Durga Bhakti Tarangini

  Devī Śāradā or Vidyāvāgeśvarī Kālī  Introduction:-  [[ Kashmir Sharada Picture]]  The region Kashmir (Kāśmīra) is remembered as a place of studying Śāstra from ancient times. There are many Śākta pilgrimage sites or Śaktipīṭhas in Kashmir as it is one of the main region of Śaktism. The Nipātina Saṃhitā describes 22 Śaktipīṭhas of Kashmir. Śāradā Pīṭha is one of the most famous Satī Pīṭha among them. The residing goddess of the Śāradā Pīṭha is Devī Śāradā or Vāgavādinīkālī. That sacred Pīṭha is situated at neelum vally near Neelam river in Kashmir. The goddess Śāradā is a most important deity in the Uttarāmnāya or Kāśmīra Kālīkula. According to the Niruttara Tantra, she is a Mahāvidyā,  काली नीला महादुर्गा त्वरिता छिन्नमस्तका वाग्वादिनी चान्नपूर्णा तथा प्रत्यङ्गिरा पुनः । कामाख्यावासिनी बाला मातङ्गी शैलवासिनी इत्याद्याद्या सकला देव्यः कलौ पूर्णफलप्रदाः ॥  Here Vāgavādinī is none other than Kāśmīra Śāradā. Thereafter it states about the Mahāvidyās of Kālīku...

  A Brief Overview on Kālīkula   ॥ कालीरूपं महेशानी साक्षात् कैवल्यप्रदायिनी ॥  Introduction:-  In Śaktism and Śaivism (Kāśmīrī), "Kula" is a famous term. Kaula system is associated with Śaktism and Trika Śaivism. But what is Kula ?  Shortly, Kula means the doctrine where a specific Goddess form of Ādi Parāśakti with her consort Śiva (in Trika Philosophy, he is Paramaśiva) , Āvaraṇa Devatās (The deities who live in the Circular group around Devī), Parivāra Devatās (family deities) are worshipped. The person who observes the Kula system is called as Kaula or Kaulika.  अकुलं शिव इत्युक्तं कुलं शक्तिः प्रकीर्त्तिता। कुलाकुलानुसन्धानान्निपुणाः कौलिकाः प्रिये ।।  [[ Reference:- Kulārṇava tantra : 17th Ullāsa, 27th Śloka]]  “Akula is Śiva, Kula is Śakti: O my beloved, those who are intent in the meditation on Kula and Akula are Kaulikas." Then Kālīkrama or Kālīkula means the path where Goddess Kālī with her consort Mahākāla (a form of Sadāśiva), her Āva...

  Goddess Siddhalakṣmī : An Introduction  Goddess Siddhalakṣmī   [[ Thanks to Mr. Animesh Nagar, Honourable Indologist and Professor for helping us to write this article. We are grateful to you sir.]] Introduction:-  [[ Goddess Siddhalakṣmī in modern art]]   According to Śākta Texts, the number of Mahāvidyās (primordial deities in Śaktism) are uncountable. The Muṅḍamālā Tantra says there are seven crore Mahāvidyās and unlimited Upavidyās. Some of them belong to Kālīkrama, some belong to Śrīkula or Saubhāgyakrama, some are in other Kramas. Siddhalakṣmī is a renowned Mahāvidyā. She is a manifestation of Ādi Parāśakti. She belongs to Kālīkrama or Kālīkula. She is one of the main deities of Uttara Āmnāya (Northern Tantric Tradition). Goddess Siddhalakṣmī is also known as Pratyāṅgirā (प्रत्याङ्गिरा), Caṇḍakāpālinī (चण्डकापालिनी) and Śivā (शिवा). According to the Śrī Tridaśaḍāmara Mahātantra, she is addressed as Siddhalakṣmī-Pratyāṅgirā in Jayadratha Yāmala Tantra (जय...

  Vaishnodevi : Reviews on Historical and Shastriya evidences  गोभिर्जुष्टमयुजो निषिक्तं तवेन्द्र विष्णोरनुसंचरेम । नाकस्य पृष्ठमभि संवसानो वैष्णवीं लोक इह मादयन्ताम् ॥७॥ [[ Reference:- Durgā Sūkta: Taittirīyāraṇyaka 4, Prapāṭhaka 10, Anuvāka 2]]  Introduction  :-   "Vaiṣṇo Devī" is one of the famous pilgrimages in Śaktism. It is situated at Trikūṭa peak, Katra in Jammu and Kashmir. Vasanta and Śāradīya Navarātras are the important periods for the journey towards Vaiṣṇo Devī temple. There are many misconceptions about this temple. Those were created through a huge historical conspiracy. We are going to talk about these below.  [[ Goddess Bhīḍā — Śāstrīya form of Vaiṣṇo Devī ]] Naming of Vaiṣṇo Devī :-   The term "Vaiṣṇo Devī" or "Vaishnodevi" has derived from a Tadbhava hindi term which came from Sanskrit. The original term is "Vaiṣṇavī" . There are also misconceptions about the meaning of the term. Some people say that Vaiṣṇavī means who worship...

Oḍiyāna Mahāpīṭha   4 Ādi Śaktipīṭhas  Introduction:-  According to many Śākta Texts, 4 places are considered to be the origins of Śaktism. They are called as "Caturādiśaktipīṭha" . They are the main scared seats where Kula, Krama and kaula systems, Āgamas were arised. Kubjikāmata Tantra, Jayadratha Yāmala Tantra, Umā Yāmala Tantra, Manthan Bhairava Tantra, Ambāmata Saṃhitā, Āmnāya Mañjarī etc many ancient Śākta Āgamas mentioned and described these Pīṭhas. These seats are also mentioned in the lists of the Pīṭhas of Mahāpurāṇas and Upapurāṇas (Brahmāṇḍa, Brahmavaivarta, Devībhāgavata, Kālikā, Skanda, Padma etc). Some of later worked texts after 12th century such as Pīṭhanirṇaya tantra also quoted these.  The Pīṭhas are :- Oḍiyāna, Kāmarūpa, Jalandhara and Pūrṇagiri.  We shall talk about these Pīṭhas in a few posts.  Oḍiyāna Mahāpīṭha:-  The first Pīṭha is Oḍiyāna. It is also known as Oḍḍiyāna, Oḍḍīśa, Oḍḍiyānaka, Oṃkārapīṭha, Auṇapīṭha, Uḍḍiyāna etc....