Today Begins Navarātri

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namaste

Today, Monday (Soma vāsara owned by Soma or Chandr, the moon) begins navarātri , some call this maha-navarātri or Durgā-navarātri.

This begins on the first tithi (prajapada) of the bright half ( śukla) of the month of of āśvin. This is a 9 day celebration of Mother Divine ( Śrī Devī, Durgā, Pārvatī, Śaivī, śakti, etc.) in Her 9 forms and ends on the 10th day called vijaya dasami.
Vijaya विजय is victory , triumph, daśmi is the 10th tithi. This is the day of Durgā's triumph over Mahiśasura: mahiśa + asura or the asura (demon) mahiśa ( the bufflo). This story is found in the Devī Māhātmya,consisting of chapters of 13 chapters and located in the Mārkandeya Purāṇa ( I have yet to read it). Ref. for an on-line copy http://sdbbs.tripod.com/devi.html


This 10th tithi dasami is a most excellent day for us as humans for success for accomplishment.

More posts on maha-navarātri or Durgā-navarātri to follow. I hope others will add to this and give us their views on this time and what they may being doing during these 9 days.






pranams


words

• navarātri - navan नवन् or nine + rātri रात्रि night. rātri रात्रि is rooted in rā which means to grant , bestow to grant , give or impart ; navan नवन् is also nava also means new , fresh , recent , young; praise , celebration
• Mahiśasura: mahiśa महिष- a buffalo, also means great, powerful and a mountain + asura असुरa demon, evil opposed to the deva-s
• śukla शुक्ल - is white, spotless
• durgatināśinī = durgā

[bhargavsai]

Namaste Yajvan Ji,

Navaratri is starting on Tuesday i.e 30 September 2008 isn't it? And the Viajaya Dashami is on 9th of October according to English calender isn't it?

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Now coming to Navaratri celebrations, my father is a devotee of Kaali Maata. We have a big photo of her, and she is the prime diety we worship. These 9 days are very auspicious for my family and me.

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Om Namaha Shivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namaste


ॐ ऐंह्रींक्लींचामुण्डायैविच्चे
oṁ aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍayāi vicce
Navārna Mantra is also known as Chaṇḍī or Navakshari

Nine forms of Shakti are worshipped during the Navaratri. The Devī's worship will depend on the tradition of the family (kaula), the region, etc. Yet here are 9 forms of Śrī Devī . Please feel free to add to the list.

• Durgā दुर्गा - is durgatināśinī दुर्गतिनाशिनी - removing distress -She that removes distress; Durgā दुर्गा defined as the incomprehensible, difficult to reach; some consider Her the Invincible Goddess.
• Bhadra-kālī - bhadra भद्र blessed , auspicious , fortunate , prosperous , happy fair , beautiful , lovely , pleasant , dear + kālī black. Here is also we could add dakṣina kālī. This dakṣina means straight forward, candid, sincere, also right facing.
• Ambā अम्बा - is mother; She, the Divine Mother.
• Annapūrṇa - anna अन्न is food + पूर्ण pūrṇa meaning filled or full. She that nourishes fully.
• Sarvamaṅgala - sarva सर्व is whole, entire all + maṅgala or auspicious. She who is auspicious ( or joyful) to all
• Bhairavi is the śakti of Bhairava. This fear bhī is to fear or to be afraid or anxious. Kasmir Shaivism's orientation is Bhairava liberates beings from the fear. Fear of what? Saṁsāra birth after birth.And He illumines everything with His bhā - bhā means to shine or to be bright or luminous.
  This ravi रवि we also know that the sun, brightness. It is She , with Her brightness, removes fear (bhī).
• Lalita - laliti ललित is sport, play, innocent , soft , gentle , charming , lovely . She that is gentle, charming, sporting.
• Bhavani - Bhava भव means coming into existence. It also means prosperity , welfare , excellence , well-being , prosperity , welfare , excellence.
  We can see it is She that offers welfare and well-being. Another way to view this IMHO is bhā + vani. If we look at bhā भा, it means light or a beam of light , lustre , splendour. Vani वनि means bestow. Bhavani then is She that bestows light, luster ( or enlightenment, health, etc)
• Chaṇḍī चण्डी or Caṇḍīka - This word is considered a passionate, spirited woman.
• Mūkāmbikā - I am not certain on this name. I belive this Mūkā or mūka is related to mukhya ( primary) or mukta which means liberated or free.
  We know ambikā अम्बिका is mother, a good woman. Combined Mūkāmbikā is the Prime Mother, or the Mother of Liberation (mokṣa). This sylable mū मू is binding or tieing i.e. bondage. Ka क has multiple meanings and I would be guessing on this application of ka क.

