Shani:
Shani (Sanskrit: शनि, IAST: Sani), or Shanaishchara (Sanskrit: शनैश्चर, IAST: Sanaiscara), is the divine personification of the planet Saturn in Hinduism, and is one of the nine heavenly objects (Navagraha) in Hindu astrology. Shani is also a male Hindu deity in the Puranas, whose iconography consists of a figure with a dark complexion carrying a sword or danda (sceptre) and sitting on a crow.
He is the god of karma, justice, and retribution, and delivers results depending upon one's thoughts, speech, and deeds. Shani is the controller of longevity, misery, sorrow, old age, discipline, restriction, responsibility, delays, ambition, leadership, authority, humility, integrity, and wisdom born of experience. He also signifies spiritual asceticism, penance, discipline, and conscientious work. He is associated with two consorts: Neela, the personification of the gemstone sapphire, and Manda, a gandharva princess.
Planet :Shani as a planet appears in various Hindu astronomical texts in Sanskrit, such as the 5th-century Aryabhatiya by Aryabhatta, the 6th-century Romaka by Latadeva and Pancha Siddhantika by Varahamihira, the 7th-century Khandakhadyaka by Brahmagupta and the 8th-century Sisyadhivrddida by Lalla. These texts present Shani as one of the planets and estimate the characteristics of the respective planetary motion. Other texts such as Surya Siddhanta dated to have been complete sometime between the 5th century and 10th century present their chapters on various planets as divine knowledge linked to deities.
The manuscripts of these texts exist in slightly different versions, present Shani's motion in the skies, but vary in their data, suggesting that the text were open and revised over their lives. The texts slightly disagree in their data, in their measurements of Shani's revolutions, apogee, epicycles, nodal longitudes, orbital inclination, and other parameters. For example, both Khandakhadyaka and Surya Siddhanta of Varaha state that Shani completes 146,564 revolutions on its own axis every 4,320,000 earth years, an Epicycle of Apsis as 60 degrees, and had an apogee (aphelia) of 240 degrees in 499 CE; while another manuscript of Soorya Siddhantha revises the revolutions to 146,568, the apogee to 236 degrees and 37 seconds and the Epicycle to about 49 degrees.
The 1st-millennium-CE Hindu scholars had estimated the time it took for sidereal revolutions of each planet including Shani, from their astronomical studies, with slightly different results:
Iconography: Shani is depicted wearing blue or black robes, having dark complexion and riding a vulture or on an iron chariot drawn by eight horses. He holds in his hands a bow, an arrow, an axe and a trident. He is canonically represented riding on a large crow which follows him wherever he goes. Some astrologers believe he has more than one mount such as a horse, elephant, donkey, lion, dog, jackal, deer and vulture, although this is controversial.
Shani is believed to be the incarnation of Krishna according to Brahma Vaivarta Purana where Krishna said that he is "Shani among planets". He is also called Saneeswar meaning "Lord of Saturn" and is designated the task of granting the fruits of one's action, thus becoming the most feared amongst Hindu astrological gods. He is often the most misunderstood deity in the Hindu Pantheon as he is said to cause persistent chaos in one's life, and is known to be milder if worshipped.
Shani is the root for name for the day Saturday in many other Indian languages. In modern Hindi, Odia, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Kannada and Gujarati, Saturday is called Shanivaar; Tamil: Sani kizhamai; Malayalam: Shaniyazhcha; Thai: Wan searr (วันเสาร์).
Calendar: Shani is the basis for Shanivara – one of the seven days that make a week in the Hindu calendar.This day corresponds to Saturday – after Saturn – in the Greco-Roman convention for naming the days of the week. Shani is considered to be the most malefic planet that brings restrictions and misfortunes.
(Shani by Raja Ravi Varma )Shani is part of the Navagraha in Hindu zodiac system, considered malefic, associated with spiritual asceticism, penance, discipline and conscientious work. The role and importance of the Navagraha developed over time with various influences. Deifying planetary bodies and their astrological significance occurred as early as the Vedic period and was recorded in the Vedas. The earliest work of astrology recorded in India is the Vedanga Jyotisha which began to be compiled in the 14th century BCE. It was possibly based on works from the Indus Valley Civilization as well as various foreign influences. Babylonian astrology which was the first astrology and calendar to develop, and was adopted by multiple civilizations including India. The classical planets, including Saturn.
