Who is Srimati Radharani ?

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Srimati Radharani is the Supreme Goddess. She is most always seen with Lord Krishna. It is described that She is the chief associate and devotee of Lord Krishna, and topmost of all goddesses. Her name means that She is the most excellent worshiper of Lord Krishna. However, She is also an expansion of the Lord's energy. Since She is also an extension of Krishna, She is the feminine aspect of God. Thus, in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, God is both male and female. They are one, but Krishna expands into two, Himself and Radharani, for the sake of divine loving pastimes. If They remained as one, then there is no relationship, there are no pastimes, and there can be no dynamic exchange of love. (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, 4.55-56)

In the Brihad-Gautamiya Tantra, Radharani is described as follows: "The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord."

Srimati Radharani is the source of the other goddesses. Just as Lord Krishna is the source of all other manifestations and incarnations of God, Radharani is the source of all expansions of the energies of God - the shaktis, or other goddesses. Thus, Vishnu, Rama, even Shiva are all expansions of the one Supreme Being, Krishna, and similarly Lakshmi, Sita, and even Durga are all expansions of this Supreme Feminine form of God, Radharani.

It is explained that the beloved consorts of Lord Krishna are of three kinds, namely the goddesses of fortune or Lakshmis, His queens, and the milkmaids of Vraja called the gopis. All of them proceed from Radharani. The Lakshmis are partial manifestations, or plenary portions, of Srimati Radharani, while the queens in Vaikuntha and in Dvaraka are reflections of Her image. The Vraja-devis or gopis are Her expansions and assist in the increase of rasa, or the divine loving pastimes. Among them there are many groups that have various sentiments and moods, which help Lord Krishna taste the sweetness of the rasa dance and other pastimes. (Cc.Adi-lila. 4. 75-81)

Radharani has many names according to Her qualities and characteristics. Some of the names that Radharani is known by include:

Govinda-anandini--She who gives pleasure to Govinda [Krishna];
Govinda-mohini--She who mystifies Govinda;
Govinda-sarvasa--the all-in-all of Lord Govinda;
Shiromani Sarva-kanta--the crown jewel of all the Lord's consorts; and...
Krishnamayi--the one who sees Krishna both within and without.

She is also known as Sarva-kanti, which indicates that all beauty and luster rest in Her body, and all the Lakshmis derive their beauty from Her. Sarva-kanti also means that all the desires of Lord Krishna rest in Srimati Radharani. As Lord Krishna enchants the world with His beauty and charm, Sri Radha enchants Him. Therefore She is the Supreme Goddess. Sri Radha is the full power, and Lord Krishna is the possessor of full power. (Cc.Adi-lila, 4.82, 84, 87-96) Thus, the two are non-different, as the sunshine is nondifferent from the sun, or as the energy is non-different from the energetic or source of energy.

In this way, without Radha there is no meaning to Krishna and without Krishna there is no meaning to Radha. Because of this, in the Vaishnava tradition we always pay respects first to the Lord's internal energy in the form of Radha, and then to the Lord. Thus They are referred to as Radha-Krishna, or in other names as Sita-Rama, Lakshmi-Narayana, and so on. In this way, Radha and Krishna are one, but when Lord Krishna wants to enjoy, He manifests Himself as Radharani. Otherwise, there is no energy in which Krishna can attain pleasure outside Himself. 

To understand Himself through the agency of Radha, the Lord manifests Himself asLord Chaitanya, who is Lord Krishna but with the super-excellent emotions of Radharani's love toward Lord Krishna. To fully taste His own sweetness, the Lord accepts the position and emotions of a devotee. Appearing 500 years ago in Bengal, India, Lord Chaitanya propagated the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mantra as the only means to experience Radha's love for Krishna.

 The Hare Krishna mantra directs one's attention and devotion to Radha as well as Krishna. Radha is also known as Mother Hara, which is the name Hare in the vocative form within the mantra. So in chanting Hare Krishna, we are first approaching the Lord's internal potency and asking Radha to please engage us in the service of Lord Krishna. Concentrating on Krishna through His names is one form of that service. In other words, it is through Radha that one more easily attains Krishna and service to Krishna. This is the advantage of approaching Lord Krishna through Radharani.


The descriptions of the beauty of Radharani are wonderfully poetic and descriptive. Actually, the residents of Vrindavana care more for Radharani than they do for Lord Krishna. They know that Krishna can be influenced through Radharani. They know that Radha can bring one to Krishna. She is also the compassionate nature of the Lord, and thus more easily approached than trying to reach Lord Krishna directly. And when we read these descriptions of Radha, it is no wonder why they are devoted to Her. For example, it is explained that Srimati Radharani has unlimited transcendental qualities, of which twenty-five are principal.

