Indian gods and goddesses. Goddess Durga - the incomprehensible divine energy of shakti

It has many names, aspects and forms.

The description of Shakti as the Primordial Essence is contained in "Devi-Mahatmyam" ("The Greatness of the Goddess"). In a dialogue with the king, the sage (rishi) reveals knowledge about the Great Shakti. He says: “She creates everything in this universe, both movable and immobile. If She is favorable, then for people She becomes the Giver of gifts and final Liberation. She is the highest knowledge. The cause of final liberation, Eternal; She is also the cause of the fetters of reincarnation She is Supreme over all gods...
She is eternal. It is embodied as the universe...
The Divine Mother performs all functions in the universe. To comprehend Her true nature, it is necessary to accept all manifestations of life and death as manifestations of Her inexhaustible essence full of bliss and peace. Lord Brahma Himself, the creator of this world, addresses Her with the following words: “This entire universe was born by You. This world was created by You. It is supported by You, O Goddess (Devi), and You always devour it in the end. O You, who have Yours form this entire world, at the time of creation - You manifest as a creative Power, at the time of maintenance - You manifest as a Sustaining Power, and at the time of dissolution - You manifest as a destructive Power. You are the highest knowledge, as well as the great delusion. , the great mind and contemplation, as well as the great illusion, the great Goddess (Devi), as well as the great demoness (Asuri), You are the Primordial Cause of everything, setting in motion the three gunas. ) You are the great night of final dissolution and the terrible night of delusion. You are the Goddess of fortune, modesty, reason, full of knowledge, modesty, food, contentment, calmness and patience. Armed with a sword, spear, club, disc, conch, bow, arrows, nooses and an iron mace. You are terrible, but at the same time You are the highest Ishvari (Mistress), You transcend the boundaries of high and low. And whatever and wherever exists, conscious (real) or unconscious (unreal), whatever power it all has, it is You...”

Brahman (Absolute) and Shakti (Highest Energy) are inseparable and represent a Single Whole.

In the Hindu tradition, there are several well-known aspects of Her: as Sati, Parvati, Uma, Durga, Kali - She is the Consort of Shiva; like Lakshmi and Radharani - She is the Consort (respectively) of Vishnu and Krishna; as Saraswati - She is the Consort of Lord Brahma.

Each of the gods, responsible for certain functions in the universe, has its own female hypostasis, or energy, its own Shakti (devi, goddess), and together they represent the Personalities (personifications) and Powers (energies) of the single Brahman and his Shakti. All these female hypostases or energies are the embodiment of the One Mother - Energy. Therefore, She is often called simply Amba, Amma or Ma, which is different languages means Mother.

Shakti is the Mother Goddess. Shakti is the manifested world. Shakti is called Mother Nature. Shakti is the name given to the Goddess, the wife of the god Shiva. Shakti is the internal energy of a person. Shakti is the cosmic feminine principle. Shakti is the feminine principle of a person, his female half.

The Goddess Shakti is manifested in every living creature, but her strength and power is most concentrated in a woman, a mother, the bearer of beauty, love and kindness of this world.

In the traditions of Hindu Tantra, a particularly important place is occupied by the worship of such aspects of Shakti as Durga, Kali, Tara. In all these aspects, Shakti is the Consort or Divine Power, inseparable from Shiva. Shiva and Shakti are two halves of one whole, existing on their own and at the same time needing each other. Their separateness and unity is the force on which the entire universe rests. Kalidasa wrote that Shakti and Shiva relate to each other like a word with its meaning and are inseparable from each other, like the heat of fire from the fire itself. Shiva is pure, blissful, unchanging, static Consciousness that permeates everything. Shakti is His ever-changing dynamic Force that sets matter in motion. The word “Shakti” is based on the root “shak”, which translates as “to be able”. In other words, Shakti is the ability of consciousness to actively act and change. Therefore She is called the mobile aspect of Shiva's consciousness.

Like her husband Shiva, Shakti has two aspects: peaceful and fearful.

Like Parvati or Uma, she represents the peaceful aspect of the goddess. The Himalayas symbolize akasha (the primary element “ether”), therefore the daughter of the Himalayas, Parvati, symbolizes the conscious substance of the world. Hence her other name - Uma (“Shining”). In the peaceful aspect, she is usually depicted with Shiva and has two hands, in her right she holds a blue lotus, and her left is in a free position, lowered down. If she is depicted without Shiva, she is usually represented with four arms - in two hands she holds red and blue lotuses, and the other two depict varada and abhaya mudras. Uma is a loving, modest and calm wife, subordinate to her husband. Fertility, the ability to procreate, love of life, and the instinct of motherhood come from Uma. Its energy, accumulating in the svadhisthana chakra, materializes various desires and plans of a person (thought forms). Without her patronage, a person becomes an empty dreamer, unable to achieve any of his goals.

The Goddess Uma favors those who eat “living” food (containing a lot of prana energy, from which shakti energy is formed): fruits, berries, grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables and dairy products. You should know that dried fruits lose up to 50% of prana, frozen berries - up to 30-45%, and vegetables - 100%. After heat treatment food can hold prana for 4 to 8 hours. Dairy products made from reconstituted (normalized) milk do not contain a single percent of prana. When eating meat and poultry, a person loses ojas. But the body cannot extract prana from mushrooms. A fish, as soon as it dies, immediately loses all prana.

Uma provides support to those people who cultivate the land, plant trees and raise cows. However, if a person engaged in agriculture mercilessly exploits the land (without giving the soil rest), poisons it with chemical fertilizers (without feeding it with cow dung), kills cows and bulls, then this will undoubtedly arouse the wrath of Parvati, who, having taken one of her destructive forms, can cause drought, floods and other natural disasters, diseases of animals and people.

The Goddess Uma manifests her energy through all flowers that have high resistance to damaging factors external environment and retain life for a long time after being cut off. For example, carnations, gladioli, gerberas.
Minerals associated with Uma include agate, amazonite, jade, carnelian, cacholong, malachite, onyx, tourmaline and green jade. And of the metals - copper.
In humans, she, together with Yamaraja (the god of death), controls the svadhisthana chakra, the creative energy of shakti, and the reproductive system.

In her terrifying aspects, she manifests herself mainly as Durga and Kali. Durga is rarely depicted with her husband, she sits on a lion or tiger, she has from eight to sixteen arms, in each of them she holds a weapon. In myths, Durga plays the role of a warrior. One of her main feats was the destruction of the buffalo demon, which could not be defeated by any of the demigods. She is portrayed as formidable and cruel, and with good reason. However, she always acts as a protector of demigods and people from asuras (demons).
Kali is the personification of Durga's wrath. Her militancy is directed not only against demons, but also against the entire world, including people. She is depicted naked, emaciated, wearing a necklace of skulls, with a tongue stained with the blood of the victims hanging from her wide-open mouth. However, the myths say that her rage can be softened by appealing to “the feeling of motherhood.”

We continue our excursion into Hinduism. Today we will talk about the beautiful companions of the Hindu pantheon and some of their descendants. By the way, many Indian gods and goddesses help in creativity, help remove obstacles and achieve well-being and prosperity. If you want to know the details, then read on ☺

As I already said in the post “Hinduism and the Supreme Indian Gods”, at the top of the Indian “Olympus” there are the Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who form the Trimurti. Each of them has a wonderful life partner (or even all lives), of divine or human origin, but always with a very difficult fate. After they linked their lives and destiny with their divine spouses, they became Shakti - deities (divine power, light) carrying feminine energy in the universe.

Companion of Brahma

Brahma's wife is the beautiful goddess Saraswati, the patroness of the hearth, fertility, and prosperity. In addition, she favors creators, giving special preference to writers of all stripes and musicians.

Saraswati is often called the river goddess, the goddess of water, moreover, her name translates as “she who flows.” Saraswati is usually depicted as a beautiful woman in white robes, seated on a white lotus flower. It is not difficult to guess that white is her color, symbolizing knowledge and cleansing from blood. Her clothes are rich, but, compared to Lakshmi’s attire, they are very modest (we’ll get to Lakshmi later). Most likely, this indirectly indicates that she is above worldly goods, since she has learned the highest truth. Her symbol is also a light yellow blooming mustard flower, which just begins to form into buds in the spring during the holiday in her honor.

Saraswati, like Brahma, has four arms. And just like her divine husband, in other of them she holds a rosary, naturally, white, and Vedas. In her third hand she has a vana (national musical instrument), in the fourth - sacred water (it’s not dawn that she is the goddess of water). Often a white swan swims at Saraswati’s feet, which is also a symbol of her experience and wisdom in knowing the highest truth. Saraswati is sometimes called Hamsavahini, which means "she who uses a swan for transportation."