The Navagraha developed from early works of astrology over time. Saturn and various classical planets were referenced in the Atharvaveda around 1000 BCE. The Navagraha was furthered by additional contributions from Western Asia, including Zoroastrian and Hellenistic influences. The Yavanajataka, or 'Science of the Yavanas', was written by the Indo-Greek named "Yavanesvara" ("Lord of the Greeks") under the rule of the Western Kshatrapa king Rudrakarman I. The Yavanajataka written in 120 CE is often attributed to standardizing Indian astrology. The Navagraha would further develop and culminate in the Shaka era with the Saka or Scythian, people. Additionally the contributions by the Saka people would be the basis of the Indian national calendar, which is also called the Saka calendar.
The Hindu calendar is a Lunisolar calendar which records both lunar and solar cycles. Like the Navagraha, it was developed with the successive contributions of various works.
Planet Shani rules over both zodiac signs, Capricorn and Aquarius, two of the twelve constellations in the zodiac system of Hindu astrology.If Shani rules over your zodiac sign, it is said you must wear a ring with a stone made of Blue Sapphire.
Deity: Shani is a deity in medieval era texts, who is considered inauspicious and is feared for delivering misfortune and loss to those who deserve it.He is also capable of conferring boons and blessings to the worthy, depending upon their karma. In medieval Hindu literature, he is mainly referred to as the son of Surya and Chhaya, or in few accounts as the son of Balarama and Revati.His alternate names include Ara, Kona and Kroda.As per the Hindu texts, 'peepal' or fig tree is the abode of Shani (while other texts associate the same tree with Vasudeva).He is also believed to be the greatest teacher who rewards the righteous acts and punishes those who follow the path of evil, Adharma and betrayal.
Statue of Shani in Bannanje, Udupi, Karnataka
In 2013, a 20-foot-tall statue of Lord Shani was established at Yerdanur in the mandal of Sangareddy, Medak district, Telangana, nearly 40 kilometers from Hyderabad city. It was carved from a Monolith and weighs about nine tonnes.
Shani is a deity in medieval era texts, who is considered inauspicious and is feared for delivering misfortune and loss to those who deserve it.He is also capable of conferring boons and blessings to the worthy, depending upon their karma. In medieval Hindu literature, he is mainly referred to as the son of Surya and Chhaya, or in few accounts as the son of Balarama and Revati.His alternate names include Ara, Kona and Kroda.As per the Hindu texts, 'peepal' or fig tree is the abode of Shani (while other texts associate the same tree with Vasudeva).He is also believed to be the greatest teacher who rewards the righteous acts and punishes those who follow the path of evil, Adharma and betrayal.
Statue of Shani in Bannanje, Udupi, Karnataka
In 2013, a 20-foot-tall statue of Lord Shani was established at Yerdanur in the mandal of Sangareddy, Medak district, Telangana, nearly 40 kilometers from Hyderabad city. It was carved from a Monolith and weighs about nine tonnes.
Mantra translation: Shani's mantra is depicted here, in Sanskrit and English, with the translation:
Sanskrit: ॐ काकध्वजाय विद्महे खड्ग हस्ताय धीमहि तन्नो मंदः प्रचोदयात् ।
Transliteration: "Om kākadhvajāya vidmahe khaḍgahastāya dhīmahi tanno mandaḥ pracodayāt.''
Translation: Om, Let me meditate on him who has crow in his flag, Oh, He who has a sword in his hand, give me higher intellect, And let Saneeswara illuminate my mind.
Sanskrit: ॐ नीलांजन समाभासं रविपुत्रं यमाग्रजम् छाया मार्तांड संभूतं त्वां नमामि शनीश्वरम् ।
Transliteration: "Om nīlāñjana samābhāsaṁ raviputraṁ yamāgrajam chāyā mārtāṇḍa saṁbhūtaṁ tvāṁ namāmi sanīsvaram"
Translation: O Lord, You are like the Blue Sapphire and You admire the Blue Sapphire, You are the son of Lord Surya, and Brother of Lord Yama. You are the son of Lord Surya and Goddess Chhaya, I bow to you Lord of Planet Saturn,
Dedicated Day: On Saturdays, it is believed that one should worship Lord Shani to keep oneself away from evil and to reduce the hardships of life as he blesses those who willingly and voluntarily donate to the poor without seeking anything in return.
Shani statue at Naksaal Bhagwati Temple
Shani puja is usually done to keep one safe from Lord Shani's malefic effects. On Saturday, the devotee also fasts from dawn to dusk. Wake up early in the morning and take oil bath after applying sesame oil on your body. After bath, wear black clothes for the day. On the whole day, use Sesame oil for lighting lamp.