These include: 
1) She is very sweet. 
2) She is always freshly youthful. 
3) Her eyes are restless. 
4) She smiles brightly. 
5) She has beautiful, auspicious lines. 
6) She makes Krishna happy with Her bodily aroma. 
7) She is very expert in singing. 
8) Her speech is charming. 
9) She is very expert in joking and speaking pleasantly. 
10) She is very humble and meek. 
11) She is always full of mercy. 
12) She is cunning.

13) She is expert in executing Her duties. 
14) She is shy. 
15) She is always respectful. 
16) She is always calm. 
17) She is always grave. 
18) She is expert in enjoying life. 
19) She is situated in the topmost level of ecstatic love. 
20) She is the reservoir of loving affairs in Gokula. 
21) She is the most famous of submissive devotees. 
22) She is very affectionate to elderly people. 
23) She is very submissive to the love of Her friends. 
24) She is the chief gopi. 
25) She always keeps Krishna under Her control.

In short, She possesses unlimited transcendental qualities, just as Lord Krishna does. (Ujjvala-nilamani, Sri-radha-prakarana 11-15)

In describing Srimati Radharani, it is also said in the Vidagdha-madhava (1.32) by Rupa Gosvami, "The beauty of Srimati Radharani's eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold in a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening Vrindavana." 

 "Although the effulgence of the moon is brilliant initially at night, in the daytime it fades away. Similarly, although the lotus is beautiful during the daytime, at night it closes. But, O My friend, the face of My most dear Srimati Radharani is always bright and beautiful, both day and night. Therefore, to what can Her face be compared?" (Vidagdha-madhava 5.20)

"When Srimati Radharani smiles, waves of joy overtake Her cheeks, and Her arched eyebrows dance like the bow of Cupid. Her glance is so enchanting that it is like a dancing bumblebee, moving unsteadily due to intoxication.

The spiritual exchange of divine love between Radha and Krishna is the display of the internal energy of the Lord, and is very confidential and difficult to understand. No materialist can begin to understand this topic of the relationship between Radharani and Lord Krishna. But the more we awaken our dormant love for God, which is natural state of being for a fully awakened soul, then the more we can comprehend and actually enter into such spiritual loving exchanges.

Adapted from an article by Stephen Knapp

The top image of Srimati Radharani is from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, ©1988
The Lord Caitanya picture above and the Krishna/gopis image below are also copyrighted BBT pictures.
The Gour Nitia picture and Radha Krishna just above are by Syamarani Dasi - Bhakti Art ©

 Source:- http://www.radharani.com/radharani.html

Durga & Navadurga, the nine forms of Durga

 

Durga

In Hinduism, Durga (Sanskrit: दुर्गा); meaning "the inaccessible"or "the invincible";Bengali: দুর্গা, durga) or Maa Durga (Bengali: মা দুর্গা,meaning "Mother Durga") "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress"^[2] is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion or a tiger, carrying weapons and a lotus flower, maintaining a meditative smile, and practicing mudras, or symbolic hand gestures.

The name is made of Sanskrit dur- = "with difficulty" (compare Greek δυσ- (dys-)) and gā ("come", "go").
She is the Aadi Shakti (the original power). Her main temple is situated on Trikuta Parvat near Katra in Jammu in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The temple is also connected with Helicopter service.
An embodiment of creative feminine force (Shakti), Durga exists in a state of svātantrya (independence from the universe and anything/anybody else, i.e., self-sufficiency) and fierce compassion. Kali is considered by Hindus to be an aspect of Durga. She is thus considered the fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's wife, goddess Parvati. Durga manifests fearlessness and patience, and never loses her sense of humor, even during spiritual battles of epic proportion.

At the Durga Puja festival, Durga is shown as the mother of Ganesha, Kartikeya, Lakshmi and Saraswati