If you remember, last time I told you that according to one of the theories, humanity appeared as a result of Brahma’s passion for his daughter Vak. This state of affairs does not really suit some believers, which is why Vak is often positioned as one of the incarnations of Saraswati. Her other images can be Rati, Kanti, Savitri and Gayatri. The goddess is very popular in India, sometimes she is even called Mahadevi - the Great Mother. It is believed that if you name your daughter Saraswati, she will study diligently, and there will be prosperity and contentment in her future home.

Companion of Vishnu

As we remember, Vishnu came to earth 9 times in different avatars and each time his wife was Lakshmi, naturally, in her different incarnations. The most famous and revered are Sita (when Vishnu was Rama) and Rukmini (Vishnu - Krishna).

But no matter how they call her in one form or another, no one doubts that this is Lakshmi. Lakshmi emerged from the depths of the Comic Ocean along with other treasures, so many revere her as a divine treasure. She, like a true woman, is both the strength and weakness of her chosen one, which is repeatedly reflected in folk art, for example in Ramayat. Often her image overshadows Saraswati, as well as Vishnu Brahma, and it is to her that the role of the Great Mother Mahadevi is shifted.

Lakshmi is traditionally depicted sitting on a pink or red lotus flower as a beautiful young woman, younger than Saraswati, wearing beautiful expensive clothes and jewelry. She usually uses a white owl as a means of transportation. She, like other gods, has four arms, but no obligatory objects that she holds can be distinguished. Sometimes she is depicted with lotuses, sometimes with gold coins - whatever the artist’s imagination allows. Lakshmi is incredibly popular in India because, in addition to being the wife of the supreme deity, she is also the patron of wealth, good fortune, luck, light, knowledge, wisdom, light, courage and fertility. She is a welcome guest in any home.

Surprisingly, but true, in order to earn her favor, the following actions, already familiar to us, are mandatory. The Goddess does not accept clutter, if your house is full of garbage, dust, unused things, do not expect her to visit you. The air in the house should be fresh, there must be water in the carafe, home plant(if there is no garden), candles and incense. The most favorable area for placing the image of Lakshmi is the south-eastern part of the house. If you remember my post, then according to Chinese tradition, the wealth zone is located there, and the minimum measures to attract it come down to cleaning and ventilation. There is reason to think...

The offspring of Lakshmi and Vishnu is the god of love Kama. We have all heard a lot or a little about the Kama Sutra, and so, if translated literally, it means “the rules of love (lust).” By the way, poor Kama was seriously injured by the god Shiva, which brought upon the latter the serious wrath of Vishnu and Lakshmi. Kama fired an arrow of passion at Shiva when he was in deep asceticism and many years of meditation in order to attract his attention to the beautiful daughter of the king of the Himalayas, Parvati. This angered Shiva so much that he incinerated Kama with his third eye. Under pressure from Vishnu, Lakshmi and other gods, he was forced to agree to the rebirth of the god of love. Despite all his efforts, Kama was revived to life by ananga (incorporeal) and now he is everywhere.

Shiva's companions

Here we are gradually approaching the love affairs of the great ascetic Shiva. There were many of them, depending on the form of its manifestation. Religious scholars did not agree on whether this woman was alone or not.

Here I will talk about them as different, because if all this diversity of forms and essences is “shoved” into one character, I’m afraid I will get confused myself. Naturally, I won’t be able to write about them all, so we’ll focus on the most revered ones.

Devi - "goddess". Devi is especially revered among followers of tantra. Goddess Devi "contains the whole world in her womb", she "lights the lamp of wisdom" and "brings joy to the heart of Shiva, her Lord." Today in India, rituals dedicated to Devi are often performed on the eve of marriage, and, as we understand, no one is interested in the religion of the couple ☺

Sati – “true, immaculate.” Sati was the daughter of king (god?) Daksha. On the day of her coming of age, he sent out an invitation to all the gods, with the exception of Shiva, so that Sati could choose a worthy husband. He believed that Shiva was behaving unworthy of the gods, damaging their name and essence. When Sati entered the hall and did not see the only one whom she worshiped and whose wife she dreamed of becoming, she offered him a prayer asking him to accept the wedding garland. Shiva accepted her gift and Dakshi had no choice but to marry Sati to him. But the story didn't end there. Dakshi decided to arrange a huge sacrifice in honor of the gods, again depriving Shiva of his attention. This act outraged Sati and she came to his house without an invitation, claiming that Shiva is the god above all gods. Defending her husband's honor, she herself stepped into the sacrificial fire and burned in its flames...

Upon learning of the death of his beloved, Shiva was distraught with grief. With his servants, he came to Daksha's palace and killed him and his followers. After that, with the body of his beloved in his arms, he danced his divine dance 7 times around all the worlds. The crazy rhythm of his dance brought destruction and sadness to everything around, the scale of the disaster reached such a volume that they forced Vishnu to intervene, who, in order to stop this crazy dance, cut Sati’s body into several parts and they fell to the ground. After this, Shiva came to his senses, repented of killing Daksha and even gave him back his life (though with the head of a goat, since his original one was lost).

Uma – “Graceful.” There is a version that she is the rebirth of the goddess Sati, but skeptics are inclined to believe that Sati’s body was cut into several parts and fell in different places, so that she could not be reborn in a single image. Her name is sometimes associated with Barhma, since she is his intermediary in communication with other gods. Based on this, Uma is the patroness of oratory. Uma also became the cause of a divine conflict when the servants of Brahma found her in the arms of Shiva in the sacred forest. He was so angry that he doomed any male, regardless of his species, to turn into a female as soon as he entered the forest territory.

Parvati - "mountain". Another possible rebirth of Sati, daughter of King Himvan, ruler of the Himalayas. The girl loved Shiva very much, but he did not pay any attention to her and was completely absorbed in meditation and asceticism. In the end, the Gods could not stand the suffering of the beautiful Parvati and sent Kama to awaken passion and desire in him, for which, the poor fellow, he paid. Having noticed the beauty and devotion of the girl, Shiva nevertheless considered her unworthy, and she was forced to perform difficult ascetic feats for many years in order to achieve his favor. Ultimately, she succeeded and became not only Shiva's beloved wife, but also the mother of his son Ganesh.

Ganesha is one of the most popular characters, even in countries where the main religion is Buddhism, he is still revered. For example, in the north of the Thai city of Chiang Mai there is an absolutely stunning one. It is very easy to distinguish him from all other gods - he is the only one with an elephant's head. By the way, according to one version, he was deprived of his human head by his own father Shiva, who did not recognize his son in the grown-up Ganesha and was jealous of Parvati. In order to revive his son, he ordered the servants to kill the first animal they came across and bring its head to the palace. By coincidence, it turned out to be the head of a baby elephant, which Shiva attached in place of his son’s head in order to resurrect him and calm the inconsolable Parvati.

Ganesha uses a white mouse as a means of transportation, so Hindus do not favor cats - since they eat mice and cause Ganesha’s wrath. And no one wants his anger; on the contrary, they crave his favor. After all, Ganesha is considered the patron of prosperity, the remover of obstacles, he helps to increase earnings and profits, and also stimulates success in school and profession. For these purposes, a figurine of Ganesh is often placed on the desktop or at the cash register, and special mantras are also chanted, for example: OM GAM GANAPATAYA NAMAH or OM SRI GANESHAYA NAMAH.

Durga - “unapproachable”. There are many legends associated with the appearance of Durga, but one of the most popular is the following. One day, the king of the giants, Mahisha, defeated the gods, deprived them of everything and expelled them from their homes. Then Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva combined their powers and released dazzling rays of light from their eyes, from which emerged a warrior goddess with three eyes and eighteen arms. Then each of the gods gave her his weapon: Brahma - a rosary and a jug of water, Vishnu - a throwing disc, Shiva - a trident, Varuna - a conch, Agni - a dart, Vayu - a bow, Surya - a quiver of arrows, Indra - lightning, Kubera - a mace , Kala - shield and sword, Vishwakarma - battle ax. Mahisha was inflamed with passion for Durga and wanted to make her his wife, but he said that he would submit only to the one who defeats her in battle. She jumped off her tiger and jumped on the back of Mahishi, who had taken the form of a bull to fight. With her feet she struck the bull's head with such crushing force that he fell unconscious to the ground. After this, Durga cut off his head with a sword.