Saturn temples:Shani temples are found in more populated areas of India, such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana,Puducherry/Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Shani Shingnapur Dham in particular is a famous holy place associated with Lord Shani, the deity. Shani Shinganapur or Shingnapur is a village in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated in Nevasa taluka in Ahmednagar district, the village is known for its popular temple of Shani, the Hindu god associated with the planet Saturn. Shingnapur is 35 km from Ahmednagar city. More common than Shani temples are artwork related to himself, which are found in all types of temples of various traditions within Hinduism, mostly connected to Shaivism. Popularity for praying to Shani, especially on Saturdays, has increased gradually over the years.
Dhumavati:
Dhumavati (Sanskrit: धूमावती, Dhumavati, literally "the smoky one") is one of the Mahavidyas, a group of ten Hindu Tantric goddesses. Dhumavati represents the fearsome aspect of Mahadevi, the supreme goddess in Hindu traditions such as Shaktism. She is often portrayed as an old, ugly widow, and is associated with things considered inauspicious and unattractive in Hinduism, such as the crow and the chaturmasya period. The goddess is often depicted carrying a winnowing basket on a horseless chariot or riding a crow, usually in a cremation ground.
Dhumavati said to manifest herself at the time of cosmic dissolution (pralaya) and is "the Void" that exists before creation and after dissolution. While Dhumavati is generally associated with only inauspicious qualities, her thousand-name hymn relates her positive aspects as well as her negative ones. She is often called tender-hearted and a bestower of boons. Dhumavati is described as a great teacher, one who reveals ultimate knowledge of the universe, which is beyond the illusory divisions, like auspicious and inauspicious. Her ugly form teaches the devotee to look beyond the superficial, to look inwards and seek the inner truths of life.
Dhumavati is described as a giver of siddhis (supernatural powers), a rescuer from all troubles, and a granter of all desires and rewards, including ultimate knowledge and moksha (salvation). Her worship is also prescribed for those who wish to defeat their foes. Dhumavati's worship is considered ideal for unpaired members of society, such as bachelors, widows, and world renouncers as well as Tantrikas. In her Varanasi temple, however, she transcends her inauspiciousness and acquires the status of a local protective deity, where she is also worshipped by married couples. Although she has very few dedicated temples, her worship by Tantric ritual continues in private in secluded places like cremation grounds and forests.
Origins: Dhumavati is described as a giver of siddhis (supernatural powers), a rescuer from all troubles, and a granter of all desires and rewards, including ultimate knowledge and moksha (salvation). Her worship is also prescribed for those who wish to defeat their foes. Dhumavati's worship is considered ideal for unpaired members of society, such as bachelors, widows, and world renouncers as well as Tantrikas. In her Varanasi temple, however, she transcends her inauspiciousness and acquires the status of a local protective deity, where she is also worshipped by married couples. Although she has very few dedicated temples, her worship by Tantric ritual continues in private in secluded places like cremation grounds and forests
The Vedic goddess Nirriti is associated with death, decay, bad luck, anger, and need. Hymns emphasize offerings to keep her away. Like Nirriti, Dhumavati is associated with unpromising things and hardship. Jyestha, also an early Hindu goddess, has similarities in iconography with Dhumavati. Like Dhumavati, she is dark, ugly and is associated with the crow. Jyestha is described as being unable to tolerate any auspiciousness. Also like Dhumavati, Jyestha dwells in quarrels, inauspicious places, and has a bad temper. Lakshmana Desika, the commentator on the Saradatilaka-Tantra, identifies Dhumavati with Jyestha. Both Alakshmi, the sister and antithesis of Lakshmi (Shri), the goddess of wealth, luck and beauty, and Dhumavati are described as old, carrying a broom and having a crow banner.
Both symbolize hunger, thirst, need, and poverty. While there are similarities between Dhumavati and the three goddesses, the latter lack significant characteristics of Dhumavati, like her widowhood and a textual emphasis on her ugliness. The names of the three goddesses also do not figure in Dhumavati's nama stotras (hymns invoking her many names), where such identifications could have been explicitly mentioned. The three also lack the more fierce warrior aspects of Dhumavati as well as her positive aspects in the context of the Mahavidyas. In scholar David Kinsley's opinion, though the three may be Dhumavati's antecedents, they are not "the same" as Dhumavati. According to Kinsley, the concept of ten Mahavidyas may not be earlier than the 12th century.
legends: Dhumavati is often named as the seventh Mahavidya. The Guhyatiguhya-Tantra equates Vishnu's ten avatars with the ten Mahavidyas. The fish incarnation Matsya is described as arising from Dhumavati. A similar list in the Mundamala equates Dhumavati with Vamana. In a story from the Shakta Maha-Bhagavata Purana, which narrates the creation of all the Mahavidyas, Sati, the daughter of Daksha and first wife of god Shiva, feels insulted that she and Shiva are not invited to Daksha's yagna ("fire sacrifice") and insists on going there, despite Shiva's protests. After futile attempts to convince Shiva, the enraged Sati transforms into the Mahavidyas, who surround Shiva from the ten cardinal directions.
