Mangal Mandir Jagrati Class Lesson 3

September 19, 2014

The Sanskrit meaning of Durga is the invincible. Durga Maa is the warrior aspect of Parvati Maa. Her power (shakti) contains the energies of the Gods. Each of her weapons is given to her by various Gods: Shiva’s trident, Vishnu’s chakra, Indra’s thunderbolt. She was created as a warrior Goddess to fight an asura named Mahishasura who had a boon that he could not be defeated by any man or God. Mahisha could only be killed at the hands of a woman. During the battle against Durga Maa, Mahishasura changed form many times. After ten days of fierce fighting, Durga Maa killed Mahishasura. The day of Durga’s victory is celebrated as Vijayadashmi which literally means “the victory tenth (day)”. Vijayadashmi is also celebrated to be the day that Lord Ram killed Ravan.

The nine nights preceding Vijayadashmi are celebrated as Navratri. Navratri is celebrated in different ways throughout India. One may see Durga Maa being worshipped with great pomp for nine days and then on the last day, her image is taken in processions around the locale and finally immersed in a nearby river or lake. In other parts of India, one may see the Ram Lila being performed followed by the burning of effigies of Ravana and Kumbhakarna. In Gujarat, Navratri is celebrated with prayers to Durga Maa and by dancing Garba and Dandiya-Raas dances.

In other places, Navratri is divided into sets of three days to worship different aspects of the Goddess. First three days are devoted to Durga Maa, second three days to Lakshmi Maa and the last three days to Saraswati Maa. In order to have success in all aspects of life, devotees seek the blessings of all three forms.

No matter how Vijayadashmi is celebrated, this festival is believed to be an auspicious day for anyone starting a new venture. This day signifies bringing victory to the pious and evil being vanquished.

Mangal Mandir Jagrati Class Lesson 3

September 19, 2014

Mangal Mandir Jagrati Class Lesson 3

September 19, 2014

Mangal Mandir Jagrati Class Lesson 3

September 19, 2014

Names of Durga Maa

T A J Z E L K A H I K H U F A

R Y S Y A A I N T I D L N K V

I O Q K K T K A Q R T U I A W

P X P I U O V N L F J B R U J

U G N T E A I T A A M T X I Y

R A S Y G J A A J A I J R J G

A Z C A H G M A K H A Q Y T C

Y O H C O K V C C I H Q C A O

P B F K B B A S E Y Y U L A D

I C H A N D R A G H A N T A W

N B C N A Y V J F B G J P D T

G H G N A M B A N M K A Z Y J

L L N S M U N M V I D Y A A B

A A T J Q E H D U R G A Y N C

Q X Q A A M L L A S B D F I X

AADYA

AMBA

AMBIKA

ANANTA

ANIKA

ANNADA

BHAGAVATI

CHANDRAGHANTA

CHITRA

DURGA

JAYA

PINGLA

STUTI

TRIPURA

VIDYA