History

The word Shakti means divine feminine; energy/force/power, and Durga is the warrior aspect of the Divine Mother. Other incarnations include Annapurna and Karuɳamayi (karuɳa = kindness). Durga's darker aspect Kali is represented as the consort of the god Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing.
As a goddess, Durga's feminine power contains the energies of the gods. Each of her weapons was given to her by various gods: Rudra's trident, Vishnu's discus, Indra's thunderbolt, Brahma's kamandalu, Kuber's Ratnahar, etc.
According to a narrative in the Devi Mahatmya story of the Markandeya Purana text, Durga was created as a warrior goddess to fight an asura (an inhuman force/demon) named Mahishasura. He had unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds, and he could not be defeated by any man or god, anywhere. The gods went to Brahma, who had given Mahishasura the power not to be defeated by a man. Brahma could do nothing. They made Brahma their leader and went to Vaikuntha—the place where Vishnu lay on Ananta Naag. They found both Vishnu and Shiva, and Brahma eloquently related the reign of terror Mahishasur had unleashed on the three worlds. Hearing this Vishnu, Shiva and all of the gods became very angry and beams of fierce light emerged from their bodies. The blinding sea of light met at the Ashram of a priest named Katyayan and Durga emerged from this pool of light. The goddess Durga took the name Katyaayani from the priest and emerged from the sea of light. She introduced herself in the language of the Rig-Veda, saying she was the form of the supreme Brahman who had created all the gods. Now she had come to fight the demon to save the gods. They did not create her; it was her lila that she emerged from their combined energy. The gods were blessed with her compassion.
It is said that upon initially encountering Durga, Mahishasura underestimated her, thinking: "How can a woman kill me, Mahishasur—the one who has defeated the trinity of gods?". However, Durga roared with laughter, which caused an earthquake which made Mahishasur aware of her powers.
And the terrible Mahishasura rampaged against her, changing forms many times. First he was a buffalo demon, and she defeated him with her sword. Then he changed forms and became an elephant that tied up the goddess's lion and began to pull it towards him. The goddess cut off his trunk with her sword. The demon Mahishasur continued his terrorizing, taking the form of a lion, and then the form of a man, but both of them were gracefully slain by Durga.
Then Mahishasur began attacking once more, starting to take the form of a buffalo again. The patient goddess became very angry, and proclaimed to Mahishasur in a colorful tone—"Roar with delight while you still can, O illiterate demon, because when I will kill you, the gods themselves will roar with delight".When Mahishasur had half emerged into his buffalo form, he was paralyzed by the extreme light emitting from the goddess's body. The goddess then resounded with laughter before cutting Mahishasur's head down with her sword.
Thus Durga slew Mahishasur, thus is the power of the fierce compassion of Durga. Hence, Mata Durga is also known as Mahishasurmardhini—the slayer of Mahishasur. According to one legend, the goddess Durga created an army to fight against the forces of the demon-king Mahishasur, who was terrorizing Heaven and Earth. After ten days of fighting, Durga and her army defeated Mahishasur and killed him. As a reward for their service, Durga bestowed upon her army the knowledge of jewelry-making. Ever since, the Sonara community has been involved in the jewelry profession.

Worship & Durga Puja:

The four day long (Saptami to Dashami) Durga Puja is the biggest annual festival in Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal, where it is known as Dashain. It is celebrated likewise with much fervour in various parts of India, especially the Himalayan region, but is celebrated in various forms throughout the Hindu universe.
The day of Durga's victory is celebrated as Vijayadashami (Bihar, Bengali), Dashain (Nepali) or Dussehra (Hindi) - these words literally mean "the Victory Tenth" (day).^[6]
In Kashmir she is worshipped as shaarika (the main temple is in Hari Parbat in Srinagar).
The actual period of the worship however may be on the preceding nine days (Navaratri) followed by the last day called Vijayadashami in North India or five days in Bengal (from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing-moon fortnight). Nine aspects of Durga known as Navadurga are meditated upon, one by one during the nine-day festival by devout Shakti worshippers. In South India especially Andhra Pradesh Dussera Navaratri is also celebrated and the goddess is dressed each day as a different devi like Sraswati, Parvati, Laksmi etc. for the nine days.
In North India, the tenth day, signifying Rama's victory in his battle against the demon Ravana, is celebrated as Dussehra - gigantic straw effigies of Ravana are burnt in designated open spaces (e.g. Delhi's Ram Lila grounds), watched by thousands of families and little children.
In Mysore Karnataka, she is worshipped as Chamundeshwari, the patron goddess of the city during Dussehra
In Gujarat it is celebrated as the last day of Navaratri, during which the Garba dance is performed to celebrate the vigorous victory of Mahishasura-mardini Durga.
The Goddess Durga is worshipped in her peaceful form as Maha Gauri, The Fair Lady, Shree Shantadurga also known as santeri, is the patron Goddess of Goa. She is worshipped by all Goan Hindus.
In Maharashtra, Tulja Bhavani and Ambabai is worshipped as Mahishasur Mardini and is patron goddess of land. Bhavani is known as Tulaja, Amba, Renuka, Yamai, Saptshrungi, Jogai in different places of Maharashtra. She is inspirational goddess of Raja shivaji. As per legends, Bhavani revealed to Shivaji and blessed him to form a kingdom.
In Bangladesh also the four-days long Sharadiya Durga Puja (Bengali: শারদীয়া দুর্গা পুজো , ‘autumnal Durga worship’) is the biggest religious festivals for the Hindus and celebrated accross the country with Vijayadashami being a national holiday.