Dhumavati stands in the southeast.Another similar legend replaces Sati with Kali (the chief Mahavidya) as the wife of Shiva and origin of the other Mahavidyas.The Devi Bhagavata Purana mentions the Mahavidyas as war-companions and forms of goddess Shakambhari. A legend from the Shaktisamgama-Tantra describes that Sati commits suicide by jumping in Daksha's yagna and Dhumavati rises with a blackened face from the sad smoke of Sati's burning body. She is "all that is left of Sati" and is her outraged and insulted avatar.The Pranatosini-Tantra explains the widowhood of Dhumavati. Once, Sati asked Shiva to give her food. When Shiva declines, the goddess eats him to satisfy her extreme hunger. When Shiva requests her to disgorge him, she obliges.
Shiva then rejects her and curses her to assume the form of a widow.Another oral legend tells that Dhumavati was created by the warrior goddess Durga in the battle against demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. Dhumavati's literal name ("she who abides in smoke") comes from her ability to defeat demons by creating stinging smoke.The Pranatosini-Tantra version stresses Dhumavati's destructive aspect and hunger, which is satisfied only when she consumes Shiva, who himself contains or creates the universe. It brings out her inauspicious status as a widow and her self-assertion on her husband.
Iconography and textual descriptions
The Dhumavati Tantra describes her as an old and ugly widow. She is thin, tall, unhealthy, and has a pale-grey complexion. She is described as restless and wicked. Unadorned with jewellery, she wears old, dirty clothes and has dishevelled hair. Her eyes are fearsome, her nose long and crooked, and some of her long fang-like teeth have fallen out, leaving her smile with gaps. Her ears are ugly and rough; her breasts hang down. In one of her trembling hands, she holds a winnowing basket, while the other makes a boon-conferring gesture (varada-mudra) or knowledge-giving gesture (cinmudra). She rides in a horseless chariot bearing an emblem of a crow and a banner. She is astute and crafty, though. Always hungry and thirsty, Dhumavati initiates quarrels and invokes fear.
In the Prapancasarasara-samgraha, Dhumavati is described as having a black complexion and wearing ornaments made of snakes. Her dress is made of rags taken from cremation grounds. She holds a spear and a skull-cup (kapala) in her two hands.The spear is sometimes replaced by a sword.Another description in the same text says Dhumavati is aged with a wrinkled, angry face and cloud-like complexion. Her nose, eyes, and throat resemble a crow's. She holds a broom, a winnowing fan, a torch, and a club. She is cruel and frowning. Her hair appears dishevelled and she wears the simple clothes of a beggar. Her breasts are dry. Her hair is grey, her teeth crooked and missing, and her clothes old and worn.
Sometimes, Dhumavati rides a crow and holds a trident. She may be depicted wearing a garland of severed heads, with red-coloured limbs and matted but dishevelled hair.Sometimes, she carries the buffalo-horn of Yama, the god of death, symbolizing her association with death. Dhumavati has fierce, warlike attributes too. In the Shakta pramoda, she crushes bones in her mouth, creating an awful noise. She also makes the fearful and warlike noises of drums and bells. She wears a garland of skulls, chews the corpses of the demons Chanda and Munda, and drinks a mixture of blood and wine
Though there are standard descriptions of Dhumavati's form, some relatively recent paintings deviate from it. For example, an 18th-century painting by Molaram depicts Dhumavati sitting on a chariot pulled by two black scavenger birds with curved beaks. The painting follows the usual attributes like the winnowing basket, boon-giving gesture, but also depicts her young and beautiful with full breasts and adorned in gold finery, a stark contrast to her usual form. An early 20th-century painting from Varanasi depicts her riding a crow, holding a trident, a sword, a winnowing fan, and a bowl in her four arms, dark-complexioned, with sagging breasts, wearing white clothes and with cremation flames in the background.
She is again adorned in gold finery and wears a gold-hewn lower garment, unusual for a widow's dress. Another 18th-century Nepali manuscript depicts a complete deviation from her traditional descriptions. She is completely nude with high breasts, wears a pearl necklace and headband, stands on a peacock with legs apart, and holds a mirror while looking at her reflection. A ring of fire surrounds her, possibly conveying cremation flames
Symbolism and associations: Vedic scholar Ganapati Muni described the goddess Perceived as the Void, as the dissolved form of consciousness, when all beings are dissolved in sleep in the supreme Brahman, having swallowed the entire universe, the seer-poets call her the most glorious and the eldest, Dhumavati. She exists in the forms of sleep, lack of memory, illusion, and dullness in the creatures immersed in the illusion of the world, but among the yogis she becomes the power that destroys all thoughts, indeed Samadhi (death and liberation) itself.
