We are slowly inching towards the end of this year’s Navarathri ! As much as I am exhausted and on the brink of a writer’s block, I’m still motivated by the fact that many of you out there actually are reading my posts. Again, my gratitude knows no bounds.
It is a pretty short slice as we celebrate the manifestation of Maha Gauri today. If Maha Kali is revered for her dark skin, Maha Gauri is venerated for her “pearl white beauty” – together with grace and peace in abundance.
Remember Parvati, whom I spoke about on my first blog post for the first day of Navarathri ?
While she was in penance to marry Lord Shiva, the climate changes, lack of nutrition, dust and environmental changes caused Parvati’s complexion to darken that Shiva had to bestow the flow of Ganga from his matted locks to “cleanse” her. The purification of Parvati by the holy river in turn gave her a “pearly white” complexion and hence, she came to be known as Maha Gauri.
Now, there hasn’t been much about Maha Gauri (I wonder why), but fascinatingly, I chanced upon the tales of Dasa Mahavidyas, the ten tantric goddesses in a combination of Hinduism and Buddhism – while I was still on my Navarathri research. Naturally, I am bursting to read up just so that I can push out ten more posts, shedding light on the Dasa Mahavidyas but while I work on that, I suggest you do some reading about them. It’s pretty intriguing.
There is also another important message waiting to conclude my Navarathri series but let us first revel in the final day celebrations tomorrow and have Durga finally wreck Buffalo Head on Friday.
File Photo : Upasana Govindarajan (Pen and Pencil).
