A murti of the fearsome Goddess[-form], Pratyangira - a theonymic we would be tempted to translate as "Return Fire!" She is regarded as Goddess of the Atharva Veda via Atharvana Bhadrakali - and also linked to Kali through the Narasimhika ('Heroic Lioness' / 'Lion-(Wo)Man') encountered in the Sri Kalika Sahasranama stotram of MahaKalaBhairava : and … Continue reading For Pratyangira – Roaring Goddess of the Counter-Fire
Kali
A Slightly Belated Beltane Commentary (With Additional Slavic Comparanda)
Every year, we try and have (A)Arti-cles ready for the major days of the Indo-European religious calendars. Some years, we do better than others. Other years - a delay turns out to be a blessing in disguise. So it may be viz. Beltane. For we had just in the past few hours happened across postings … Continue reading A Slightly Belated Beltane Commentary (With Additional Slavic Comparanda)
On Kali In The Vedas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFnWiEUJ9ZQ We have often heard it claimed that there is no Kali in the Vedas - and that She is therefore some kind of 'foreign' or 'novel' figure in relation thereto. This is not true.We take a brief look at several divine expressions of the Vedas that are clearly resemblant to Kali - not simply … Continue reading On Kali In The Vedas
The Crow-Accompanied Goddess Of Violent Death
The Fierce Warrior-Destroyer Goddess Chandika is depicted in the Kadambari of Banabhatta (and Son) as being accompanied by a most remarkable coterie of worshippers. To quote from my own translation: “Being worshipped from all sides by the Retinue of Crows both razor sharp and unyielding Who sang Her Glories” The Sanskrit reads: “ārādhyamānāṃ sarvataḥ kaṭhoravāyasagaṇena … Continue reading The Crow-Accompanied Goddess Of Violent Death
On Curious Claims Of There Not Being “Anything Like Kali” In The Vedas – A Brief Illumination To Some Of Her Correlates Within The Vedic Texts
Yesterday evening we encountered this most curious claim: https://twitter.com/Dhvasra/status/1634700610673995777 He might want to check Sankhayana Grihya Sutra II 14 14 - wherein we do, quite literally, find a 'Bhadrakali' directly attested. This guy has been doing a thing for awhile of claiming he's "reviving" the 'real' religion of Vedas. I presume this is why he … Continue reading On Curious Claims Of There Not Being “Anything Like Kali” In The Vedas – A Brief Illumination To Some Of Her Correlates Within The Vedic Texts
On Sadhguru’s Recent Curious Comment About (Hindu, Divine) Feminine And Conquest
To answer Nirjharaḥ Mukhopādhyāyaḥ's question … "No World Beyond HER RuleNo Enemy Beyond HER Wrath" is what I think about this. Now I know that Sadhguru prides himself on not letting himself be "cluttered" by reading scripture - however it does not take a pervasive engagement with our texts to see that the "Feminine", Devi, … Continue reading On Sadhguru’s Recent Curious Comment About (Hindu, Divine) Feminine And Conquest
Dyaus Draconis – The Dread Dragon Forms of the Indo-European Sky Father [ Part Two – Meilichios – ‘Zeus Be Nice Now’ ]
I - The 'Difficult' Facings To The Draconic Lord, At Least In Minds Of Academia Few figures better demonstrate the immediate worth of our approach for the Western IE sphere in these matters, perhaps, than that of Zeus Meilichios. Why? Because here we have a deific - an Aspect of Zeus, I should more properly … Continue reading Dyaus Draconis – The Dread Dragon Forms of the Indo-European Sky Father [ Part Two – Meilichios – ‘Zeus Be Nice Now’ ]
On Ramprasad’s Devi Theonymic Weapons Of The Mind
An associate had sent me this poem - curiously, as fate would have it, very swiftly after I'd finished my Kali & Durga hymnals in the pre-dawn darkness here after yet another night awake. It is an interesting suite of verses. And no doubt, would be more so if I were working from the Bengali … Continue reading On Ramprasad’s Devi Theonymic Weapons Of The Mind
Adorned By The Mantle Of Fire And The Masque Of Death
A fitting image, we had felt, to resonate with a figure encountered at various points in our work over this past year, and that we might perhaps think of as something of a 'Para-Kali' or even 'Proto-Kali' (and, of course, Chandika / Chamunda, and Durga, are also heavily in-mind here for reasons that ought prove … Continue reading Adorned By The Mantle Of Fire And The Masque Of Death
Chamunda – Brief Conceptual Resonancies For The Storm Facing Of Wrathful Sky Divinity
It is Friday - Devi's Day - And so therefore, as has become our custom, we present a brief commentary to go with a beautiful work of (A)Arti-fice ... In this case, a fine sandstone sculpture, about a thousand years old. Something which manages to convey a sense of Her 'Forcefulness', Her 'Essence' ... even … Continue reading Chamunda – Brief Conceptual Resonancies For The Storm Facing Of Wrathful Sky Divinity