— Ganapati Muni, Uma Sahasram
Dhumavati is always considered a widow, and thus, is the only Mahavidya without a consort. Though associated with Shiva, having eaten him, he has since left her.Having destroyed the male element (Purusha) in the universe, she is left with nothing, but she is still Shakti, the female element with latent energy. Dhumavati's insatiable hunger and thirst is highlighted in many texts, and has been interpreted as the manifestation of her unsatisfied desires. As a widow in a horseless chariot, Dhumavati is portrayed as a woman going nowhere in life and society. She is "all that is unlucky, unattractive and inauspicious".She appears in the form of the poor, the beggars, the lepers, and the diseased.
She dwells in the "wounds of the world", deserts, ruined houses, poverty, tatters, hunger, thirst, quarrels, mourning of children, in wild and other uncivilized, dangerous places.Widows in general are considered inauspicious, dangerous, and susceptible to possession by evil spirits. As a divine widow, Dhumavati is to be feared.Dhumavati is described as a hag or witch, crafty and quarrelsome; she represents all the dreaded miseries of life.
Alternative paintings show her as young and adorned, as a sexually tempting, eroticised, young, attractive yet inauspicious widow. Her thousand-name hymn says that she gives enjoyment, is completely beautiful and adorned with garlands, clothes, and jewellery. She is also associated with sex in the hymn, which calls her "She Whose Form Is Rati". Rati literally means "sexual intercourse" and also the name of the Hindu love goddess. Dhumavati is said to enjoy sexual intercourse, to be present where sexual activity is, and to be occupied with sex. She is said to like liquor (a forbidden drink), to be intoxicated, and to be worshiped by intoxicated people. She also indulges in the Tantric ritual of breaking the five taboos—the Panchamakara, which include consuming wine, meat, fish, parched grain and ritual sex.
Dhumavati is a manifestation of the anti-social and inauspicious elements in women and is an antithesis to the goddess Lakshmi.Like Alakshmi, Dhumavati rules over the four months of the rainy season, when even solar light is obscured by the evil water spirit. This coincides with Chaturmas, a period during the year when the god Vishnu sleeps. At that time, darkness rules and the soul loses its usual luster. This period is considered inauspicious, and as such as no auspicious ceremonies like marriage can take place.
The presence of the crow, a carrier of death, in her iconography as well as her textual description of having crow-like features associate her with death and inauspiciousness. Another motif in her iconography linking her with death is the presence of a cremation ground and cremation pyres in the background. Her thousand name hymn says that she lives in the cremation ground, sits on a corpse, wears ashes, and blesses those who haunt the grounds. The Prapancasarasara-samgraha relates that she wears a dress taken from a corpse.Dhumavati is the embodiment of tamas guna, associated with ignorance and darkness. She likes meat and wine, both tamasic in nature.The Pranatosinitantra associates her with tamas, when classifying the mahavidyas based on guna.
Dhumavati is often said to appear at the time of Maha-pralaya, the great dissolution of the cosmos and is equated with the dark clouds that rise during Pralaya. Her thousand name hymn also calls her by names meaning "She Whose Form is Pralaya", "Who Is Occupied with Pralaya", "Who Creates and Causes Pralaya" and "Who Walks About in Pralaya". An author says that she stays even after Shiva (who is Maha-kala) ("Great Time" or "Great Death") disappears, thus she is "the Power of Time", and considered to be beyond time and space. Dhumavati represents ultimate destruction, the smoke that rises after the universe is destroyed.
The goddess' name "Dhumavati" means the "smoky one".She is said not to like offerings burnt in a fire that is not smoky. She likes smoke from incense, offerings, and cremation pyres, as these symbolize destruction. Dhumavati also exists in the form of smoke and roams everywhere at her will. While Dhumavati generally is associated with only inauspicious qualities, her thousand-name hymn tells about her positive aspects, too.She is often called as bestower of boons and tender-hearted. Her hymn says that she lives in the midst of women and is worshipped by them.
Her hymn sings of her as the giver of children.As an ancestor or Grandmother spirit, she embodies a great teacher and guide, granting knowledge of the ultimate truth of life and death. Her smoke hides that which is obvious, revealing hidden secrets and truths of "the unknown and the unmanifest".Frawley says her outer appearance as poverty is deceptive and a mere illusion that hides the inner reality. She is "the good fortune that comes to us in the form of misfortune". Dhumavati embodies the "power of suffering". Through the negative aspects that Dhumavati represents rise the virtues of patience, persistence, forgiveness, and detachment. Without the revealing of this negativity of life, it cannot be transcended and the secret truths would remain hidden under the smoky veil of illusion.