Kali – “black”. Probably the most controversial goddess of the Hindu pantheon, one of the most beautiful and at the same time dangerous. Her skin is black, she is a great warrior and a great dancer, like her husband Shiva. She is usually depicted in expensive clothing with a necklace of skulls and a belt made of severed hands. Most often, she has four hands: in one she holds a bloody sword, in the other - the head of a defeated enemy, and the other two hands bless her subjects. That is, it simultaneously brings both death and immortality. During the battle, she pulls out her tongue to drink the blood of her victims (by the way, according to many theories, Kali is the prototype of Lilith and vampires). Sometimes she is depicted with one foot on her chest and the other on the thigh of a prostrate Shiva. This is explained by the following legend. Having defeated the giant Raktvija, she began to dance in joy, and her dance was so passionate and unbridled that it threatened to destroy the earth and the whole world. The gods tried to persuade her, but everything was in vain. Then Shiva lay down at her feet, and Kali continued to dance until she saw her own husband under her feet. She was ashamed of her own fury and the disrespect shown to the great god that she stopped dead in her tracks. By the way, Shiva forgave her quite easily.

Among Shiva’s companions there are also Jagadgauri, Chinnamustaka, Tara, Muktakesi, Dasabhuja, Singhavanini, Mahishamandini, Jagaddhatri, Ambika, Bhavani, Pithivi, etc., you can’t remember them all ☺ .

Well, perhaps that’s the end of the fairy tale, whoever read to the end - well done ☺! I hope you found it interesting.

If in the first part of the story about the Gods of the Indian pantheon we were talking about the three main Indian Gods who were men, the second part contains a story about their beautiful spouses - Indian Goddesses: Lakshmi, Saraswati, Parvati. Lakshmi - wife of Vishnu(the embodiment of his creative energy) and the Goddess of wealth and material well-being. Lakshmi ( Laksmī, "good omen", "happiness", "beauty") is usually depicted and described as a Goddess of extraordinary beauty standing on a lotus and holding a lotus in each of her two hands. Perhaps that is why she is also called Padma or Kamala. She is also decorated with a lotus garland. Its color has been variously described as dark, pink, golden yellow or white. Together with Vishnu, she is depicted with only two hands. When she is worshiped in a temple (separate temples for Lakshmi are quite rare), she is depicted sitting on a throne in the form of a lotus with four hands holding padmu(lotus), shankha(sink), Amrit-Kalash(vessel with the nectar of immortality) and fruits Bilva(wild apple tree). Sometimes instead of a bilva she holds mahalungu(lemon). Now we can try to explain what is hidden behind this highly symbolic picture. If Lakshmi is depicted as dark in color (the color of a thundercloud), this indicates that she is the consort of Vishnu, the dark-faced God. If she is depicted as golden yellow, it means that she is the source of all wealth. If it is white, then this indicates the purest form prakriti(nature). The pinkish color, the most commonly accepted, reflects her compassion for all beings, as she is the Mother of all things.
Her four hands indicate the ability to bestow four purusharthas(main goals of human life):
1 — dharma(righteousness based on observance of religious and social principles),
2 — arthu(prosperity achieved as a result of realizing one’s talent),
3 — kama(bodily pleasures that do not violate the harmony of man and the laws of the universe)
4 — moksha(spiritual liberation).
Lotuses in various stages of opening symbolize worlds and beings at various stages of the evolution of consciousness. The fruits in her hands are the fruits of our labor. No matter how hard we work, unless Lakshmi is merciful enough to give us the fruits of our labors, everything will be useless. If the fruit in the hands of the Goddess is a coconut, consisting of a shell, core and juice, then this means that three levels of creation come from her - the gross, subtle and causal worlds. If this fruit is a pomegranate or a citron, then this means that the various worlds are under her control and she is superior to them all. If it is a bilva fruit, which is not very pleasant to the taste, but is very good for health, then this means moksha, the highest fruit of spiritual life. Amrit-Kalash means that Lakshmi is capable of granting immortality.
Goddess Lakshmi traditionally rides on an owl (uluka), a bird that sleeps during the day and watches at night. In most Hindu and Buddhist temples, Lakshmi is flanked by elephants on either side, pouring water from jugs donated by the celestial maidens. This image is called Gadzhi Lakshmi. The elephant represents the glory and splendor of Lakshmi.
In our Universe, she initially took birth from a holy sage Bhrigu and daughters of Daksha, Khyati. Khyati gave birth to an unusually beautiful daughter. She was so beautiful that she seemed to be the embodiment of everyone best qualities in this world. She was named Lakshmi. Since goddess Lakshmi herself incarnated as the daughter of Bhrigu, she also came to be called Bhargavi. From childhood, Lakshmi heard about the glory of Lord Vishnu, she grew up ecstatically listening to stories about his radiance, greatness and power. Her mind was captivated by the image of Vishnu, and, overwhelmed by the desire to possess him as her husband, she began to perform the most severe austerities on the seashore. Her austerities lasted a thousand years, and then the king of the demigods Indra, enchanted by her beauty, appeared before her in the form of Vishnu and said: “I am pleased with your devotion. Demand any good you desire." Lakshmi replied, “Give me the grace to see you in your true form (visvarupa).” Unable to fulfill her request, hiding under someone else's guise, Indra left, ashamed. Many other demigods also made similar attempts, but they were all exposed and expelled. And then Lord Vishnu himself appeared before her and asked what mercy she required for herself. Lakshmi replied, “O God of gods, if You are truly and truly Lord Vishnu, then appear to me in Your Vishvarupa form, in Your true divine form.” Vishnu fulfilled her wish and revealed to her the secret that she was in fact his eternal companion and wife.
Vishnu, guardian of the cosmos and in images She either lives on His chest, sits next to Him, on His lap or at His feet. Vishnu protects the world, Vishnu nourishes it. He is a virtuous father, She is a compassionate mother. He is the blue sky watching Lakshmi, the red Earth. When Vishnu sleeps, the whole world dissolves. When He awakens, the world manifests itself. When Vishnu sleeps, Lakshmi appears Yoganidra, the cause of sleep. When Vishnu wakes up, Lakshmi becomes Yogamaya, the power of creation. It is said that Lakshmi massages Vishnu's feet to give strength to his struggling joints adharma. By placing Lakshmi at his feet, Vishnu does not allow the wealth of the world and power to enter his head. In other words, he keeps a close eye on Lakshmi, knowing full well the power of wealth to corrupt minds.
The son of Vishnu and Lakshmi is the god of Love Kama(Desire), which is often compared to the ancient Greek Eros. He is depicted as a handsome young man sitting on a parrot (sometimes on a chariot). In the hands of the beautiful god is a bow made of sugar cane with a bowstring made of bees and five arrows made of flowers. The goddess Rati is considered to be Kama's consort. Kama embodies the love of Vishnu and Lakshmi.
Vishnu (in countless avatars and expansions) lives with his eternal consort Lakshmi on the Vaikunthas - spiritual planets, places of eternal bliss.