pranams

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste Yajvan Ji,

Navaratri is starting on Tuesday i.e 30 September 2008 isn't it? And the Viajaya Dashami is on 9th of October according to English calender isn't it?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now coming to Navaratri celebrations, my father is a devotee of Kaali Maata. We have a big photo of her, and she is the prime diety we worship. These 9 days are very auspicious for my family and me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Om Namaha Shivaya

Namaste bhargavsai,
Hope all is well with you. I answered your question with an email to you.
Hope the reply meets with your undersanding.

Note that from my information navarātri begins on the first tithi (prajapada) of the bright half ( śukla) of the month. This occured on Monday, the 29th of September in the United States. This will run till the 10th tithi.

If for some reason my information is remiss and navarātri does not start on the 1st tithi, let me know. I have been following this dating for navarātri for some time. If I am off, it would be good to know and also understand the suggested timing of this event i.e. what other markers are used other then the calendar of the moon?


pranams

[bhargavsai]

Namaste Sir,

I do not know anything about the marking of the Navratri days. And I feel that you are absolutely right regarding the Navratri timings. Hope you have a great Navratri, and even more fabulous Vijaya Dashami.

Pranaam
Om Namaha Shivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namaste


ॐ ऐंह्रींक्लींचामुण्डायैविच्चे
oṁ aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍayāi vicce
Navārna Mantra is also known as Chaṇḍī or Navakshari


Why do I think Durgā-navarātri is important? For one practicing sādhana¹ (spirtual practice) Śrī Devī is quite helpful. How so? Lets look at three ideas.

One is from The Vijñāna Bhairava which is completely focused on sādhana¹ or yoga. The other idea is offered by Svāmi Śivānanda. Both are connected and offers two sides to the same coin. The third is related to the graha-s ( the ~ planets~).

1st Idea
the Vijñāna Bhairava kārikā-s are quite straight forward. The kārikā-s are offered as bhāvanā, infusion of the Divine into the sādhaka. Sri Bharava's intent is ātma sākṣātkāra or SELF-realization for the aspirant that choose to advance his/her sādhana. Some call this pratiprasava¹ or returning to the original state, home.

The 20th kārikā suggests the following: śaivīmukham ihocyate. Śaivī is śakti or Śrī Devī + mukham¹ is mukha - mouth, opening or aperature. And ucyate is moving, connected or joined.

So this is saying, Śakti is the entrance, the suitable way to join with Śiva. Or another way of viewing it - Śrī Devī (śakti) is the delightful (uc) entrance (mukha) to Śiva. At that moment the bhāvanā of the sādhaka becomes one with Śiva or as it says in the śloka, tadāsau Śivarūpī syāt.

The 21st kārikā confirms this as it says, just as parts of space are known by light of a lamp, or the rays of the sun in the same way
O Dear One (Pārvatī) Śiva is known through Śakti. This is why many rejoice in reading the kārikā-s. To advance ones understanding and practice to the center or madhya, which encourages pratiprasava¹.

This sets the stage for the 2nd Idea, offered by Svāmi Śivānanda.
Durgā represents the Divine Mother. She is the śakti of the Supreme, anuttara, Lord Śiva. Without Durgā, Śiva has no expression, yet without Śiva, Durgā has no being (sattā) no existence. We we all know we are talking the same Being, the same Lord, yet two aspects of Śiva-bhaṭṭāraka (bhaṭṭāra - the great lord , venerable or worshipful; bhaṭ भट् - nourish , maintain) His transcendental aspect and His śakti, this śakti is Durgā. Śivā is absolute, silence, and it is Durgā who does everything, as His omnipresent śakti, or cosmic energy.

