Re: Mother Divine and Grahas:Bhuvaneshvarī
Hari Om
~~~~~
The graha-s associated with the daśa mahāvidyā
- Kālī (Saturn)
- Tara (Jupiter)
- Tripurasundari (Mercury)
- Bhuvaneshvari (Moon)
- Tripura Bhairavi (Lagna or one's ascendant)
- Chinnamasta (Rahu)
- Dhumavati (Ketu)
- Bagalamukhi ( Mars)
- Matangi (Sun)
- Kamalatmika (Venus)
namaste,
Next in the list of daśa mahāvidyā-s or the 10 great (Maha) forms of power or knowledge (vidyā) is Bhuvaneshvarī . She aligns with Chandra or Soma we know as the Moon.
She is associated with and owns ākāśa¹ yet there is more to Her then space. As mentioned in the post on Tara, who aligns with Jupiter (Guru) - Jupiter is most often aligned with ākāśa. Yet from a mahāvidyā orientation Bhuvaneshvarī is associated with vastness, space, and hence ākāśa. Lets look just a bit deeper on this matter.
We know that the Supreme is associated with effulgence, brilliance, pure light , some call this prakāśa¹. When this Absolute, anuttara manifests prakāśa becomes ākāśa. This is the 1st of the pañca mahābhūta-s (or the 5 great elements) Without space, there is no container for creation to exist in. It is the most ubiquitous and suble element that is open to our awareness.
Who cannot see or comprehend space? Even those who lack eye-sight are well aware of the space things reside in. The space , ākāśa, is the medium through which light (prakāśa) moves.
It said sṛṣṭi¹ (creation) proceeds from dṛṣṭi¹ (vision or sight), fueled by prakāśa. Why do mention this? Bhuvaneshvarī is also this power of perception. The Divine turns towards Creation and sees (dṛṣṭi) Himself. This Self-referral we talked of in the above posts called vimṛiśa, self reflection, leads to vastness or ākāśa.
For the Supreme to look upon, dṛṣṭi, Him-Her-Self (Śrī Devī + Śiva) S/he can only see vastness, unboundedness. And in the relative level of life (vs. the pure Absolute) this brings ākāśa, fueled by the śakti of perception, Bhuvaneshvarī.
Now that we know that , we can have a better appreciation for her name Bhuvaneshvarī. We look to the core of her name bhuvana. This word means the world i.e. creation, from the root bhū, becoming or come into being , exist. And eshvarī is from īśvara - Lord or īś = to rule¹. Since Bhuvaneshvarī is female śakti this is then īśvarī, still the ruler or Lord, yet feminine gender.
So Bhuvaneshvarī is Mother Divine that provides the space for bhū (becoming) to occur, and this becoming is sṛṣṭi (creation). Because this ākāśa is everywhere She then is everywhere, part of Her Creation.
From a vedic POV the experts recognize Bhuvaneshvarī as Aditi. A+diti is a=not + didi=division or split. Hence Aditi is wholeness, fullness, bhuma. Another name for this fullness is bṛhat. It is said when one talks of Reality, the Supreme, this fullness, it is called satyam ṛtam bṛhat. That is the Truth, the Right and the Vast.
Since Bhuvaneshvarī is the vast, she is bṛhat and aligned to ākāśa. Hence Aditi has no division or split just like ākāśa and hence is considered Bhuvaneshvarī.
For me, then when I look at the graha-s it is time or Kālī (Saturn) + space or Bhuvaneshvarī ( Moon) that provides the fabric for name and form to occur. It is also interesting that Saturn (śani) owns vāyu (air) tattva. It is the 2nd tattva arising after ākāśa. It is through these tatva's ( vāyu + ākāśa) that names are able to be voiced (sabhā¹ - speech , language) and form (rūpa¹ can come into existence and make human beings possible i.e. name and form or all of creation.
Where else do we see this vastness called out? As Viṣṇu - the all pervading (vastness) Being. We find him called out in the Rig Veda (ṛgveda) 1st mandala 1.22 as Viṣṇu's stride¹ (his steps) are the cause/birth of the universe. All this is the vastness of Bhuvaneshvarī as Viṣṇu is married to Aditi a.k.a. Bhuvaneshvarī and other times is the son of Aditi , mother of 8 Adityas including Vishnu and other shining ones.
So when I think of this ākāśa & the principles of Bhuvaneshvarī I have a greater appreciation why many call it the Body Of Brahman, the Supreme, or para-vyoman¹.
praṇām
words and references
- prakāśa प्रकाश - clearness , brightness , splendour , lustre ; universally noted , famous , celebrated ;shining , bright
- ākāśa आकाश- free or open space , vacuity ; the ether , sky or atmosphere ; some times this is associated with antarikṣa अन्तरिक्ष or the intermediate space between heaven and earth; the middle of the three regions of life; the atmosphere or sky
- para पर- exceeding (in number or degree) , more than ; beyond
- vyoman व्योमन् - space, ether, heaven , sky
- sṛṣṭi सृष्टि- production , procreation , creation , the creation of the world
- dṛṣṭi दृष्टि- seeing , viewing , beholding (also with the mental eye) sight , the faculty of seeing; wisdom , intelligence
- vimarśa विमर्श- knowledge , intelligence ; also vimṛiśa - considered reflection, consideration; this mṛiśita is reflected on or considered; vi by itself as a root is moksh - to set free, liberate. Hence we arive at Self-Awareness. Some say a name of Śiva.
- bhuvana भुवन- the world , which means 'creation' in general; phycial existence. It also means a being , living creature , man , mankind
- bhū भू - to manifest; becoming , being , come into being , arising ; animate , enliven , refresh , encourage , promote
- bṛhat बृहत् - vast, great, large, wide, abundant; extended or bright (as a luminous body)
- īś ईश् means to rule , reign; to be master of; , command; and īśa ईष is a servant of Śiva शिव
- ambara अम्बर - sky , atmosphere, ether ; circumference , compass, neighbourhood
- ambā अम्बा - a mother , good woman (as a title of respect); of a daughter of a king
- śabda शब्द- speech , language ; to utter a sound , raise the voice
- rūpa रूप - form , shape , figure ; any outward appearance or phenomenon or colour ; having the form or appearance or colour of - " formed or composed of " or "consisting of "
- Viṣṇu विष्णु - 3 steps pace out bhu ( earth) , antarikśa ( mid region) and dyu or heaven; also as Vāmana वामन dwarfish , small or short in stature who takes 3 steps.
Last edited by yajvan; 07 March 2011 at 01:14 PM.
Reason: improvements
यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
Bookmarks