The Vaikuntha planets are located above the material universes, and even Brahma and other Devas dream of going to them. The material world is a distorted reflection of the spiritual reality of Vaikuntha. In Vaishnavism, it is believed that those who have achieved the highest spiritual perfection, by the grace of Vishnu, go to the Vaikuntha planets and are liberated from the cycle. samsara
The most exalted planet in Vaikuntha is Goloka, the abode of Radha-Krishna.
Lakshmi does not like places where violence is committed, anger, lies, greed, hypocrisy and envy are exuded. But most of all, she hates any perversions in love. Especially if somewhere prostitution and homosexuality are encouraged. Lakshmi leaves such places and everything immediately collapses. Luck, happiness and prosperity also gradually disappear. This is especially true for society leaders. Everything around them depends on their behavior. There have been many examples in history when entire empires, countries, cities, religious and social movements were destroyed due to the sexual perversions of leaders. Lakshmi will never stay in such places, which means there will be no harmony, happiness, or good luck. And even if you manage to save wealth, they will not bring joy.
Goddess Lakshmi manifests her energy through all flowers, which are large in size, have extraordinary beauty and tenderness. For example, flowers of roses, lotus, daffodils, dahlias. Usually these flowers, after being cut, can only live on the love of the one who gave them or who has them. In minerals, Lakshmi manifests her energy through violet ruby, almandine, lapis lazuli, chrysoberyl, spinel (lal), red and yellow jade. Of metals, it is associated with gold. In man Lakshmi along with Surya (Sun) rules anahata chakra . It controls lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism, as well as the distribution maji
(adipose tissue) throughout the body. Lakshmi stimulates insulin synthesis. A conflict with Lakshmi in a previous incarnation leads to the fact that a person does not receive a beautiful and harmonious body. If this happens in this life, the body becomes too thin or, conversely, obesity develops.
Goddess Lakshmi is the patroness of cosmetology.
* Traditionally, Lakshmi is worshiped in the following forms and manifestations (ashta-Lakshmi), each of which bestows upon humanity one of the highly desirable gifts, or siddhis: — Adi-Lakshmi
*Primordial Mother — Go-Lakshmi. Cows were worshiped as Go-Lakshmi. Cows are called Kamadenu, a wish fulfiller because a person who has a cash cow does not depend on anyone to provide the basic needs of life.
*Vasudha-Lakshmi — Goddess of the Earth (planet Earth). Since she carries the burden of life on her back, she must be very patient, strong and humble. But when people begin to benefit from her wealth and become greedy and arrogant, she refuses to bear their weight. She takes the form of a cow and begs Vishnu, her guardian, to protect her. He does so, taking the form of Parashurama, Rama and Krishna. Sometimes, Bhudevi takes matters into his own hands, allowing his rage to manifest itself through earthquakes and volcanoes.
* Maha-Lakshmi — Consort of Vishnu. She is the highest manifestation of Lakshmi that man, God and demon can perceive, understand and meditate on. She represents the benevolent and generous aspects of Nature.
*Gaja-Lakshmi — Elephant Goddess. Lakshmi is especially fond of elephants: they have no natural enemy in the jungle and also have easy access to food due to their size and strength. They became a symbol of strength, grace and royalty.
* Dhana-Lakshmi— Goddess of Wealth. Everyone, except ascetics and beggars, seeks wealth and real estate to secure the future.
* Dhanya-Lakshmi— Goddess of Food. Always present in our kitchens in the form of grains, beans, fruits and vegetables. Her presence keeps hunger at bay.
*Raj-Lakshmi— Goddess of Power
* Griha-Lakshmi— Goddess of the Home. Her presence fills the room with love and life. Traditionally, the daughter-in-law is considered Griha-Lakshmi as she has the responsibility to raise the next generation of her family.
* Deepa-Lakshmi— Goddess of lamps. Darkness is considered inauspicious and symbolizes ignorance and inertia. Light, on the other hand, signifies vitality, order and life. Lakshmi lives in every lamp and brings light and warmth to everyone's life.
*Arogya-Lakshmi— Goddess of Health. Without health, the pleasures of life have no meaning.
*Soundarya-Lakshmi— Goddess of beauty
*Bhagya-Lakshmi— Goddess of Fortune
*Santan-Lakshmi— Goddess who gives children. Helps women give birth to children, She also protects children from diseases.
*Vira-Lakshmi— Goddess of Courage
*Vidya-Lakshmi— Goddess of learning and the arts. Helps transform knowledge into wealth.
*Kadak-Lakshmi— Fierce Goddess. Every time society insults a woman, She places the curse of drought or disease on the offending society.
Lakshmi's main mission is to bring eternal happiness to Earth, so She helps us to have a meaningful career. She understands that wealth alone is not enough to become endlessly happy; spirituality and a sense of accomplishment are necessary. Therefore, Lakshmi leads us to such activities that bring joy and prosperity not only to us, but also to others. Lakshmi brings grace, beauty and love into our homes and provides for all our household needs. Ganesha She is adored, and they often work together to help people meet their main life goals.

Saraswati - wife of Brahma And Goddess of wisdom, art, music and poetry. Saraswati, literally meaning "she who reveals the essence (Sara) of our own Spirit (Swa)", invented writing and dwells with teachers and in schools. Brahma, with Her help, creates the world, through His four heads She appears as the four Vedas, She is rarely depicted in pictures next to Him, when they are seen together, the relationship looks less matrimonial and more intellectual. Saraswati gives a person the power of speech, wisdom and education. Her other Sanskrit name is Vagishwari(Skt. Vāgīśvarī, lit. "Goddess of Speech").
Saraswati originated from the forehead of her father Brahma. As soon as Brahma saw this beautiful woman, he immediately lusted after her, despite the fact that she was his daughter. Saraswati did not like the attentions of this old lover of God, she tried to avoid him, but wherever she went, Brahma appeared everywhere. As a result, he grew four faces on four parts of his neck, and above them another head so that he could see Saraswati, even if she moved upward. But she still avoided him.
Brahma was very angry. As a creator, he was very powerful. We don’t know how, but according to legend, he managed to marry this elusive girl and create the four main Vedas with the help of her mind. According to legend, Brahma discovered that His wife was too distant and absent-minded to love. He organized the main ritual of sacrifice to fire, during which his wife was obliged to be with him. He warned Saraswati not to bother with her toilet for too long and not be late for at the right time. She was to take her traditional place on the left next to Brahma. But Saraswati took so long to get ready that the hour of the main joint sacrifice to fire by husband and wife passed, and they still did not have time to perform the ritual. When she finally came, Brahma was angry. He threw Saraswati out and took the sage's daughter in her place, Gayatri. Saraswati did not experience family happiness; she did not have children. She had a short temper, was easily provoked, and was very grumpy. She had a very independent will and was not very kind to the male gods. Saraswati lived in exile, which she herself strove for. Her calm, dispassionate gaze looks at the past as a very real experience. Her ability to remember something without anger or resentment is the greatest gift for her children: writers, musicians and creators various forms art. They all fought against traditions and old foundations, but this fight was not emotional, but intellectual.
Saraswati sits on a peacock throne in a pose Lalita-asana, her body is white. A distinctive feature of this Goddess is that a veena, a lute, and a sitar are depicted in her hands. She has four arms, representing the four cognitive aspects of the human personality: mind, intellect, wakefulness and ego. She holds the scriptures in one hand and a lotus - a symbol of true knowledge - in the other. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on a stringed instrument called Viina (Vina). She is dressed in white - a symbol of purity - and sits on a white swan, symbolizing Sattva guna - the guna of purity and discrimination, the guna of goodness.
Saraswati is also associated with anuraga- a rhythm that expresses all emotions and feelings through music or words. It is believed that if children are named after her, they will be very successful in their studies in the future. A white swan swims at Saraswati's feet. According to legend, the sacred swan, if offered a mixture of milk and honey, will drink one milk from it. Thus, the swan symbolizes the distinction between good and bad, between the eternal and the fleeting. Due to this inextricable association with the swan, Goddess Saraswati is also addressed as Hamsavahini, that is, the one “who uses a swan as a means of transportation.”
The Goddess of Knowledge and Learning, Sri Saraswati is the embodiment of the Upanishad philosophy. Experience of the Supreme Reality and possession of Knowledge - necessary qualities Guru, Spiritual Teacher. Goddess Saraswati, therefore, is the image of an ideal Teacher, because has these two qualities. When the seeker practices self-control, deep study, constant introspection and regular meditation, his limited ego achieves liberation (moksha). This is the state absolute freedom, which a person experiences when he discovers the Higher Self within himself, is symbolized by the lotus that Goddess Saraswati holds in her hand - the ego.
Saints and spiritual people give great importance worship of Saraswati. People of education and learning revere Saraswati for enlightenment and enlightenment. They say there is no comparison between the status of a king and a scholar or spiritual person. A king is limited to the boundaries of his kingdom, while a learned or spiritual man is respected and revered throughout the world.
She is revered in both Hinduism and Buddhism. For Buddhists She is the consort Manjushri, bodhisattvas of wisdom. Buddhists appeal to Manjushri, asking for understanding, wisdom, mastery of teaching, the ability to interpret sacred texts, eloquence and memory. He works with the Lord Maitreya. Sometimes Maitreya and Manjushri are depicted together with Gautama Buddha, where Manjushri represents the wisdom aspect and Maitreya the compassion aspect of Buddhist teachings. Like Saraswati, Manjushri bestows the gift of insight.
Goddess Saraswati is associated with water(Saraswati is the name of one of the three main rivers in India), therefore the mantras dedicated to it are cleansing. They bestow vitality, cure diseases, and eliminate imbalance through cleansing of negative vibrations. The Vedas say that the Saraswati was the largest river in India, and although for many years scientists claimed that this was nothing more than a myth, archaeological excavations carried out in 1985 discovered an ancient river bed that matches the description of the Saraswati. This great river, from six to ten meters wide for most of its length, originated in the Himalayan mountains, carried its waters to the west and there flowed into the sea. The Rig Vedas call Saraswati "the best mother, the best river and the best Goddess."
As the Goddess of the river (water), Saraswati personifies fertility and prosperity. It is associated with purity and creativity, especially in all things related to communication, such as literature and public speaking. In the post-Vedic era, she began to lose her status as a river Goddess and became more and more associated with the arts: literature, music and others. Her name in literary translation means "she who flows", which can equally refer to thoughts, words or a river flow.
Goddess Saraswati manifests her energy through all flowers having a very strong and pleasant aroma. For example, flowers of lilac, jasmine, bird cherry, magnolia, apple tree. Minerals associated with Saraswati energy are amethyst, heliotrope, olivine, mother of pearl, charoite, chrysolite and white jade. Metals - silver.
In man Saraswati along with Varuna(Neptune) rules the creative intellect, Vishuddha chakra, kidneys and water-salt metabolism. It controls the functioning of the endocrine cells of the pancreas.
Saraswati is the one who gives essence (sara) to our own Self (sva). She is the wife of Brahma, the Creator. Creation, creation, can be supported only by “knowing how to create.”
Symbolism of Saraswati:
Lotus - shows that the teacher is established in the subjective experience of Truth.
Peacock - shows that the ego must be suppressed.
Four hands:
— Manas(mind), Buddhi(intelligence), Citta(conditioned consciousness) and Ahamkara(ego). Manas and Buddhi together hold the Vina, an Indian lute. This shows that truly knowledgeable teachers tune the mind and intellect of the seeking student and bring out from him the music of life. If the mind is not “tuned,” then mental agitation and disharmony with the world dominate.
- Chitta holds the Holy Scriptures, implying that only knowledge of the Holy Scriptures can lead us to the Truth.
— Ahamkar holds a rosary, showing the importance of mantras and meditation.
Her sari, always white, reminds us that all valuable knowledge must be pure and untainted by untruth. The beautiful swan reminds us that we must separate the husk from the grain of true knowledge.

