A Wisdom Archive on Devi Mahatmya

Lalita sahasranama is a hymn that describes the 1000 names of Devi or Lalita and praises God as the Divine Mother or God's Shakti or Power. A sahasranama is a litany of one thousand names of God or Goddess. sahasra is one thousand and nama is name. There is at least one such sahasranama for each deity in Hinduism. Lalita Sahasranama is a hymn described in the Brahmanda Purana and is one of the most sacred stotras in Hinduism. It was recited as a result of conversation between Hayagri ... Including:

• Lalita sahasranama - Related Links

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MOTHER SARASWATHI
The presiding Deity over Creation and Dissolution Mother Saraswathi, is divine knowledge personified, the embodiment of knowledge of the Absolute. The sound of Her celestial veena awakens the notes of the sublime utterances of the Upanishads which reveal the Truth, and the sacred monosyllable, Om. She bestows the knowledge of the supreme, mystic sound and then gives full knowledge of the Self as represented by Her pure, dazzling snow-white apparel. Therefore, to propitiate Saraswathi, the giver of knowledge, is the third stage.
 
From " Hindu Fasts & Festivals " by Sri Swami Sivananda.
 

Read more here: » Saraswathi: The Hindu Godess Mother Saraswathi

Durga Puja or Navaratri:
This festival is observed twice a year, once in the month of Chaitra and then in Aswayuja. It lasts for nine days in honour of the nine manifestations of Durga. During Navaratri (the word literally means "nine nights") devotees of Durga observe a fast. Brahmins are fed and prayers are offered for the protection of health and property.
 
From Hindu Fasts & Festivals by Sri Swami Sivananda.
 

Read more here: » Durga Puja or Navaratri: Hindu Festivals - Durga Puja or Navaratri

Among the manifestations of Devi most favoured for worship by Shaktas are Kali, Durga, and Parvati. Durga is an epithet of Mahadevi, or "Great Goddess," who is celebrated in the Devi Mahatmya. Kali is the goddess of destruction and transformation, as well as the devourer of time, as her name implies (kala means "time," and also means "black"). Parvati is the gentle wife of Shiva, one of the most popular gods of modern Hinduism, and is strongly assoc ...

Read more here: » Shaktism: Encyclopedia II - Shaktism - Worship

Please remove this notice after the article has been expanded. Details are on this talk page or at Wikipedia:Requests for expansion. For the Goa trance artist, see Shakta (band). Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, or Devi Mata -- the Hindu name for the Great Divine Mother -- in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity (which are however deemed to be inactive in the absence of the Shakti). In pure Shaktism, the Great ... Including:

• Shaktism - Philosophy
• Shaktism - Origin and History
• Shaktism - Roots in Hinduism
• Shaktism - Worship
• Shaktism - Shakta Upanishads
• Shaktism - See Also

Read more here: » Shaktism: Encyclopedia - Shaktism

A mother goddess is a goddess portrayed as the Earth Mother who serves as a general fertility deity, the bountiful embodiment of the earth. From the elegant snake-offering goddess figures of Knossos to the rock-cut images of Cybele, to Dione ("the Goddess") who was invoked at Dodona, along with Zeus, until late Classical times, it is sometimes too facile to class all archaic female goddesses as manifestations of the mother goddess. Archaeologists tend to avoid such theories in interpreting sites and material remains and sometim ... Including:

• Mother goddess - Matriarchy and goddess history
• Mother goddess - Sumerian Mesopotamian and Greek goddesses
• Mother goddess - Celtic goddesses
• Mother goddess - Norse goddesses
• Mother goddess - Olympian goddesses
• Mother goddess - Hinduism
• Mother goddess - Shaktism
• Mother goddess - Mother goddess worship in Catholicism
• Mother goddess - Neopaganism

Read more here: » Mother goddess: Encyclopedia - Mother goddess

A goddess is a female deity, in contrast with a male deity known as a "god". A great many cultures have goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both of the conventional genders and in some cases even hermaphroditic (or gender neutral) deities. As the concept of monotheism and polytheism can be relativistic, so too can related concepts be culturally misunderstood. The concept of gender as applied to a god and goddess, may connote deeper tendencies of patriarchy and matriarchy, which ... Including:

• Goddess - Ancient Near East
• Goddess - Egypt
• Goddess - Mesopotamia
• Goddess - Arabia
• Goddess - Indo-European religion
• Goddess - Hinduism
• Goddess - Graeco-Roman religion
• Goddess - Celtic religion
• Goddess - Germanic religion
• Goddess - Abrahamic religions
• Goddess - Judaism
• Goddess - Christianity
• Goddess - Islam
• Goddess - New religious movements
• Goddess - Wicca and Neopaganism
• Goddess - Religious feminism
• Goddess - Secular use

Read more here: » Goddess: Encyclopedia - Goddess

In Hinduism, Chamunda or Camunda is an aspect of Devi, the supreme mother goddess. The name is a combination of Chanda and Munda, two monsters which Devi killed. The famous temple of Ma Chamunda is near Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. Around 400 years ago the king and a Brahmin priest prayed to Devi for permission to move the temple to some easily accessible location. Devi appeared to the priest in a dream giving her consent. She directed him to dig in a certain spot and an ancient idol would be found and that idol should be inst ...

Read more here: » Chamunda: Encyclopedia - Chamunda

The Gaudiya Vaishnava poet and saint Srila Rupa Goswami (1489-1564 CE) is considered to be one of the principal followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533 CE). He is also one of the famous Six Goswamis of Vrindavana. Rupa Goswami - Srila Rupa Goswami's Geneology. His lineage can be traced back to Karnataka, South India where his Saraswata brahmana descendants held influential positions. Srila Rupa Gosvami's nephew, Jiva Goswami has explained in his Laghu Tosani that Rupa's descendants were of ... Including:

• Rupa Goswami - Srila Rupa Goswami's Geneology
• Rupa Goswami - Rupa Goswami's Early Life
• Rupa Goswami - Rupa's Meeting with Chaitanya
• Rupa Goswami - Rupa's Second Meeting with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
• Rupa Goswami - Rupa Goswami In Puri
• Rupa Goswami - Rupa Goswami in Vrindavana
• Rupa Goswami - Rupa Goswami's Literary Contributions
• Rupa Goswami - Bibliography

Read more here: » Rupa Goswami: Encyclopedia - Rupa Goswami