DURGA PUJA @ BARISHA CLUB, 2013 : BY SANATAN DINDA

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEAVENLY !

  Momentum.... momentum ! 

And ... blessings from the celestial, much like  temple art of India.

 It was my good luck that  Ruby and I   were invited by a Group to spend a day with them during pre-Puja days to visit nine pandals-in-the-making and  help them in short-listing the better ones. Barisha Club was one of the pandals we visited. I am a keen follower of Sanatan's work - on Panchami's clear night, we ventured a visit . It was mid-night - quite a big gathering there. We could have hardly an opportunity to take photographs without  people's heads interfering or entering the frame/s. Besides, unlike last year, this year, we had  lesser space for moving around and no VIP area for photography. Therefore, I am much unhappy with the result we brought back in our cameras.

 Conch @ Entrance (LH) , Siva-Sati @ Exit (RH) .

 

The welcoming conch.

'Brikshadevi' - warning us about our abuse of nature.

No matter how much celestial blessing is there, 

NATURE need be protected.  

Offerings  at the feet of 'Brikshadevi'.

At the entrance, Sanatan installed a huge conch and a 'Brikshadevi'. A huge scroll rests on the ground wjich could not be photographed.On both the flanks, there were religious motifs, lotuses,  crawling vegetation ending ina human body lying prostrate at Devi's feet.

  Sanatan's Durga carries all  the attributes mentioned in  scripture.

Vanquished demons  pray for her forgiveness, may be salvation too !

 Photograph taken from an opening on the  path to 'Exit'. 
Better view was not possible because of a reluctant Security person.

 Devi in momentum, Mahishasura, Chanda-Munda begging for her blessing in a corner - in a typical Sanatan-style -  very small depictions of Lakshmi-Saraswati-Ganesh-Kartik.

 Totems (?)  on a mythological platter ?

Siva holds Sati (?) in a wonderful wall-relief like set-up in the exit that has been clicked thousands of times and posted in the internet by numerous photographers.

  Siva holds Sati - viewers are left to decide 

if this scene depicts Siva's sorrow on  Sati's demise !

On the left, a hollow lotus  with the idol in line of view.

We have in our HDD  more photos - to be shared - of Lakshmi-Saraswati-Ganesh-Kartik, of the demons and the ones we took when we went  during the pre-Puja visit.  In fact, several photos which we took during that visit could not be re-shot this time because of crowd. For example, the scroll lying in front of the idol.

 The scroll  must have been overlooked by many.

Wish the space management was as good as in 2012 !!

  Is  this a scene of submission of the Evil ?

I end with a photo at the bottom of the layout where lies a person with horns, painted in angry red colour, coming  from the extended  roots of the 'Brihshadevi' standing at the entrance - both the figures' hands outstretched !

TEN MANIFESTATIONS OF 'SUPREME' KNOWLEDGE

'DASA MAHA VIDYA' - MANIFESTATIONS FEMALE POWER -
'SHAKTI' IN HINDU MYTHOLOGY

This blog is being written based on an idea that came to my mind during an early morning 'chat' with Amit Guha on 25/01/2010, my young friend from London. He is an enthusiast about terra cotta temples of Bengal. We were talking about motifs and icons when I told him about not so many 'Dasa MahaVidya' images being seen in our terra cotta temples.

Later during the evening, I searched 'Dasa MahaVidya' in the internet and found a lot of material regarding the tantric side of 'Dasa MahaVidya', the 'Yantras' et all. One can do one's own search and read whatever s/he likes. I have the simple story here for Amit and a few terra cotta panels.

The story I read as a child is this : Sati, daughter of Daksha the king, married Shiva against her father's will. To humiliate the couple, Daksha organised a very large gathering around a religious pyre ("Yagna') . Here, the rich and famous of that era were invited , but for Shiva and Sati.

Sati was keen to be present at this 'Yagna' ,even though she was not invited . Shiva vehemently opposed her decision. The quarrel reached its peak when Sati transformed herself into multiple ( ten) appearances. Shiva was thus subdued and allowed Sati to join her father's 'Yagna'. This led to a tragedy as Sati committed suicide after being insulted by her father in front of distinguished guests. Shiva came to tremendous grief , stormed into the gathering and ransacked the place by ' Tandava'. The ten manifestations of Sati are called 'Dasa MahaVidya'...ten ' supreme' knowledge or revelations.

The ten manifestations are linked with 9 planets and 'Lagna' by tantric devotees. They vary from fierce to benign . Tantric scripture have paean devoted to each of these ten 'Maha Vidya's. I shall post three from my collection of photos here:

Left to right : Top row - Matangi (Planet Sun), Shoroshee (Planet Mercury) and Kamala (Planet Venus). Middle row - Bagala (Planet Mars), Tara (Planet Jupiter) and very likely Barahi ( a Matrika, not one of the 'Maha Vidyas'). Bottom row - Kali (Planet Saturn ), Durga and Chhinnamasta (Planet Rahu ).

'Shoroshee' rests on a lotus rising from the navel of Shiva.Lotus in her upper left hand , blessing in her lower right hand, she is a beautiful woman .

'Dhumavati' (Planet Ketu ) is the only manifestation who is a widow. She is old,ugly with her breasts hanging out and she has fumes all around , being fanned and spread by a 'kulo', a flat contraption used for segregating grains. She rides a chariot pulled by a crow.