Which Goddesses do you worship?Which festivals do you celebrate?

By the way, Friday 8/12 is Varalakshmi Vratam.

I'm not really a festival kind of person. Too many people. As far as the Goddess goes, I don't see the Goddess as separate from Shiva, so it's in Ardhinarisvara, and we have /Him/Her in our shrine. But not separately.

My festivals are the local temple festival, Thai Pusam, and Sivaratri. I like Vinayaka Chaturthi as well, but here it is just so ridiculously crowded, you don't even get darshan unless you want to be pushy. So sometimes, I wait until the next day to go, or just go in the morning.

Yes, Ardra (Betelguese) is a nakshatra, situated between Punarvasu (Castor and Pollux) and Mrigashiras (Orion).

"If the winter solstice, therefore, occurred in the month of Phalguna, one month in advance of Magha, in the old Vedic days, the vernal equinox must then have been in Mrigashiras or two Nakshatras in Advance of the Krittikas. Taking tie data given in the Vedanga Jyotisha as his basis, the late Krishna Sastri Godbole has thus calculated the position of the
four cardinal points of the ecliptic, when the winter solstice, as stated in the Brahmanas, occurred on the full-moon day in the month of Phalguna:
(1) The winter solstice in 3 20' of the divisional tiara Bhadrapada;
(2) The vernal equinox in the beginning of Ardra;
(3) The summer solstice in 10 of Uttara Phalguni; and
(4) The autumnal equinox in the middle of Mula"
BG Tilak, "Orion or the Antiquity of Vedas"

But, what I find from the internet is that the image is of Arudra Darshanam. Just check in Google..

I worship the Goddess in many forms like the The Queen of heaven, and the Sun Goddess, etc. I follow the Goddess wheel of the year, one of the many "Festivals" i celebrate is the crowning of the Queen of Heaven, and the return of Amaterasu from her cave

I have a number of Goddess' that I feel particularly close to Yellamma being one of them

Also keep Randal maa close


And Khodiyar maa has a special place in my heart

Vanakkam,

Thank you for those beautiful pictures of Jagadamba, Yogi ! They are wonderful ! Are those the ones you use on your altar ?

Aum Namah Shivaya

Bhadr said:

What is Ardrothsavam (Ardra Utsava) then? I heard that it is signifies the formless Shiva's manifestation as Nataraja Bhagavan.

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That too is correct, Bhadr. Ardra Utsavam also is celebrated (swings, welcoming spring). I think that coincides with Teej, Akshya Tritiya festival in Rajasthan. I have already mentioned that the deity of Ardra is Rudra. Ardra also means 'wet'. I suppose that refers to winter rains. I think it is the same festival, some call it Ardra Utsavam, some may call it Arudra Utsavam. Conflict resolved.

I worship Kali, Gayatri and Shri Rajarajeshwari. Kali is our kul devi and so I have her visions sometimes when I really need help.

My worshippable Devi is Srimati Jahnava Devi , who is the consort and eternal energy of Nityananda Prabhu. She is also ananga manjari (the sister of Radharani) and also the incarnation of Revati, the consort of Sri Balarama. Jahnava Maa was instrumental to the preaching of the Gaudiya Movement after the disappearance of Lord Nitai Gaur and the 6 Goswamis. It was She who made copies the Gaudiya Scriptures and transferred them to Bengal for safe keeping. Her mercy is the full extension of the Mercy of Nityananda, and She cares for each and every devotee just like a mother cares for Her child. Here below you can see the deity of Sri Jahnava Thakurani:



There is a beautiful bhajan written in Her glorification:

jaya jaya sri jahnava gopmatha vallabha
bhuvana mohana manohari
sri radhika priyatama, rvipa gune anupama
karunate jagat uddhari

“All glories, all glories to Sri Jahnava, the beloved of Gopinath, who enchants even the enchanter of the world (Krishna)! She is Sri Radhika’s dearmost sister, Her form and qualities are matchless and out of great compassion She redeems the world.

baladeva sakti dhama, dharila jahnava nama
purve chila anariga manjari |
nityananda anuraga, eka dehe dui bhaga
dekhaila jive krpa kori

“Baladeva’s shakti is named Jahnava, who was previously known as Ananga Manjari. Out of love for Nityananda She kindly showed two parts in one body, to bestow mercy on the fallen jivas.”

nityananda sri caitanya, nija prana kori jane
heno cittya srimati jahnava
viracandra sisya yara, ki jani mahima tara
guna varne heno ache keba

“Srimati Jahnava considered Nitai and Caitanya as Her very life, such was the condition of Her heart. Who knows the glories of someone who has a disciple like Prabhu Viracandra? Who can possibly describe Her amazing qualities?"

akhila jagata jaya, sarva jive kori daya
nityananda sarhhati vihari |
mo adhame ei koro, pada padme nirantara
rahe mana kabhu na pasari

“She enjoys along with Nityananda, bestowing Her grace upon all of the fallen jivas in the world. Please let a fallen soul like me never forget Your lotus-feet. May they be my constant remembrance.”

tomara mahima yoto, mui char a jani koto
nija gune tara dayamayi I
koriya karuna drsti, pUraho manera isti
duhkha nasa koro duhkhajayi

“What can a wretch like me know about all of Your glories? You are naturally full of compassion. Please cast a merciful glance upon me and fulfill my desires. Please destroy my misery and make me conquer distress.”

surya dasa pandita suta, sarva gune samanvita
pada-padme nivedana kori |
janma haya yatha tatha, ithe mora nahe vyatha
svapne yena toma na pasari ||

“The daughter of Surya Das is endowed with all good qualities. I pray to Her lotus-feet: ‘Wherever I may take my birth, that will not bother me, as long as I will not forget You even in my dreams!”

tava padapadme mati, nirantara rahe sthiti
heno krpa koribe amare I
mukha-kanthe boli suno, vadanete dhari trna
ei bhiksa magi parihare

“Be so kind to me that I may always remain aware of Your lotus-feet. Please listen, for I tell you this loudly! Holding a straw between my teeth I beg from You this alm.”