Parvati - wife of Shiva And The goddess of love And Devotion. Parvati (Sanskrit: पार्वती, parvatī“mountain”) is one of the names of the wife of the god Shiva. Is a good form Davy, shakti (that is, female creative energy) of Shiva. Another name of good form is Gauri. In cruel form, Davy bears names Kali, Shyama, Chanda, Durga...According to legend, Shiva's first wife Sati after self-immolation on a sacred fire, some time later she was reborn in the form of Parvati (or Minds), daughter of the king of the mountains Himavata and apsaras Menaki(Exchanges). To win the heart of Shiva, Parvati settled next to him on Mount Kailash, but Shiva, who indulged in severe asceticism, rejected her advances. The gods, wanting Shiva to have a son capable of crushing the asura Taraka, Indra’s enemy, sent Kama to arouse Shiva’s love, but Shiva burned him with the fire of his third eye. Then Parvati herself indulged in asceticism for the sake of Shiva. Testing her, Shiva came to her in the form of a young brahmana and began to blaspheme himself. Parvati rejected the slander and, moved by her devotion and beauty, Shiva married her. From this marriage the winner Taraki was born Skanda(or Kumara) and elephant-like god Ganesha. Together they are a tremendous force. The love of Parvati and Shiva became the basis of the famous epic poem of Kalidasa. The trinity of Shiva-Parvati-Ganesh symbolizes the ideal type of divine family in Indian folk belief. Shiva and Parvati are an eternal married couple who strived to be together in all their incarnations. In fact, inseparable from each other, they are perfect union

men and women. Often depicted with her husband and Divine sons, Goddess Parvati is a manifestation and example of the feminine principle, an ideal harmonious family life. Parvati is power (energy) - Shakti , which is a manifestation of the mystery of the feminine essence and the female universal hypostasis. Goddess Parvati fills the world with magic to show how happy people can be family unions
and how harmonious and beautiful the feminine manifestation of a person is. The image of Parvati, personifying the creative feminine principle and the fertile power of the earth, absorbed the features of ancient tribal goddesses, and therefore she was worshiped under different names Davy. She was considered the main female deity of India and bore the name
- Goddess. Shiva symbolizes divine power, the cosmic masculine principle and the highest consciousness of man, and Parvati symbolizes the divine mother, mother nature, the cosmic feminine principle and the feminine principle of man, his feminine half and internal energy. Therefore, Shiva is not only God, but also a kind of ideal for Himalayan men, and every girl dreams of being the same as Parvati, the girl prays every day that the Gods will give a husband like Shiva. Parvati appears before the inhabitants of the Himalayan valleys mainly as a merciful and giving Goddess, therefore women of the northern Himalayas turn to her with any questions and problems, on all holidays and family events.
In the paintings, Parvati is depicted as a beautiful woman with the usual number of arms and legs. She is credited with performing only a few miracles. However, when this goddess appears in the guise of Durga, Kali and others, divine abilities awaken in her and characteristics are found that are different from those possessed by Parvati. She is usually depicted with a lion (sometimes with a tiger). Shri Durga (Jagadamba)
represents Parvati without Sri Shiva. She is located in the central part of the heart and is known as the "Mother of the World" due to her nurturing and protective qualities. It gives us a sense of internal security and stability in the world around us. Respecting our mothers and understanding the importance of their influence on our personalities comes through Jagadamba. The name Durga has its own meaning, so the syllable du reminds me of four asura (demons): poverty (), suffering ( duhkha), hunger ( durbhiksha) and bad habits ( durvyasana). Sound R means illness ( Rogaghna), and the syllable ha- sins ( papaghna), injustice, anti-religion, cruelty, laziness and other bad habits. Thus, the Goddess destroys all types of evil, symbolized by sounds du, p And ha.
Name Cali translated from Sanskrit means Black. Her other names Durga(Unavailable), Chandika(Cruel) and Bhairavi(Scary). Kali is usually depicted as a nude or panther-skin-clad, four-armed, blue-skinned woman riding a lion or tiger. There is a fierce fire in her eyes, her long tongue sticks out from her bright scarlet mouth, from which drops of blood flow. In her upper left hand she holds a bloody sword, destroying doubt and duality, in her lower left hand she holds the severed head of a demon, symbolizing the ego. Upper right hand she makes a protective gesture that drives away fear, and with her lower right hand she blesses for the fulfillment of all desires. She is wearing a belt made of human hands, which symbolize the inexorable action of karma. Not on her neck is a garland of skulls, which means a series of human incarnations. The three eyes of the goddess are creation, preservation and destruction. She personifies the merciless time, in Blue colour which it is painted. Goddess Kali symbolizes superiority over everything perishable, temporary, everything that is subject to destruction and death. It defeats the false concepts of the ego, the idea of ​​identifying oneself with the body, and points the way to the knowledge of the immortal nature of the spirit.
So, in order to fully understand the true purpose of the female path, to know perfection and to touch the essence of the great cosmic Shakti, a woman must see in herself both hypostases of the great Goddess, become the embodiment of both Kali and Parvati at the same time. This means - to create and protect the beauty of the “earthly” and at the same time be devoted to the “eternal”, to that which is beyond time and death, to give love and compassion and to be merciless to manifestations of moral and spiritual decline, to remain faithful to goodness and to be merciless to evil. In relationships with men, this means being selective, devoted to a worthy partner who has high goals in life, maintaining and protecting fruitful relationships that give development to both partners. In relation to the unworthy behavior of a man, be tough and ruthless, without regret, break off relationships that are unconstructive, humiliating for a woman, leading partners to degradation. Always remember that severity is one of the manifestations of true love.

- “goddess”), the main female deity of the Hindu pantheon. In classical Shaktism, Devi is transformed into an independent deity, and sometimes she is considered not only as the “second half” of Shiva, but also as an end-to-end source of world energies.

The origins of the image of Devi go back to the cult of fertility goddesses of the aboriginal proto-Indian civilization of the 3rd–2nd millennia BC. Among the figurines found during excavations of Harappan settlements, there are numerous standard female figurines made of clay, displaying the features of mother goddesses, whose cult is extremely widespread in the Indian village, and corresponding drawings. Archaeological data suggest that the phallic cult symbols of the male deity (Protoshiva) correspond to female symbols (yoni), corresponding to the mother cult. Hypotheses regarding the possible connection of these images with the mother cult of the Middle East are quite realistic, since research has found strong trade and other ties between the two regions.

The purely patriarchal religion of the Indo-Aryans left little space for the veneration of female deities, which are represented, in addition to the goddess Ushas, ​​mainly by abstract images that hypostatize human life manifestations (such as Speech), cosmic principles (such as Viraj), individual components of sacrifice (such as Svahi), and temporary “girlfriends” » the main Aryan gods. Davy's first real literary prototype - appearing in Kena Upanishad Uma, the daughter of Himavat (the god of the Himalayas), who acts here as a mentor to the gods, explaining to Indra that all their power is concentrated in Brahman and among them those who come into closest contact with it prevail.

In the Devi of classical Hinduism, light and dark halves are clearly distinguishable, which correspond to the character of Shiva. The initial cult of Devi dates back to the first centuries of the new era.

