SRI CHANDI -- CHAMUNDASWARI
The twin warrior goddesses, Chandi and Chamunda, represent a curious tradition in
Hinduism of female warriors, often depicted in pairs, who ride together in battle
defeating men and exhibiting extraordinary strength and prowess. Throughout India
they are assigned different names in different traditions—Dayamava-Durgamma in
Karnataka, Chotila-Chamunda in Gujarat, Keliamma-Chamunda in Uttar Pradesh,
etc.—but the stories related to them are all very similar.
Sri Chandi and Sri Chamunda are expansions of the goddess Durga and the story of t
heir appearance is as follows: There were once two demons, Chanda and Munda, who
performed great austerities for thousands of years in order to please Lord Brahma.
After some time, Brahma appeared before them and they asked for the benediction to
become great warriors, strong enough to rule the world and conquer heaven. Brahma
granted the request but, because the two were demons, chaos quickly ensued. They
became more and more greedy and even tried to violate the abodes of Brahma, Siva
and Vishnu. It was agreed that Durga-devi should handle the matter and the goddess
expanded herself into two forms, Chandi and Chamunda, who fiercely fought against
the demons and emerged victorious.
Sri Chandi-Chamunda is said to be the embodiment of Durga’s power and strength.
The two deities assume fierce forms with large eyes, tridents in their hands, and ride a
single lion together. They are dressed in red and green and adorned with flower
garlands. There are temples to these twin goddesses scattered throughout India—a
famous one is situated on the Chotila Hill in Gujarat. Festivals are celebrated during
Durga-puja in the month of Ashvina (September-October).
SRI Durga devi is the universal mother and goddess of the material cosmos. She is the
wife and shakti of Lord Siva and, like her husband, has many different expansions such
as Kali, Parvati, Sati, Uma, Bhagavati, and so on. Durga rides on a tiger or lion and
has eight arms holding the four symbols of Vishnu (a lotus, conch, discus and club), a
bow and arrow, a trident, and a machete-like ax (khadagh). One of her hands is raised,
Sri Durga-devi can be both loving and fierce. As the universal mother she offers
protection and shelter to all conditioned souls, but as the supreme chastiser she never
hesitates to punish her children when they are bad or misbehaved. Since mothers are
always very compassionate and understanding of their children, goddess Durga is a
favorite of the third sex. The first nine days of the waxing moon of Ashvina
(September-October) mark a festival known as Navaratri, which is celebrated all over
India in honor of the goddess. During this time, Hindus offer respects to Durga-devi
and at many temples there is a tradition of crossdressing. In Tamil Nadu, for instance,
girl children are blessed with new dresses and sweets during Navaratri and treated as
representations of the goddess. In homes where there are no girls, small boys are
crossdressed and honored in their place. At some Krsna temples, the Deity is dressed
up as a beautiful young girl with saris, jewelry and so on, while at certain Siva temples,
priests wear saris and headdresses of the goddess while offering puja to Lord Siva on
her behalf. In Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu, men traditionally dress up as
women during NavaratriDasara, they go crossdressed to the Mutharamma Durga
temple to offer prayers and receive blessings from the goddess. Durga-puja is held on
the seventh day of the festival and during this time, Durga-devi’s divine yoni
and go house-to-house asking for festival donations. On the tenth day of (womb) is
worshiped as a symbol of fertility and the female principle........ !!!!!!