Dhumavati's outer inauspicious, fearful form reveals the dangers of considering sensory pleasures as fulfilment-giving. The winnowing basket, used to separate the husk from the grain, symbolizes the need to separate the outer illusory form from the inner reality. Her ugly form teaches the devotee to go beyond the outer deceptive appearances and seek the inner truths of life.Dhumavati is the primordial darkness and ignorance, from which rises the world of illusion. She represents the darkness/ignorance before creation and after decay. This ignorance, which obscures the ultimate reality, is necessary because without the realization of this ignorance, true knowledge can not be achieved.Dhumavati also represents yogic sleep (Yoganidra), the pre-creation state of consciousness, as well as the primal sleep (the Void) in which all creation would dissolve and reach ultimate reality of Brahman.
This void is pure consciousness, the cessation of movements of the mind, and silence.Even Dhumavati's ability to spread disease is also considered positive, as disease punishes the wicked and restores cosmic order.[33] Dhumavati is also associated with the heart or middle region of the body.Dhumavati is also called ‘Arikshyaykar’ or ‘one who destroys both the external as well as the internal enemy’.
Dhumavati is sometimes regarded as an older form of Kali, in which she represents timelessness and unmanifest life-force.
Another tradition identifies Dhumavati with Smashana-kali, "Kali who lives in the cremation ground."She is considered a terrible aspect of the Goddess and included among the Kalikula ("family of Kali") goddesses.Dhumavati's nama stotras (hymn with names of the deities) identify her with Parvati, Sati, and glorify her as a slayer of demons. Worship Though Dhumavati may seem to be a goddess to be avoided due to her inauspiciousness, she is described as tender-hearted and one who gives her devotees whatever they want. In several places, Dhumavati is described as a giver of siddhis (supernatural powers), a rescuer from all troubles and granter of all desires and rewards, including ultimate knowledge and moksha (salvation).Dhumavati's worship is prescribed to ward off all the negativity that she stands for and to transcend the smoke screen to acquire true knowledge.
By worshipping and confronting her, the embodiment of the impure, the inauspicious and outside the fringes of society, one can look beyond the arbitrary dichotomies of society and acquire ultimate knowledge to become spiritually enlightened.Married people, however, are advised not to worship Dhumavati. It is said that her worship creates a feeling of wanting solitude and distaste of worldly things, which is considered as highest characteristics of a spiritual quest. Thus, Dhumavati's worship is appropriate for world renouncers who roam as lone wanderers and widows who parallel the life of world renouncers. Dhumavati is also described a being partial to single persons and especially partial to widows. Widows are considered the only beings who can withstand her power.
The mantra of Dhumavati is "Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha", containing a repetition of her seed syllable Dhum. This mantra used in the worship of Dhumavati, sometimes with her yantra, is believed to create a protective smoke shielding the devotee from negativity and death.Her worship involves clearing one's mind of all thoughts and leaving back the known, meditating on the unknown silence beyond, and the Void that Dhumavati represents.The Shaktisamgama Tantra says that Dhumavati can be worshipped for the Uchhatana (eradication) of a person. A worshipper should imagine the world as well as the goddess's mantra as grey. He should blacken his teeth and wear black clothes and observe regulations, such as eating little, sleeping on the ground, and subduing his senses.
In this worship procedure called kakakarma (crow-procedure), he should "transform his mind into a crow" by which one can cause harm to a person. Another Tantric text mentions the worshipper should burn a crow in a cremation flame and, while repeating the goddesses' mantra, spread the ashes in the enemy's house, which will lead to his destruction.The text further says Dhumavati should be worshipped only by Dakshinamarga ("right-handed path").While the Kalarudra-tantra says Dhumavati can be worshipped for destructive purposes, Shakta-pramoda relates that her worship is useful to acquire siddhi to destroy one's foes.
Dhumavati's worship is performed in the night in a cremation ground, bare-bodied with the exception of a loincloth. The fourth lunar day of the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha) is considered the special day to perform her puja (worship). The worshipper should observe a fast and remain silent for a whole day and night. They should also perform a homa ("fire sacrifice"), wearing wet clothes and a turban, repeating the goddess' mantra in a cremation ground, forest, or any lonely place.
