Kolkata ki durga puja

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके ।
शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

Wish you and your family a very happy durga ashtami!! ✨

This time, here I am with some beautiful and unique shots of Durga maa from 'The City of Joy - Kolkata'! 😍 As it was not possible for me to go out physically and shoot, therefore I have curated various pics which I found gorgeous and unique at the same time with some lesser known facts about maa. Hope you like it! Shubho Durga Ashtami 🙏🏼🌺✨

Goddess Durga is nothing but the forms of Shakti like Kali, Bagavati, Gauri, Rajeshwari; Lalita. Across India Durga is referred to by several names and worshipped with great fear and reverence. The mighty durga devi is the protector of the universe, by killing evil forces. Durga or “Durgatinashini” literally translates to durgati – woes and miseries and nashini- eradicator.

In all her divine forms, Mother Durga symbolizes the true meaning of women's empowerment. She symbolizes the victory of good over evil, which makes hundreds of people worship the divine Boss Lady.

                                         

The fearsome side of Mother Durga makes her known as the warrior goddess who can stride along tough paths to destroy evil and shower the universe with love and prosperity. Knowing the powers and strength of Goddess Durga will make you respect her even more:

The Mother Goddess is the epitome of feminine grace and supreme power. Her Shakti or fearless strength is known by different names, each depicting a particular quality of the goddess.

There are multiple manifestations of Goddess Durga worshipped in the form of other deities. The various forms of Durga in nine different avatars are known as Navadurga.

Reflecting the calm feminine side of the goddess- Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, and Kushmanda are the first four forms, Skandamata is the fifth form of Goddess Durga, worshiped on the fifth day of Navratri.

Katyayani and Kalaratri, the sixth and seventh forms of Durga depict the terrifying side of the goddess, ready to fight evil, offering protection from darkness. Mahagauri and Siddhidatri are the final forms of Durga representing peace, calmness, and the giver of supernatural power.

Durga is known as 'Triyambake' or the three-eyed goddess. The left eye symbolizes desire, the right eye represents action and the third middle eye depicts knowledge.

Goddess Durga received features from each and every god. Her face from Shiva, her ten arms from lord Vishnu, her feet from Lord Brahma and so on. They also gave her the weapons such as trident, conch, thunderbolt, sword, and spear and decked her up in warrior amour and jewels. The god of the mighty mountains gave her the lion to ride with a thunderous roar.

Thunderbolt represents firm conviction while the partially-bloomed lotus signifies the uncertainty of success.

A revolving disc or Sudarshan chakra denotes the continuity of the universe under the blessing of Goddess Durga. The sword represents undoubted knowledge of the Devi.

While the conch shell symbolizes her connection with God through sound, the bow and arrow represent potential and kinetic energy to be used in times of need.

The three sharp ends of the trident or Trishul is symbolic of the state of activeness, Satva (inactivity), Rajas (activity), and Tamas (no activity).

The famous chant 'Shakti Rupenu Samasthita' means that Durga is omnipotent and exists in each one of us in the form of divine energy.

Agmas were the Epics which shiva tells to parvati- It mainly follows Tantra tradition, Devi stotram etc. Rudryamal , Durga saptashati  Tantra chudamani, Shakti sangam etc. These were of 3 types Shaiv, vaishnav and shakt agams.

Nigams were stories which Devi tells to shiva. It mainly consist of  vedic systems even Vedas come under Nigamas. It comprises of Karma kaand.

I hope this Navratri blog gave you the fortune to have darshan of maa Durga from the comforts of your home as well as increased your knowledge about her! ✨

Curated by - Kamya 🌺

Image source - Facebook 

Information source - various websites and quora

May the 9 avatars of Maa Durga bless you with 9 qualities – power, happiness, humanity, peace, knowledge, devotion, name, fame, and health. Happy Navratri!

Devi 'Maa' 🌺

 Hi everyone!! sorry.. sorry.. आज का ब्लॉग हिंदी में करते हैं....

नमस्ते, माँ दुर्गा के 9 अवतार आपको 9 गुणों - शक्ति, खुशी, मानवता, शांति, ज्ञान, भक्ति, नाम, प्रसिद्धि और स्वास्थ्य के साथ आशीर्वाद दें। आप सभी को नवरात्रि की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं!! ✨🌺

देवता देवी के बिना दिव्य नहीं हो सकते | लक्ष्मी के बिना विष्णु अपूर्ण हैं. यदि शक्ति नहीं हैं, तो शिव भी नहीं हैं. सरस्वती के बिना ब्रह्मा नहीं हैं. इसलिए यह संदेश देते हुए कि स्त्री और पुरुष दोनों समान हैं और हर महिला के भीतर एक देवी होती है, फिर उसकी उम्र, रूप आदि का कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता| वह हमारे घरों की दुर्गा, सरस्वती और लक्ष्मी हैं और जरूरत पड़ने पर काली भी बन सकती  हैं | और नवरात्रि यहां हमें यह याद दिलाने के लिए है कि हर महिला में दिव्य देवी के रूप में सुंदर और महान गुण होते हैं। 

इस के साथ  मैं आपके सामने प्रस्तुत  करती हूँ मेरा पहला पोर्ट्रेट फोटोशूट, "देवी 'माँ' "

📸 - काम्या 

👵🏽 - मालती साहू (मेरी दादी माँ 🥰)

📷 - कैनन 1500डी 

माँ दुर्गा की कृपा आप सभी पर बनी रहे। 🙏

Durga maa in every Woman | Photography | Navratri 2021

 

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्ति रूपेण संस्थिता। नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नम: |

Happy Vijayadashami to you and your family!! It's the end of Navratri and we have bid goodbye to durga maa for this year and yeah I also know it's not easy :( 

So, here are some shots which I got from various parts of India, from raipur to bihar and from bhilai to Navagarh, as summary of Navratri 2021 with a strong  message to convey. I hope you like it. Enjoy!! ✨

Goddess Durga symbolises the divine forces (positive energy) known as divine shakti (feminine energy/ power) that is used against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. She protects her devotees from evil powers and safeguards them. It is believed that Goddess Durga is the combined form of powers of Goddesses Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati.

