Arghya Writes

There goes, Maa Returning to her spouse. Aunts are seen praying for her safe journey. Her children demand vows of return. Seems like Bhudevi , herself has came to bid adieu to her. Sounds of " Asche bochor abar hobe " surround the air. The whole atmosphere dwells with sentiment but not despair. Don't be sad as thy Divine Mother will return, For the eradication of evil. She'll come again With more love, power & grace. She'll be back to purify our souls As well as our hearts. - Debranjan Sinha

Under the Dishergarh bridge, near the Damodar river is situated a shrine dedicated to the self-decapitated goddess, Maa Chinnamasta . It is only 7-8 km away from Neamatpur. Out of the concrete town, I experienced delightful green sceneries; came across villages those were calm, domesticated yet rebellious in the form of its youths. In the middle of a market, I found a giant orange entrance directing us to the main temple. Inside the main chamber resides the Goddess Chinnamasta, whose complexion is as red as hibiscus with the lustre of a thousand suns. When I looked at the bold, fearless, 16 year old goddess it seemed like she's conveying to her devotees, "O, mortals, what are you so proud of? Is it your youth? Your knowledge? Or the fact that you're a human? Pride gives birth to ego (aham), diminishing knowledge (bodha). Look at me, I'd decapitated myself, devoiding my thoughts of ego, lust & anger. Follow the path that I've paved for sa...

Image Source : Flickr.com There once was a sage, named Bhringi , a keen devotee of Lord Shiva . One day, he went to Mount Kailash to worship Shiva by circumambulation. Seeing Bhringi solely worshipping Shiva, provoked Parvati . So, she sat next to Shiva. Bhringi sensed what was going on and was reluctant. To make sure his wife gets the same devotion, Shiva embraced Parvati, so tight that they emerged into the Ardhanarishwara form. The arrogant sage, then, took the form of a bee, flew round only the male portion of the Ardhanarishwara. Parvati's wrath now, knew no bounds. Consequently, she took away all the blood and flesh out from Bhringi's body. (You see, in Tantrism it's believed that the human body gets the strong parts like the nerves & bones from the father while the soft & delicate parts i.e. blood & flesh come from the mother.) Thus, Bhringi lost all the parts that came from the Universal Mother . Now, he was just a mere skeleton, st...