Dhumavati temples are extremely rare. At a temple in Varanasi, Dhumavati is the main deity. Smaller Dhumavati temples exist in Rajrappa in Bihar and near the Kamakhya Temple near Guwahati. At the Varanasi temple, which claims to be a Shakti Peetha, Dhumavati's idol rides a chariot and holds a winnowing fan, a broom, and a pot, while the fourth hand makes the fear-not gesture (abhaya-mudra).The goddess is offered usual offerings like flowers and fruit,but also liquor, bhang, cigarettes, meat, and sometimes even blood sacrifices.Though traditional devotees of Dhumavati (world renouncers and Tantrikas) worship at the Varanasi temple,here the goddess transcends her traditional role as "the inauspicious, dangerous goddess who can be approached only by heroic tantric adepts".
Dhumavati acquires the role of a local guardian deity, or village deity, who protects the locals and even married couples worship her.There is also a temple dedicated to the goddess in Pitambara Peeth temple complex, Datia.
Jyestha (goddess)
Jyestha or Jyeshtha (Sanskrit: ज्येष्ठा, Jyeṣṭhā, "the eldest" or "the elder") is the Hindu goddess of adversity and misfortune.She is regarded as the elder sister and antithesis of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and auspiciousness. She is commonly referred to as Moodevi in South India.Jyestha is associated with inauspicious places and sinners. She is also associated with sloth, poverty, sorrow, ugliness, and often depicted with the crow. She is sometimes identified with Alakshmi, another goddess of misfortune. Her worship was prescribed for women, who invoked her to keep her away from their homes.
Jyestha appears in the Hindu tradition as early as 300 BCE. Her veneration was at its peak in South India in the 7th-8th century CE. By the 10th century, her popularity had waned, pushing her into oblivion. Today, numerous ancient images of Jyestha still exist, though she is seldom worshipped. Description and iconography :Texts that elaborate on the iconography of Jyestha are: the Agamas such as the Amshumadbhedagama, the Suprabhedagama and the Purvakarangama; the Vishnudharmottara Purana and other shorter references in the Baudhayanagrhyasutra.The earliest recorded bilingual inscription detailing the iconography and worship practices from the 8th century is found in the caves of Tiruparankunram near MaduraiJyestha is usually depicted with two arms. Her nose is long and prominent to the extent that she is sometimes called elephant-faced.Jyestha is described as having "large pendulous breasts descending as far as her navel, with a flabby belly, thick thighs, raised nose, hanging lower lip, and is in colour as ink."
Her large stomach is described to support her swollen pendulous breasts. Her complexion is black or red. She wears blue-black or red garments. She is often depicted seated comfortably on a throne with her feet on the ground.According to textual descriptions, Jyestha holds a blue or white lotus in her right hand. A water-pot is held in her left hand or placed near her throne or placed in the hand that makes the abhaya mudra - gesture of protection. Her left hand usually rests on her seat or on her thigh.Sometimes, Jyestha holds a broom, in her hand.Jyestha wears different ornaments and a tilaka mark on her forehead, a sign of her married status.Her hair is usually braided and piled on top of her head or wound around her head in the hairstyle called vasikabandha.
Jyestha has a banner depicting a crow, and is popularly called "crow-bannered" (Kakkaikkodiyal) in Tamil. A group of two attendant goddesses sometimes stand beside her, usually carrying a crow and a broom.Sometimes a crow stands next to her.Jyestha is often depicted with two attendants, sometimes interpreted as her son Mànthan and daughter Mànthi. The man is bull-faced and holds a rope or cord. The woman is depicted as a beautiful damsel with a conical crown.
Though Jyestha is almost never depicted astride on a mount, she is described in most texts as riding a donkey like Alakshmi. In other texts, she is drawn in a chariot by lions or followed by tigers or astride a camel or lion. Legends Various scenes from the samudra manthan episode (c. 1820). In right bottom corner, Jyestha is depicted as a dark woman, wearing dirty clothes and carrying a broom and a pan.
Most Hindu legends narrate about Jyestha's birth during the churning of the cosmic ocean. She is usually described to be born when the poison Halahala streams from the ocean, while Lakshmi — her antithesis, the goddess of good fortune — is born when the elixir of life emerges.
In the Padma Purana, when the churning of the ocean commences, the poison first appears from the ocean. It is swallowed by the god Shiva and then Jyestha appears from the ocean, wearing red garments. When she asks the gods what she is supposed to do, she is ordered to dwell in inauspicious places. She is described to bring sorrow and poverty. She is said to dwell in houses with quarrel, where liars use harsh language, where evil and sinful men live, where there is long hair, skulls, bones, ashes or charcoal (signs of an unorthodox mendicant).