The image of Davy as a virtuous wife and mother of the family is represented by several significant “persons”. According to the order of mythological chronology, this is, first of all, Sati (“being”), the daughter of the deity Daksha, who, against his will, wished to become Shiva’s wife and, when choosing a groom, threw a garland around his neck. When even after this her father did not agree to their marriage, she provoked her chosen one to destroy her father’s sacrifice, and she herself threw herself into the fire (it was to this feat of hers that the mythological roots of the Hindu custom of self-immolation of widows went back). Having died in the flames, Sati was reborn in the person of Uma (“Radiance”), who this time through asceticism achieved the favor of Shiva. In fact, this is just another name for Parvati (“Mountain Woman”), the daughter of Himavat and the apsara of Mena and the sister of the goddess Ganga, who settled next to Shiva on Mount Kailash, but for a long time could not attract the attention of the meditating ascetic god. The celestials, who set themselves the task of overthrowing the asura Taraka, sent Kamadeva (Indian Cupid), who shot a flower arrow of desire at Shiva and paid for it with his body. Parvati intensified her asceticism, and when the “merit” (punya) she received as a result of this turned out to be sufficient for her goal and Shiva also tested it (appearing in the form of a brahmana, who began to blaspheme him and was rejected by the ascetic), her dream came true, she became his wife and gave birth to Skanda, the killer of Taraka (the plot of the famous poem by Kalidasa Birth of the God of War), as well as (according to some versions) the elephant-headed Ganesha. Mythological synonyms of Uma-Parvati, sometimes indistinguishable from their epithets, should be considered Gauri (“Bright One”), Ambika (“Mother”), Annapurna (“Nurturer”).

However, Davy's menacing manifestations became more popular. These include, first of all, Durga (“Hard to Access”), whose veneration, according to Harivansha, was originally common among backward tribes - the Shabars, Pulindas, as well as non-Indian “barbarians”.

Durga is a warrior goddess, protector of the gods and world order from demonic forces (with which, however, she herself has much in common). Her main feat was the destruction of the demon Mahisha, who took the form of a buffalo and expelled the gods from heaven. Parvati had to take on this work because Mahisha could not be killed by either her husband or the beast. The murder of Mahisha in a brutal fight has been the subject of numerous literary interpretations ( Skanda Purana, Markandeya Purana etc.), and also visual arts– Mahishasuramardani (“Killing Mahisha”). Durga is depicted with eight arms (in each hand there is a weapon belonging to different gods) and sitting on a lion (aka her “mount” - vahana), which is tormenting a buffalo, from whose carcass a demon is trying to jump out, hit by the arrows of the Indian Amazon.

It is believed that Durga lives in the Vindhyan mountains, in a community of confidantes who participate in her bloody adventures and cannibalistic meals. The cult of Durga was widespread throughout medieval India. One of the forms of Durga is Kali (“black”), which received its name as being born from Durga’s face blackened with anger and representing a female monster dressed in the skin of a panther, in a necklace of skulls, with severed heads, a sword, a sacrificial knife in hands and with long tongue, stained with the blood of victims - mainly demons. Since at the end of each next world period (kalpa) Durga envelops the world in impenetrable darkness, she receives the name Kalaratri (“Night of Time”). Other names - Chandi ("Wrathful"), Bhairavi ("Terrifying") - are also only epithets of Durga, while Kottravey ("Murderous") - the Tamil goddess of war and hunting, the embodiment of aggressive female sexuality - represents an aboriginal adaptation of the image of Durga or reflects the image of a local goddess who took the form of Durga (described as a woman with snakes and a crescent moon in her hair, covered with the skins of an elephant and a tiger and standing on the head of a bull with a sword in her hands). The Dravidian goddess, who received the Sanskrit name Bhagavati, should also be considered a rural variation of Durga.

In addition, Devi is the center of an entire female pantheon, which includes goddesses of non-Aryan origin, considered as potencies-energies of the leading male gods. The best known system is Saptamatrika (“seven mothers”), which, according to Devi-mahatmye, the personified energies of the seven gods produced to help Devi in ​​her fight against hostile forces: Brahmani (the energy of Brahma), Maheshwari (Devi herself), Kaumari (the energy of Skanda), Vaishnavi (the energy of Vishnu), Varahi (a manifestation of Vishnu the boar), Narasimha (manifestation of Vishnu the lion-man) and Aindri (Indra’s energy).

The cult of Devi extended to the esoteric practice of the Shaktas, which generally corresponded to Hindu tantrism (“left-hand tantra”), and the folk cult. The Shakta cult includes, along with the recitation of mantras dedicated to Devi, interpreted as Jaganmatri (“mother of the world”), also kundalini yoga - a system of psychotechnical exercises designed to force the deified feminine energy of kundalini hidden in the human body to rise in stages through all subsequent chakras up to the highest (sahasrara), where her merger with Shiva should occur, and at the same time the cessation of the individual consciousness of the adept. “Left-hand Tantra” includes the famous “five “m”". The folk cult is represented by the veneration of female symbols of fertility in special sanctuaries of Devi, called pithas. The pithas dedicated to Kali were performed (in particular, in Bengal), in accordance with the nature of this manifestation Durgas, human sacrifices. One of them, Kalighat, gave the name to modern Calcutta. In the Dravidian south, the ritual slaughter of a buffalo was performed in honor of the mother goddess.

Like waves of cosmic destruction
took shape and began to dance,
Rudra began his dance in space.
While I was watching Rudra dance, I saw a shadow behind him.
“How can a shadow exist without the Sun?” - I thought.
While I was thinking, this shadow came forward and began to dance.
Space danced behind the earth's dimensions.
With her dance she created and destroyed Universes moment by moment.

"Yoga Vasishtha"

Goddess Durga - one of the main, especially revered goddesses in the Vedic pantheon. She represents the energy that opposes the forces that threaten prosperity and the bright Dharma. It also manifests itself as a force that destroys the Universe before a new Creation, due to which the cycles of existence of the universe change. Durga is a manifestation of the feminine divine principle - shakti. The female part of the Vedic pantheon of gods, all the diversity of its goddesses is only a reflection of the numerous aspects of the powerful power of shakti. Durga is characterized by determination, perseverance in achieving the intended goal, invincibility, and an ardent desire to overcome opposing forces on the Path. She creates and destroys, shows humility and at the same time insubordination, dresses in bright good qualities and at the same time can show rage and instill fear. She is the tutelary mother goddess. In order to restore Dharma and harmony in this world, the gods united their forces into a single one.

Black, terrifying, quick as thought, red, the color of thick smoke, Sparkling - the goddess in all forms - these are the seven playing tongues (flames)

Manduka Upanishad, Book I, Chapter II, Text 4

Goddess Durga: the meaning of the name

The name “Durga” (Sanskrit: दुर्गा) translated means ‘incomprehensible’, ‘invincible’, ‘impregnable’, like a fortress.

Her names are also Devi, Shakti, Kali, Parvati, Adi Parashakti, Amba, Bhairavi and others. Durga-ashtottara-shatanama-stotra (Hymn of the One Hundred and Eight Names of Durga) contains a list of 108 names of the goddess by which she is worshiped. Let's list some of them: Agnijvala (spitting out fiery flames), Anekashastrahasta (many-armed), Bhavini (beautiful), Bhavani (who gave birth to the Universe), Jaya (victorious), Kriya (active), Sundari (magnificent), Trinetra and Triyambeka (three-eyed), Vikrama (the most severe). Among the avatars of Durga, her incarnations are known under the names Kali, Bhagavati, Bhavana, Ambika, Lalita, Gauri, Kandalini, Java, Rajeswari.

Durga Energy

In the human energy system, the power of Durga is oriented to the area of ​​the Anahata chakra, for it is the revealed pure Anahata that gives us fearlessness. He, under the protection of the great goddess Durga, who exhibits this quality in life, is full of confidence, steadfastness and determination and never allows a feeling of fear in his heart, which is at the lowest level of energy among all those caused by the feelings and emotions that arise in a person in our world. And confidence, courage and determination in pure intentions are a transitional step to higher divine energies. Do not allow manifestations of fear, servility and self-abasement in your heart, let your life be filled with the bright energies of love, wisdom and a decisive desire for the common good.

After all, what do you emit in the world, then it manifests itself in it - this is the space you create around yourself; and complaints about fate, unluckiness, also accompanied by blaming others for their troubles, will definitely not create favorable energies around you and will not change the situation, you need to firmly understand that the responsibility for everything that happens to us lies only with ourselves, Therefore, it is important to start living consciously and with a clearly defined purpose for your life, so that life does not turn into selfish vegetation, but, on the contrary, becomes for you the Path of self-development, the evolutionary ascent of the Spirit and the introduction of goodness into the world around you.

Durga in Vedic scriptures and puranas

Mentions of Goddess Durga are found in the Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Taittiriya Aranyaka, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Yoga Vasishtha and other texts. The Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati) describes Durga as the force opposing the demon Mahishasura, who is the personification of demonic forces - here the feminine aspect of God is extolled.

