Today Begins Navarātri
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
Last edited by yajvan; 30 September 2008 at 12:32 PM.
Reason: added photo and added Mārkandeya Purāṇa ref.
यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
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