Mahishasuramardini Stotra

Mahishasuramardini Stotra^[7]

ayi girina.ndini na.nditamedini vishvavinodini na.ndanute girivara vi.ndhya shirodhinivaasini vishhNuvilaasini jishhNunute bhagavati he shitikaNThakuTuMbini bhuuri kuTuMbini bhuuri kRite jaya jaya he mahishhaasuramardini ramyakapardini shailasute		O daughter of the mountain, who makes the whole earth happy, who makes the whole universe rejoice, praised by Nandin dwelling on the peak of the great Vindhya mountain, glittering widely, praised by those desirous of victory O Goddess, wife of the blue necked Siva, One who has many families, One who has done a lot, be victorious, be victorious, O destroyer of the demon mahisa, with beautiful braids of hair, daughter of the mountain Himalaya
suravaravarshhiNi durdharadharshhiNi durmukhamarshhiNi harshharate tribhuvanaposhhiNi sha.nkaratoshhiNi kilbishhamoshhiNi ghoshharate danuja niroshhiNi ditisuta roshhiNi durmada shoshhiNi sindhusute jaya jaya he mahishhaasuramardini ramyakapardini shailasute		O bestower of boons on Gods, One who assails those hard to control, who tolerates those with ugly faces , one engrossed in rejoicing One who nourishes the three worlds, One who pleases sankara, One who removes sins, One who engrosses in sound of Om One who is angry with the progeny of Danu (demon), One who is angry with the sons of Diti (also demon), One who destroys those with evil intoxication of pride, daughter of the ocean

Navadurga, the nine forms of Durga

Navadurga, or Navdurga, are the nine forms of Durga collectively worshipped by Shakti devotees. Scriptures differ in naming the nine incarnations. Pictures and paintings of the Nava-Durga also varies from region to region. The most widely accepted account of the nine forms of Durga is the one found in the Devi Mahatmya – Sailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Maha Gowri and Siddhidayini. The nine forms of Durga are worshipped during the nine days of Navratri.

Sailaputri or Shailaputri – In this form Durga is two-armed and carries a trident and lotus. Her mount is an ox or bull. Sailaputri is believed to be the rebirth of Sati, the daughter of Daksha and the wife of Lord Shiva. In her second birth she is Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya and later she became the consort of Shiva. This is one of the very first forms of Shakti and is closely associated with Lord Shiva. Shailaputri is worshipped on the first day of Navaratri.

Brahmacharini – In this form Durga is two-armed and carries a rosary and sacred water pot (Kamandalu). She is in a highly pious and peaceful form or is in meditation. This form of Durga is related to the severe penance undertaken by Sati and Parvati in their respective births to attain Lord Shiva as husband. Some of the most important Vratas observed in different parts of India by women is based on the strict austerities followed by Brahmacharini. She is also known as Tapasyacharini and is worshipped on the second day of Navrathri.

Chandraghanta or Chandra-khanda – In this form Durga is 10-armed and rides a tiger. She carries pot, bow, arrow, lotus, discus, rosary, trident, mace and sword. This is a terrible aspect and is roaring in anger. This form of Durga is completely different from earlier forms and shows when provoked she can be the terrible or malevolent. Chandraghanta is worshipped on the third day of Navarathri.

Kushmanda – In this form Durga is eight-armed and rides on a tiger. She holds kamandalu, bow, arrow, lotus, pot containing wine, disc, rosary and a club. She is very happy in this form and it is believed that the eternal darkness ended when she smiled. And this led to the beginning of creation. Kushmanda form of Durga is worshipped on fourth day of Navratri.

Skanda Mata – In this form Durga is four-armed and rides on a lion. She carries lotus, kamandalu (pot) and bell. Her one hand is in blessing posture. In this form she is the mother of Lord Muruga or Subrahamniya or Kartik, who is also known as Skanda. This the motherly form of Durga and she is benevolent. Skanda Mata form of Durga is worshipped on the fifth day of Navaratri.

Katyayani – In this form Durga is four-armed and she carries a sword, shield and lotus. One hand is depicted as giving blessing. She rides a lion. It is believed that in this form she was born as a daughter to Sage Katya of Katya clan. This is the daughter form of Durga. She is epitome of love also won’t hesitate to rise up in anger. Katyayani form of Durga is worshipped on the sixth day of Navrathri

Mahagauri or Maha Gowri – In this form Durga is four-armed and she rides on a bull or a white elephant. She carries a trident and hand-drum. Two hands are in blessing posture. She is pure and is believed to have been in the form of Mata Parvati when she did penance to get Shiva as her husband. Purity is depicted in this form of Durga. Mahagowri form of Durga is worshipped on the eighth day of Navratri.

Siddhidayini or Siddhidatri – In this form Durga is seated on a lotus and is four armed. She holds a lotus, mace, discus and book. In this form Durga removes ignorance and she provides the knowledge to realize That or Brahman. She is surrounded by Siddhas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Demons and Gods who are worshipping her. The Siddhi that she provides is the realization that only She exists. Siddhidayini form of Durga is worshipped on the ninth day of Navaratri.

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