This legend is also reflected in the ancient texts Devibhavata Purana and Markandeya Purana. Durga is also mentioned in the Skanda Purana, Bhavana Upanishad, and Kurma Purana.

Durga - Mahishasura Mardini

The above designation means "Durga - Asura Mahisha's Killer". According to legend, in the old days there was a demonic entity - Mahishasura, born of a buffalo, who conquered all the worlds and received protection from the god Brahma himself, gaining immortality: no one could kill him, but a woman was not mentioned in this blessing, since the asura did not expect for himself danger from her, thus he was protected from everyone except women. When the demon, bursting with pride from exorbitant strength and power, expelled the gods from their abodes, they turned to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva for protection and help in confronting Mahishasura,

Narayana showed his divine blessing, and Durga came to our world as the savior. She filled the entire Universe with herself. The gods paid homage to her, and after blessed hymns were sung to her, she issued a menacing cry for the death of Mahisha. In a battle with Mahishasura’s army, she killed his warriors one after another, until it was Mahisha’s turn, lassoing him with a noose, she cut off his head with a sword. Goddess Durga defeated the demon and restored balance and harmony in the Universe.

From Hari descended a divine radiance, with the power of light like a thousand suns, then the radiance of all the inhabitants of the third sky (the heavenly worlds of Indra) came into being. All these radiances, having united, turned into a woman, with a face born from the light of Shambhu, hair - from the radiance of Yama, Vishnu - from the hands, and from the radiance of Brahma - from the feet.<…>Thus, from the sparkling power of all the gods, the goddess Mahishasuramardini was born

Devibhagavata Purana, book 10, chapter 12

The original version of the myth about the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahisha is contained in the Mahabharata, book III, chapter 221. However, in this legend of the Aranyaka Parva, Skanda wins the victory over the demon Mahisha. The Ramayana also describes a similar tale about the demon Dundubhi taking the form of a buffalo - “Mahisamrupam”. Books V and XII of the Devibhagavatapurana narrate the slaying of Mahishasura by the goddess Durga. The myth is also presented in the Kalika Purana, but with slight differences from the Devi-Bhagavatam version.

Durga devi

Its original essence is Adi Parashakti - this is an incomprehensible state of being, and at the same time of non-existence - a certain force that precedes the creation of the Universe and a force present after the destruction of the world. Durga, as a manifestation of the feminine aspect of the divine essence, personifies the energy of life.

In the Vedic pantheon there are many goddesses who personify the light power of the mother goddess in its various manifestations. Thus, the wife of Shiva appears in both merciful aspects: Parvati, Sati, Uma; and in formidable ones - like Kali and Durga. But these are only aspects of a single divine essence, and not separate deities.

Description of the shakti energy of Durga in “Yoga Vasishtha” - the “dance of life” of the goddess Durga

Because she shows anger towards unrighteousness, she is called Chandika. Since her color is like the blue lotus, she is called Utpala. She is Jaya because she always wins. Siddha - because it is full of perfections. Durga - because her real nature is beyond our understanding. She is called Uma because she is the essence of the sacred sound OM. She is Gayatri because her names are sung by everyone. She is white, yellow or red, so she is Gauri. She is Bindukala (the ray of the Moon), as she resides in the ray of light on the subtle vibration of OM

“Yoga Vasishtha”, chapter 6 “On liberation”

Goddess Kali, or Durga, is described in Yoga Vasishtha as the shadow of Rudra, manifested at the moment of destruction of the world. According to the ancient scripture “Yoga Vasishtha”, the primordial pure Consciousness perceives itself as a result of the movement that arose in it. This leads to the emergence of duality and limitations in the perception of this world, only by freeing oneself from which one can achieve liberation. Rudra is the embodiment of destruction of the Universe. He is darkness incarnate, shining with inner light, in motion within itself, like air in space, and in every living creature he is their breath and life. Vasishtha describes to Rama the moment of destruction of the universe, when Rudra appears, the essence of which is the space of the Universe, pure Consciousness, and only after the end of movement in space is harmony and balance achieved. This movement is symbolically represented as the dance of Rudra, whose shadow comes out in front of him and begins its dance in space, creating and destroying, changing forms in the blink of an eye, and its manifestations in all their diversity are incomprehensible to the mind. It was the goddess Kali, aka Bhagavati, Durga, whose appearance was similar to a dark night, as if the entire endless space of the universe was embodied in her. She wore a necklace made from the skulls of demons she had defeated. Her form was elusive to the eye and changed instantly; she grew larger during her dance.

Everything in space was spinning in the endless dance of the goddess. All space danced - all dimensions, all worlds. Kalaratri appeared as the unity of diversity, night and day, creation and destruction, light and darkness. In her dance, all Universes were created and destroyed again every moment. This is how the fierce power of the goddess manifested itself. The space felt like endless calm, this was Shiva. Because Consciousness itself cannot be manifested without movement within it. This movement, a certain vibration in space, dynamic energy is, in essence, its nature, Prakriti, Jaganmaya, inseparable from it. The dance of the goddess personifies this cosmic movement in space. Just as air and fire are felt only in movement, so pure consciousness knows itself in movement. This is the power of life. The intention of divine Consciousness. The dance continues as long as there is this intention. As soon as this energy comes into contact with the divine pure Consciousness - God, it merges with it. “The energy of Consciousness dances until it sees the brilliance of Nirvana. When she realizes Consciousness, she becomes pure Consciousness.” This is how the true essence of the goddess Durga is described in Yoga Vasishtha.

Image of Goddess Durga

Durga - warrior goddess, tirelessly opposing the demonic nature, which is why she is always depicted holding a weapon in her hands different types, received to her from the gods: Shiva gave her a trident, Vishnu - a chakra (disk), Brahma - a kamandalu, Varuna - a shankha, Indra - an arrow, Yama - a danda, Kala - a sword, Vishvakarman - a battle axe. This weapon personifies the means of combating the forces that impede the Path.

She is depicted riding a lion or tiger. The lion is the vahana (mount) of Durga, symbolizing the powerful life force and Durga's control over this force.

Goddess Durga has between eight and eighteen arms. The three eyes of the goddess symbolize the Sun, Moon and Fire - the past, present and future, which are ruled by Durga.

Images of Durga are presented in many temples in India, in particular, the mother goddess in seven forms - Saptamartkasa, or in eight - Ashtamatrika (in Nepal). Also, relief carved stone scenes from the Devi Mahatmya can be seen in the temples of Varanasi. She can also be depicted in one of her aspects of manifestation with certain attributes characteristic of a specific manifestation of the goddess Durga, a description of which will be given later in our article.

Nine forms of Goddess Durga (Navadurga)

Goddess Durga can be manifested in nine different aspects, in each of her forms Durga appears with unique features and character. In Sanskrit these nine manifestations are called "navadurga". Let's look at the 9 forms of goddess Durga separately. These are various manifestations feminine energy(shakti).

1. Shailaputri(Śailaputrī शैलपुत्री)

The name of this manifestation of the goddess means "daughter of the mountains." Also in this form she bears the names Parvati, Sati Bhavani, daughter of Daksha, and Hemavati (daughter of the king of the Himalayas - Hemavan). This is the most auspicious form of Goddess Durga. In the images, Shailaputri is represented riding a bull, holding a lotus in one hand (a symbol of pure spiritual knowledge, enlightenment), and a trident in the other (a symbol of the trinity of the universe, three worlds in unity).

ॐOM Shailaputryai Namahॐ

2. Brahmacharini(Brahmachāriṇī व्रह्मचारणी)

The name of the second manifestation of Durga is translated as "observing austerity with good intentions." Her other names are: Uma, Tapascharini, Aparna. The austerity performed by the goddess was aimed at becoming the consort of Shiva. In this form, she brings enlightening energy, happiness, prosperity to the world, and sends down divine grace. Leads the way spiritual development to Moksha. She is depicted as a maiden in light clothes, holding a rosary and a jug of water in her hands.

ॐOM Brahmacharinyai Namahॐ

3. Chandraghanta(Candraghaṇṭā चन्द्रघन्टा)

The third form of Durga is called Chandraghanta; this name consists of two words: “chandra” (‘moon’) and “hanta” (‘bell’). Also called as Chandaganta and Chandamunda. Chandraghanta terrifying demons with the sound of the bell is a manifestation of the terrifying aspect of Durga. The goddess in this appearance represents calm, peace and prosperity in life. Beautiful, with a golden shining face, with a crescent moon on her head, Chandraghanta sits on a lion, she is depicted in this form, usually with ten hands: one hand is depicted in the “jnana mudra” gesture, the second in the gesture of blessing, in others she holds a lotus flower, a trident, a scepter (a symbol of power), a jug of water and a weapon. Her three eyes control everything that happens in the world, and if necessary, she is always ready to resist the ignorance that gives rise to various manifestations of dark forces in our world; the weapons in her hands will help her with this: an arrow, a goad, a knife with a rounded tip. Depicted riding a lion.