It is also believed that Goddess Durga was created by Lord Vishnu as a warrior goddess to protect good people (devas) for fighting the demon, Mahishasur. Her divine shakti contains the combined energies of all the gods in the form of weapons and emblems (mudras).

Goddess Durga represents the power of the Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the creation. The Sanskrit word durga means fort or a place that is protected and thus difficult to reach. Durga, also called Divine Shakti, protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces (negative energy and vices—arrogance, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, greed and selfishness).

Durga Puja marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon Mahishasura. It epitomizes the victory of good over evil. Maa Durga is depicted as a warrior goddess, an epitome of pure love, courage, beauty, strength and knowledge. Maa Durga is often described as the influential diety, who won her fight of good over evil, and ensured that the spirit of ‘righteousness’ prevails.

Just like Durga Maa, women in India are powerful, courageous and incredible. Every woman is Shakti (energy), Bhakti (devotion) and Mukti (Liberation), and should be treated as such. 

Maa is a matriarchal (I hope you know the meaning.) goddess figure. And in today’s testing times, women must embody the shakti to live a dignified life. French author Simone de Beauvoir was right in saying that 'one is not born but rather becomes a woman'. The honour and pride of being a woman are challenged each day —be it on roads, at the workplace or at home.

Compare the eight arms of Goddess and the graceful weapons in them with the woman of today or earlier. We will see that in our society women have been burdened with multi-faceted duty and responsibility and they have also discharged them with complete success, strength and loyalty. It is clear that worshiping Goddess as the best symbol of female identity will be rational not only from the religious point of view but also from the social point of view.

There is a strange dichotomy that seems to exist across India. While on the one hand we celebrate and venerate women role models, on the other, in large parts of the country, patriarchy reigns. There is even an undeniable preference and bias for the male child, with thousands of unfortunate cases of female infanticide. Around a time when the country is celebrating Goddess Durga through Durga Puja and celebrations across India, perhaps it is time we reminded ourselves of the true worth and potential of the girl child or the female. 

It's no less than an irony of sort that the Indian culture which gives utmost importance to the Goddess, fails to show tolerance and respect towards women in the society. Every year we celebrate the festival of Navratri singing praises to the mighty Goddess Durga. We offer prayers before the Goddess of wealth Lakshmi, praying for prosperity; we seek knowledge from Goddess Saraswati but when it comes to the women in our lives, we seldom show the needed gratitude. A country like India where Goddesses are worshiped, women has no stand. 

 

Since ages we have been talking about empowerment and safety of women. However, these are just talks. As the ongoing crimes against women are proof that our mindset is still the same and this hypocrisy is here to stay. No matter in which part of the country we go, crime against women echoes from every corner. Despite the various laws made to protect the dignity of women, they are still playing weak victims in the hands of some immoral bunch of people.  

 

Today, in a country like India where MaaDurga is worshipped and women form the backbone of the society, India is still fighting the societal demons the crimes against women like rape, sex-selective abortion, infanticide, dowry, domestic violence and child marriage. We worship our goddesses but tend to forget to respect the spirit of those deities in our girls and our women. A popular social media quote rightly goes, "A country with the highest crime rates against women will now worship a woman for the next nine days".

And I think that it is really well said because, on the days of Ashtami and Navami, everyone is searching for girls to worship them and seek the blessings of the goddess but if that same girl child will be born in their own family, they won't be as happy as in during worshipping them. And if a male child is born, then the whole family would be proud and happy as if something 'extraordinary' has happened. (Here, I am talking about some of the families, not all, so don't be offended 🙏 )

Things are truly miserable for women, but as we say; every cloud has a silver lining. We just have to find it. Bringing a change is possible provided we all make a cumulative effort for the same. This Navratri, while we gather to indulge in Garba Ras and Dandiya celebrating the magnificence of Goddess Durga and her different forms; let us enlighten our minds and heart with purity of thoughts. We must make an effort to spread awareness about women rights and equality. Every change begins with us, and if we aim at protecting the women around us then no one can dare to harm their sanctity. We don't need arms or ammunition to fight out these perverts. Raising your voice is enough to scare them away. Now is the time to change our mindset towards the females around us and treat them equally.

 

Don't just be a mute spectator to the injustice happening to a woman around. One voice can bring in many voices together. And once we use the power of standing united against the evil, it will have to perish. 

May every woman invokes her inner Durga and Kali, to fight and win against these modern day's Mahishasuras.....

Really very thank you from the bottom of my heart to all who submitted the photos for the blog. ❤️

Curated and edited by : Kamya 🌺

Edited with : Lightroom ( Lr )

 I hope this Navratri Special blog post not only gave you the darshans of Maa, from different parts of country but also helped to create some awareness and change in the mentality of some people.

May Goddess Durga show you the path to eternal peace and prosperity. May she bless you with the strength to defeat the evils in your life!

Jai Mata Di ✨🙏🌺