Devi is the great goddess of the Hindus,the consort of Shiva and she is worshiped in various forms corresponding to her two aspects: benevolence and fierceness. She is Uma, "light"; Gauri, "yellow or brilliant"; Parvati, "the mountaineer"; and Jagatmata, "the-mother-of-the-world" in her milder guise. The terrible emanations are Durga "the inaccessible"; Kali, "the black"; Chandi, "the fierce"; and Bhairavi, "the terrible."
Durga, a beautiful warrior seated upon a tiger, was the first appearance of the great goddess. The circumstance of her miraculous arrival was the tyranny of the monster-demon Mahishasur, who through terrific austerities had acquired invincible strength. The gods were afraid of this water-buffalo bull because neither Vishnu nor Shiva could prevail against him. It seemed that the joint energy of Shakti was only capable of vanquishing Mahisha, and so it was the eighteen-armed Durga who went out to do battle. The nine different forms of Devi are worshiped over the nine days. These are the most popular forms under which she is worshiped:
Durga Shailputri (Daughter of Mountain)
Brahmacharini
Chandraghanta
Kushmanda
Skanda Mata
Katyayani
Kalratri
Maha Gauri
Siddhidatri
~ Wishing all a happy Dushshera and Durga Puja.
Current Mood: Mystic and in festive Mood
1 comment:
I just love this. It's so powerful and alluring.
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