Now that said, Svāmi Śivānanda offers the following: "A child is more familiar with the Mother then with the Father as she is kind, loving and tender, and affectionate and looks after the needs of the child. In the spiritual field also the aspirant ( the spiritual child) has an intimate relationship with the Mother (Durgā) more then with the Father (Śiva). Therefore it behooves the aspirant to approach the Mother first when introduces Her spiritual child to the Father for his illumination. The Mother's grace (anugraha) is boundless."

Svāmi Śivānanda is informing us of the same knowledge found in the Vijñāna Bhairava kārikā-s , Śiva is known through Śakti (śaivīmukham ihocyate).

The 3rd idea
As we have reviewed this is a 9 day celebration of Mother Divine in Her 9 forms and ends on the 10th day called vijaya dasami. Hence we have the 9 nights navarātri + 1 day vijaya dasami.
This 10 is significant as it suggests how Mother Divine manifests in all 10 directions as She submits Herself to time and space. We know these 10 directions as a North, Northeast, West, Nothwest, South, Southwest, East, Southeast - this gives us 8 directions + 2 more, straight up (above) and straight down (below), all 10 directions.

She as consciousness is abundant every where, yet can be grasped by the 10 senses e.g. the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, etc.

The Divine Mother is also known by 10 personalities and these 10 personalities are aligned with the graha-s . There are 9 graha ( ~planets) + 1 the lagna, for a total of 10. If you care to read a bit about each of these ten listed be low consider this HDF post:
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3226

The graha-s associated with the daśa mahāvidyā

• Kālī (Saturn)
• Tara (Jupiter)
• Tripurasundari (Mercury)
• Bhuvaneshvari (Moon)
• Tripura Bhairavi (Lagna¹ or one's ascendant)
• Chinnamasta (Rahu)
• Dhumavati (Ketu)
• Bagalamukhi ( Mars)
• Matangi (Sun)
• Kamalatmika (Venus)

pranams

words

• ucyate = yat यत् to seek to join one's self with going , moving, connected with + uc उच् to be suitable , suit , fit ; to take pleasure in , delight in , be fond of.
• mukha मुख- opening aperture , entrance into or egress out of ; the mouth , face.
• bhāvanā भावना- reflection , contemplation ; finding by combination or composition ; saturating any powder with fluid , steeping , infusion
• sādhaka साधक- effective , efficient , productive of, accomplishing , fulfilling , completing , perfecting , finishing i.e.
  the person practicing sādhana leading straight to a goal , guiding well , establishing Reality; worship, adoration
• pratiprasava प्रतिप्रसव- return to the original state

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~


ॐ ऐंह्रींक्लींचामुण्डायैविच्चे
oṁ aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍayāi vicce
Navārna Mantra is also known as Chaṇḍī or Navakshari



Namaste

Today, completes maha-navarātri or Durgā-navarātri, and is the 10th day called vijaya dasami. So 10 days have passed with the celebration of Mother Divine, of Śakti.
We know this word Śakti शक्तिand most of us think energy, strength, might. We know this śakti is the energy or active power of Śiva. We know there is not two, but this śakti is seperated from Him for explaination.
Just as one cannot separate heat from fire, or light from fire, Śiva + Śakti are united as Maheśvara, as Śiva-bhaṭṭāraka Śiva +bhaṭṭāra - the great lord, venerable or worshipful; bhaṭ भट् to nourish, maintain.

And this śakti finds its roots in śak शक् to be strong or exert one's self for another; we find this in tat kartuṁ śakyate - that can be done. As energy makes all things possible, it is at the root of all manifest creation.

pranams

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namaste


ॐ ऐंह्रींक्लींचामुण्डायैविच्चे
oṁ aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍayāivicce

An older post that may be of some use to our readers for navarātri.


इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