ॐOM Chandraghantayai Namahॐ

4. Kushmanda(Kuśamāṇḍā कुशमन्दा)

In this form, Durga is the goddess who revives the Universe in a new Creation, therefore the meaning of her name is “creator of the universe.” Another name for this form is Ashtabhuja. She has eight (sometimes ten) hands, in them she holds a lotus, a weapon (bow, arrow), a rosary, a shining chakra (the personification of the radiance that illuminates the world), a jug and a vessel with water, and a mace. Rides on a lion, representing strength, power and courage.

ॐOM Kushmandayai Namahॐ

5. Skandamata(Skandamātā स्कन्दमाता)

The name of this form means "mother of Skanda", Kartikeya, who, together with the gods, opposed the demons. Manifested as a mother, Durga in this form personifies the energies of maternal care and protection. She is depicted riding a lion, as four-armed and with three eyes, with one hand she holds her son, the second is folded in a gesture of blessing, and with the rest she holds lotus flowers.

ॐOM Skandamatre Namahॐ

6. Katyani(Kātyāyanī कात्यायनी)

The sixth manifestation of Durga (daughter of the sage Katya) also sits on a lion, has four hands: two in a gesture of blessing, the third holds a knife, the fourth holds a lotus. In this form, revealed as a loving daughter, she is also the protector of the Dharma.

ॐOM Katyayanyai Namahॐ

7. Kalaratri(Kālarātrī कालरात्री)

This manifestation of the goddess is also known as "Shubhamkari" - "doer of good." She is depicted, as a rule, in an ominous form, with tousled black hair, three eyes, four arms, her breath bursts with fiery flames, her Necklace sparkles with lightning. She sits on a donkey. She has a vajra in one hand and a dagger in the other. She uses this weapon in confronting the forces that darken consciousness and give rise to ignorance. Both of her right hands are folded in gestures of blessing and protection, thereby symbolizing protection from the darkness of ignorance and selfish self-conditioning that hinder the Path of all those striving for spiritual self-improvement.

ॐOM Kalaratryai Namahॐ

8. Mahagauri(Mahāgaurī महागौरी)

The name means "absolutely bright." Radiant with divine beauty, clad in white robes, Mahagauri bestows the deepest sense of inner peace. This form of the appearance of Parvati, the wife of Shiva, who cleansed her body, covered with dust, with the pure waters of the Ganga River, due to the long stay of the goddess performing asceticism in a motionless state. She is depicted with four arms. He holds a trident in his hands, a small drum - a damaru, two hands in gestures of blessing and protection. She sits astride a bull.

ॐOM Mahagauryai Namahॐ

9. Siddhidatri(Siddhidātrī सिद्धिदात्री)

The last, ninth form of Durga is called “the bestower of superpowers.” In this manifestation she gives wisdom. Depicted sitting on a lotus. In her four hands she holds a mace, a disc (sudarshana chakra), symbolizing infinity and timelessness, a conch shell (shankha), symbolizing longevity, and a lotus. In the image, she is surrounded by devas, asuras, gandharvas, yakshasas, siddhas, paying respect to the goddess.

ॐOM Siddhidatryai Namahॐ

These nine forms of Durga are worshiped during the Durga Navratri celebrations, each separately for nine days.

Durga Navratri and Durga Puja

As one of the most revered goddesses in India, Durga is dedicated to numerous festivals, celebrated several times a year. The most famous are the four-day Durga Puja and the nine-day Durga Navratri. These days in India, people celebrate Durga's victory over demonic forces, which is accompanied by the chanting of certain mantras, readings of scriptures and other events glorifying the goddess.

Durga Puja , celebrated over four days, the celebration occurs in September or October, depending on which month in a particular year it falls on the lunar-solar calendar. So, in 2018 it was celebrated from October 15 to 19, in the upcoming 2019 the celebration will take place from October 4 to 8. During the celebrations, temples are decorated in honor of Durga, appropriate decorations are installed, processions are held, which end with the symbolic immersion of the Durga statue in the waters of a river or ocean, thus marking farewell to her and the return to her abode, to divine Kailash.

Durga Navratri is a nine-day festival in India, held annually on certain dates during the period from September 17 to October 17. This time was not chosen by chance, as it falls during the period when the autumn equinox occurs. Sharada Navratri yagya is performed at this time. During the spring equinox, another holiday dedicated to the victory over demons is celebrated - Vasanta Nava. Depending on the specific region in India, this holiday is celebrated in different ways. This holiday is dedicated to the victory of the goddess Durga in the battle with the demon Mahishasura, which lasted nine days, and the tenth day is marked by the fact that she kills him.

As a rule, during the celebrations there are stage performances of the legend reflecting the victory of Durga over the demon Mahishasura. A significant event of the festival is the burning of a statue representing demonic forces on the last 10th day of Vijayadashami. In 2018, Navratri was celebrated from October 10 to 18, the 10th day of the holiday was October 19. In 2019, Durga Navaratri will be held from September 29 to October 8.

During the celebrations of Durga Navratri and Durga Puja, the goddess is honored with all her 108 names.

Each day of the festival is named after one of the forms of Navadurga. 1st day of Shailaputri. 2nd - Brahmacharini, etc.

Durga Mantras

In addition to the mantras chanted for each of the nine forms of Durga during Navratri celebrations, there are also mantras for Durga that invoke the energies of the goddess corresponding to her specific aspects.

Om Dum Durgaya Namaha - the mantra is capable of transforming negative energies into light and pure ones.

Om Aim Hrim Klim Chamundaye Vicchey Namah Om - destroying evil in its various aspects.

Om Girijayay Vidmahe

Shivapriyayay Dhimahi

Tanno Durga Prachodayat

This mantra provides protection from dark forces, protects from misfortunes and destroys obstacles on the Path.

Durga Yantra

As the mother of all things, whose energy manifests itself in both creative and destructive aspects, Durga personifies harmony and balance in the Universe, maintaining the cyclical nature of its existence. Durga Yantra is a kind of geometric structure that carries vibrations of the divine energy that Durga personifies.

In the center of the Durga Yantra there is a nine-pointed star consisting of four triangles (as in the Sri Yantra). Three triangles, located with their vertices up, are a symbol of the creative creative energies of our Universe - the gods are symbolically represented, and; the fourth triangle reflects the essence of the feminine creative principle - this is a symbol of the divine energy of the goddess Durga, uniting all the powers of the Trimurti gods. At the intersection of all four outer triangles, personifying divine energies, a triangle is formed in the center of the yantra - a symbol of the manifestation of the goddess Durga herself in our world, containing all aspects of divine power.

In the center of the yantra is the bindu point - the divine light of the goddess Durga. The star is surrounded by an eight-petalled lotus, the petals of which symbolize fire, air, water, earth, space-akasha, mind-intellect, subconscious, superconscious. The three circles in which the central element is inscribed represent the past, present and future. Representing the material manifest world, with four sides symbolizing the four primary elements, the outer protective square bhupur is made in golden color, it symbolizes the radiance of divine light.

Meditation on the Durga Yantra will allow you to come into contact on a subtle plane with the power of the divine mother Durga. The energies of the goddess Durga are invoked using this image. She comes to the aid of those who have difficulties on the Path of spiritual development. After all, difficulties are the creation of demonic forces of nature that create obstacles in comprehending the bright truths of spiritual knowledge, thus, overcoming them, we gain experience and move forward along the Path of the evolution of consciousness.

P.S. In conclusion, I would like to note that in modern world, space is literally saturated with the energies of enmity, hatred and violence, therefore it is extremely important to cultivate bright, pure, sublime ideals of love and all-acceptance, and also strive to do everything possible to create a bright future, first of all, of course, starting with yourself - ennobling feelings, selflessness and dedication for the common good, dissemination of knowledge about healthy life, which applies not only to health physical body, but also the Spirit - because, undoubtedly, it is important, first of all, to be a worthy example to follow. Change yourself - the world around you will change. The essence of the victory of the goddess Durga over demons is to overcome manifestations of ignorance and absorption of consciousness by avidya.

Durga, with her divine power, provides protection for the forces of light from various negative manifestations. Goddess Durga teaches us precisely the manifestation of virtuous qualities, for only by getting rid of egoism and avidya, which are the main reason for the emergence and pressure of demonic forces over us, which are cruelty, various bad inclinations, injustice, greed, envy, pride and others, we We establish ourselves in true knowledge and comprehension of the essence of existence.