. Ultimately Yudhajit was killed, and his grandson, forced to evict Koshal for prince Sudarshana and his newly wedded queen Shashikala. It is said that later on the war prince Sudarshana and his father-in-law, the king of Banaras, worshipped the Devi with due fire-rituals. The Devi over again appeared and mandated that she was worshipped for nine days during Vasanta which came to exist known as Vasanta Nava-Ratri. The Sharada Nava-Ratri does not have associated to it any such legendary tradition.

Nava-Ratris, The Great Tool of Sectarian Unity

Other things autonomously, these major Vasanta and Sharada Nava-Ratris seem to have evolved as well every bit neat synthesizers betwixt contentious Shaiva and Vaishnava sects. Devi and her manifestations, especially Durga, are essentially Shaivite just both Nava-Ratris accept powerful Vaishnava links. The Vasanta Nava-Ratri has been scheduled to have its concluding 9th day every bit the Rama -Navami : the appointment of Lord Rama's birth, one of Lord Vishnu'south two most important incarnations, other being Krishna . Similarly, the Sharada Nava-Ratri is followed on the tenth day by Dashahara – the day when Lord Rama had defeated and killed Ravana, Lanka's demon male monarch : i of the Indian people's four major festivals.

Lord Rama Killing Ravana

Vice-verse, Bangala Ramayana and many other traditions of Rama-katha insinuate to Rama invoking Devi for nine days or on the ninth, the Nava-Ratri'due south concluding twenty-four hours preceding Dussehra, and, every bit contended, it was past her blessings that he was able to eliminate Ravana. Some traditions seek the Sharada Nava-Ratri'southward origin in context to Rama's worship of the Devi for nine days preceding elimination of Ravana.

Nava-Ratri's Social Perspective

The major office of the Devi consists in leading to calorie-free out of darkness; the festival is hence Nava-Ratri : nine nights, not days. Nava-Ratri not only has strong begetting on Indian society, the medieval heed seems to have sought in it even the correction of its attitude towards many social ills, particularly towards the daughter kid. The Nava-Ratri sought to restore a girl-child earlier prestige by mandating her worship on all nine days, as representing the Devi's diverse forms vesting in her the Devi'due south divinity.

Unanimity and Diversity in Devi's Worship-Modus

Regional variations as to which grade of the goddess is to be worshipped on which twenty-four hour period or as to the modus of worshipping a particular grade, or set of rites, even in regard to the proportions of rituals, festivity or celebration part : people of Gujarat and Mumbai dancing all nights, Bengalis , celebrating information technology in full splendour – the brandish of images of massive sizes being more significant, those of Goa in rare ornate mode, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Assam, with stage performances … autonomously, there is almost consummate unanimity in regard to their number which is essentially nine, each to be worshipped on each of the Nava-Ratris – nine nights, each representing one of the nine forms of life and one of the nine supreme auspices. Almost in all traditions these ix forms are known as Shaila-putri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushamanda, Siddhi-datri, Skanda-Mata, Katyayani, Kala-Ratri and Maha Gauri.

Shaila-putri, Parvati'south other name, is worshipped on the beginning twenty-four hours,

SHAILAPUTRI Navadurga (The Nine Forms of Goddess Durga)

Brahmacharini, Parvati equally engaged in penance, the second mean solar day,

Goddess Parvati as brahmacharini

Chandraghanta, i with a bell like shaped marking of moon on the forehead, on the tertiary,

CHANDRAGHANTA - Navadurga (The Ix Forms of Goddess Durga)

Kushamanda, on the fourth,

KUSHMANDA - Navadurga (The Nine Forms of Goddess Durga)

Skanda Mata, Karttikeya'southward female parent, on the fifth,

SKANDA MATA - Navadurga (The 9 Forms of Goddess Durga)

Katyayani, on the sixth,

KATYAYANI - Navadurga (The Nine Forms of Goddess Durga)

the terrible looking Kala Ratri, on the seventh,

Tantric Devi Series - Kalaratri - The Cosmic Night

and Maha Gauri, the elegant, beautiful and delightful aspect of the Goddess, on the eighth.

Padmasana Mahagauri

Nava-Ratri Rituals : Homage to Sarva-Mangala Who is Siddhi-datri

In most traditions Nava-Ratri worship rituals are offered to her nine forms represented on a Pata known as Nava-Ratri worship-pata; Siddhi-datri occupies the key position with other forms flankingaround.

Navadurga - The 9 Forms of Goddess Durga - SIDDHIDATRI (The Ninth)

Though listed every bit fifth, different from her other eight forms that stand for her i attribute or the other, Siddhi-datri, the sum amass of the Devi's divine ability, is worshipped on Mahanavami, the Nava-Ratri's final solar day, equally Sarva-Mangala : the all-auspicious and all-accomplishing attribute of the Goddess. This worship-pata is usually submerged into a pond, river, sea or reservoir on the ninth mean solar day. Sometimes, quite artistic, such patas are also preserved. Some of its Mata-de-Pachedi blazon regional variants correspond but Devi's arch class or equally one of the Matrikas – Devi's some other early on cult, and the legends of her various exploits. Whichever the medium, the Devi is represented invariably in her multi-armed warrior course carrying different attributes in her hands. Accomplishment of the 'desired' being her essence, Siddhi-datri is invariably represented with two of her hands held in 'varad'. Her 2 easily denote accomplishment.

References & Further Reading:

Shrimad Devi Bhagavata, Chaukhambha Sanskrit Pratishthan, Delhi
Shrmad Devi-Bhagavata, Gita Press Gorakhpura
Devimahatmyam, tr. By Devadatta Kali, Delhi
Mahabharata, Gita Press, Gorakhpura
Vijay Ghose (ed.) : Tirtha , The Treasury of Indian Expression
Pratapaditya Pal : Durga : Avenging Goddess : Nurturing Female parent
Dahejia, Vidya : Devi, The Great Goddess, Washington D.C.
Ramachandra Rao, Due south. K. : Durga-Kosha, Benglore
Menzies, Jackie : Goddess, Divine Energy, Art Gallery, NSW
Kinsley, David : Hindu Goddesses, Delhi
Hawley, J. S. & Wulff, Monna Marie (ed) : Devi, Goddesses of India, Delhi
Sharma, B. N. : Festivals of Bharat
Mookarjee, Ajit & Khanna, Madhu : The Tantrika Style, Boston
Devdutt Pattanaik : Devi, The Mother Goddess
Veronica Lons : Indian Mythology
Shakti M. Gupta : Festivals, Fairs and Fasts of Bharat

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