Sri Jahnava Mata ji Jaya!!

Hare Krishna, Nitai brother. Should it not be Jahnavi Devi, instead of Jahnava Devi. Is it because the name comes from Bengali?

Jainarayan said:

By the way, Friday 8/12 is Varalakshmi Vratam.

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I found out just what was being done with the first set of 100 pictures I printed for the temple, if you remember:



I remember the temple manager saying they were for Lakshmi Puja. OK. When I came up the stairs and faced the front counter, which is nice like a hotel front counter, the manager saw me, stopped what he was doing and came out to shake my hand with a big smile on his face. Huh? What did I do now? He had my hand and said "come, come inside" where I was going anyway. He pointed to the right and said "look! thank you, thank you, see?"

Well, there were 77 places (yes I counted, my ocpd demanded it) in rows on carpets in front of Mahalakshmi's sanctum with trays with puja items, and.... the pictures I printed standing up in front of the kalasha-s. They were for the ladies who kept the vrata to do puja. I smiled and said "you are most welcome, I am happy to have helped". I sat off to the back and side and watched the puja. I heard the priests chant the Sri Suktam, which I had coincidentally read earlier when I got there. Of course I completely mangled the pronunciations, since I'm not yet familiar with the rhythm.

In a shameful moment of self-pride I thought "hmm... I wonder what they did in past years for an image of Maa". I was duly ashamed of myself on one hand, but on the other hand I was happy I made the manager so happy. And the best part is that probably no one except him and the others in the office know where the pictures came from. For me, they were no effort at all, except maybe an hour of my time keeping an eye on the printer, the photo paper and ink, but I found out how much they cost to print from a printer... almost $2 each. So if I saved the temple $200 I'm happy.

I'm now working on the pictures for Navaratri, I printed 100, I have another 100 to go...next week when I can afford more ink and paper.

Don't hesitate. Give in to your ego this one time. You pleased the Mother and so many of her devotees. I appreciate. Recover your costs. That will enable you to do more such work. Let us be practical.

Aupmanyav said:

Don't hesitate. Give in to your ego this one time. You pleased the Mother and so many of her devotees. Appreciate. Recover your costs. That will enable you to do more such work. Let us be practical.

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Yes, I was thinking She might be pleased. That's all I ask for. I suppose the ladies took the pictures with them, and the extras where given out to other devotees.

There are so many temples of Sri Devi.Which is/are your favorite temples of the Goddess?(the ones you visited or want to visit someday or you like that shrine)

My favourite will always be the Shri Durga Mandir in Rockbank here in Melbourne. It is a stunning temple. Recently I went to the very close by Murugan temple (they're pretty much neighbours). The energy in both is extremely different. The atmosphere in the Durga Mata mandir is... it's like coming home for me. I step inside and I breathe a sigh of relief. The atmosphere within Murugan's temple was completely different. It was reverential and exciting, energetic. Loved it. I will certainly be revisiting.

There are many temples here in Melbourne but those two are amongst my closest and neither is so massive that you feel overwhelmed (well, maybe Shri Durga Mandir... it is huge but it just feels homely).

Love temples, old, traditional, but hardly go there now. My temple is in my heart, it is small but beautiful.

DeviChaaya said:

My favourite will always be the Shri Durga Mandir in Rockbank here in Melbourne. It is a stunning temple. Recently I went to the very close by Murugan temple (they're pretty much neighbours). The energy in both is extremely different. The atmosphere in the Durga Mata mandir is... it's like coming home for me. I step inside and I breathe a sigh of relief. The atmosphere within Murugan's temple was completely different. It was reverential and exciting, energetic. Loved it. I will certainly be revisiting.

There are many temples here in Melbourne but those two are amongst my closest and neither is so massive that you feel overwhelmed (well, maybe Shri Durga Mandir... it is huge but it just feels homely).

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Looks like a nice temple DeviChaaya Ji.
Any temples in India you would like to visit?

Aupmanyav said:

Love temples, old, traditional, but hardly go there now.

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Aupji,which temples you used to visit?

My locality temple, Rameshwar Nath, Jodhpur. Eka Linga ji, Udaipur (separating it for your convenient reading). Temples in Uttarkhand - Kedar, Madhya Maheshwar, Tungnath. Generally small, aloof, where I can be alone with the deity and have a private bow-wow. I can tell him my story, he can tell me his.

Bhadr said:

Looks like a nice temple DeviChaaya Ji.
Any temples in India you would like to visit?

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ALL of them. I would love to visit the 52 Shakti Peeths and the 12 Jyortilingas! Any that catch my eye during the trip will also be visited.