 The third Navratra is dedicated to the worship of Chandraghanta, the third expression of the energy of the goddess Durga. The ten armed goddess is seated upon a tiger and holds in her hand a set of incongruous objects, ranging from a lotus and kamandal to the weapons of warfare such as sword, mace and bow and arrow. Yet her appearance and look is one of extreme calm. And two of her hands are empty, folded in a mudra of meditation. But she derives her name from her most prominent ornament, a half-moon shaped like a bell that adorns her forehead. It is the clamorous sound of this instrument being rung like a bell that beats all evil beings such as demons and instils fear in their hearts. Nonetheless as a goddess she exemplifies calm and material well-being. Her embellishments are rich and signify material comfort. In a sense she is the goddess who rids our life of obstructions and evil energy. The holder of the potent energy that is yet to be unleashed, she is also the bestower of courage upon her devotees. As a potent force and facet of the female energy, Chandraghanta claims as her own the Manipur Chakra. Symbolised by a lotus with ten petals, this chakra is also known as the "nabhi" or navel chakra. The Manipur Chakra embodies the change or conversion from simplicity to complexity. |
Posted By : Vinod Jindal on Mar 17, 2014 |
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