According to the Linga Purana, the god Vishnu divides the world into the good and the bad. He creates Lakshmi (Sri) and Jyestha, both born from the churning of the cosmic ocean. While Lakshmi marries Vishnu, Jyestha is married to the sage Dussaha. The sage soon discovers that his ugly wife can not bear the sound or sight of any auspicious things and complains to Vishnu or the sage Markendeya (in some versions). Vishnu/Markendeya recommends Dussaha to take Jyestha only to inauspicious places. Jyestha is described to stay away from religious people. Jyestha then earns the epithet Alakshmi, "one who is inauspicious". She dwells in places where "family members quarrel and elders eat food while disregarding the hunger of their children".
She is described to be comfortable in the company of false mendicants who were considered as heretics by Hindus. Eventually tired of her anti-social nature, Dussaha abandons Jyestha in a place where non-vedic (heretical) rituals are performed. She then approaches Vishnu for relief. Vishnu decreed that Jyestha would be sustained by offerings of women.According to the Kamba Ramayana, Jyestha appears during the churning of the cosmic ocean. The Hindu trinity — the Trimurti find her and order her to live in inauspicious places. As Jyestha emerged before Lakshmi, Jyestha is considered the elder sister of Lakshmi. Thus, Jyestha is also called Mudevi or Mudhevi
Shaiva Puranas extol her as one of eight portions of the Supreme Goddess (Parashakti), who regulates human lives in different ways.Associations Jyestha with her attendants
Jyestha denotes the negatives of a Hindu wife, while Lakshmi denotes the positives. Jyestha is also associated with the senior wife — who is also called Jyestha in Sanskrit — in a polygamous family. She is also associated with her namesake nakshatra (constellation) - Jyestha, which inherits the negative qualities of the goddess. If a bride enters a household in the Jyestha constellation, then her eldest brother-in-law is believed to die
According to Leslie, as Jyestha is described as elephant-faced and invoked to remove obstacles, a role akin to the elephant-headed god Ganesha, Jyestha could be a precursor of Ganesha. In some parts of India, she is identified with Shitala Devi, the goddess of small pox. The lotus, the abhaya mudra and her relationship with Lakshmi associate her with the Vaishnava (related to Vishnu) pantheon. Her terrifying aspects and her association with Shaktism suggest a Shaiva (related to Shiva) connection. The crow - the symbol of bad luck - links her deities like Nirriti and Yama.Kinsley associates Jyestha with Dhumavati, a widow goddess, part of the Tantric Mahavidya goddess group. Like Jyestha, Dhumavati is dark, ugly and is associated with the crow.
Also like Jyestha, she dwells in quarrels, inauspicious places, and has a bad temper.Lakshmana Desika, the commentator on the Saradatilaka-Tantra, identifies Dhumavati with Jyestha. While Jyestha does not fit in the class of benevolent (saumya) Hindu goddesses with beautiful bodies, she is a contrast to the other class of the fierce (ugra) goddesses with terrible features, emaciated bodies and malevolent qualities. As the goddess of sloth, Jyestha's ugliness and obesity streams from her laziness. She is merely inauspicious and troublesome, but not terrifying.
Jyestha, Late Chola period, South India, Benaras Hindu University Museum.Jyestha appears early in the Hindu tradition.She first appears in the Baudhayana-grihyasutra (300 to 600 BCE).Many of her images still exist, usually on the outskirts of villages. During the 7th-8th century CE, she was a popular goddess in South India. As Shaktism spread, her fame slowly declined.The Vaishnava Alvar saint Thondaradippodi Alvar, dated between 7th to 9th century, comments on number of "foolish devotees" who worship Jyestha, who keeps them away from the truth. He decreed that it was useless to worship her.By the 10th century, her worship more or less ceased.
Jyestha's images are rarely worshipped today.They are kept unrecognised in neglected corners in temples or thrown out of temples.Where they are still recognised, they are objects of fear. In a temple in Uttaramerur, the Jyestha image is kept with the face towards the ground. The mere glance of the goddess is believed to bring death on the village.However, at the height of the popularity, Jyestha was a goddess, who needed to be propitiated by a good wife daily. The Stridharmapaddhati declares that a wife must offer food offerings to Jyestha before having her own meal.
One who does not do so would end up in hell after death; but the one who follows this routine would be blessed with progeny and prosperity.The Baudhayana Sutra also elaborates on the worship of Jyestha.As per the legend in the Linga Purana, it is believed that the women of houses that please the goddess by offerings can keep her away from their homes.The 13th century Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri prime minister Hemadri, who wrote a book on religious vows and fasts, notes that Jyestha should be worshipped by a male devotee to bring fortune to his wife and progeny.The Saradatilaka-Tantra describes that in Tantric ritual, Jyestha is worshipped to cause enmity between friends (Vidvesa). Jyestha as the presiding deity of Vidvesa, was invoked before the start of the rituals.