About Maa Das MahaVidya Temple

Myth 1 -
The Furiousness Of
Maa Sati

In This Narrative,
daksa, Maa Sati's father,
decides to perform a grand fire sacrifice
and invites all gods except his Daughter,
Maa Sati, And Her husband, lord shiva.
daksa disapproves of lord shiva's
unconventional habits and antisocial nature.
Maa Sati Is Outraged By Her father's exclusion
And Is Determined To Attend the sacrifice
To Confront And Berate him.
However, lord shiva forbids Her From Doing So.

Maa Sati, enraged by
lord shiva's prohibition,
Accuses him of neglecting Her.
Maa Sati's Anger Transforms
Her Divine Appearance,
and lord shiva, fearing Her Wrath, closes his eyes.
When he opens them,
A Terrifying Divine Form Stands Before him.
Maa Sati's Divine Form Changes, Becoming
Elderly And Disheveled, With Fiery Complexion,
And A Protruding Tongue.
Maa Sati Wears A Garland Of severed heads
And A Half-Moon Crown,
Radiating Intense Light And Laughter.

lord shiva tries to escape, But
Maa Sati Fills the surrounding directions
With Ten Different Divine Forms,
Maa Das MahaVidya,
Standing In his way no matter in which direction he ran.

Maa Sati, In The Form Of
Maa Maha Kaali, Proceeds To daksa's fire sacrifice
where She Sacrifices Herself By Immolating In the fire.

This Origin Story Highlights The Superiority Of
Maa Sati As
The Supreme Divine Mother
Of the universe and all gods,
and portrays The Terrifying Depictions Of
Maa Das MahaVidya As
The Divine Forms Of The Divine Mother.

Myth 2 -
The Restraint Of
Maa Parvati

This Version Of The Origin Tale Of
Maa Das MahaVidya Is Narrated In Tantra.
This Version Is Not Found In Written Sources
But Is Said To Be Present
In All The Tantra Scriptures.
According To This Account,
Maa Das MahaVidya Emerge From
Maa Parvati (Reincarnation Of
Maa Sati).

Once After An Argument,
when lord shiva decides to leave the house,
Maa Parvati Blocks the ten doors of the house
With Her Ten Great Forms,
Maa Das MahaVidya,
To Prevent his departure.

The Story Is An Allegory,
where the house symbolizes the human body,
And The Blocking Of the ten doors Symbolizes
The Control Of the ten bodily apertures,
including the senses and vital openings.

Similar To The First Version,
Maa Das MahaVidya Emerge
To Restrain lord shiva And Align him
With The Divine Mother
Maa Parvati's Desires.
Maa Das MahaVidya Symbolize Different Aspects Of
The Divine Mother Coming Together
In The Divine Manifestation Of
Maa Parvati.

Like The First Version,
This Myth Also Underscores The Superiority
Of The Supreme Divine Mother.
Maa Das MahaVidya Symbolize Facets
Or Powers Of The Various States Of Consciousness.
The emphasis on yogic concentration and religious endeavor
implies The Association Of
Maa Das MahaVidya With the human body,
which is considered a microcosm
of the universe in tantra.
Some Tantric Texts Support This Interpretation,
Linking The Powers Of
Maa Das MahaVidya To
the five senses and five elements.

Furthermore, In This Account Of The Origin Myth,
It Is Implied That
Maa Das MahaVidya Are The Bestowers Of siddhis
Upon the devoted tantra practitioners
and sincere devotees
To Enhance their senses
for the attainment of spiritual advancement.

Myth 3 -
Maa Maha Kaali
Fills the cosmos
With Her Divine Forms

In This Version Of The Origin Story Of
Maa Das MahaVidya,
Which Is Documented In A Contemporary Book
On the worship Of
Maa Tara, lord shiva resides With
The Divine Mother Of the universe
Maa Maha Kaali during the satya yuga,
the first and most perfect period of a world cycle.
Eventually, lord shiva becomes restless and decides to leave.
As he starts to wander off,
Maa Maha Kaali Appears In
The Ten Divine Forms Of
Maa Das MahaVidya.
Witnessing The Great Divine Forms,
lord shiva realizes that
Maa Maha Kaali Permeates the entire cosmos,
and wherever he goes,
The Divine Mother Exists
In One Of Her Divine Forms.
This realization Of
The Divine Mother's Omnipresence
causes him to abandon his desire to leave
Maa Maha Kaali to wander.

This Version Shares Similarities With
The Previous Two Versions Of The Myth.
Maa Das MahaVidya Emerge As Divine Forms Of
The Supreme Divine Mother.
However, This Version Focuses On lord shiva going against
Maa Maha Kaali's Wish by attempting to depart,
And Emphasizes That
Maa Maha Kaali Pervades
the entire cosmos Through Her Divine Forms,
Rather Than Highlighting The Role Of
Maa Das MahaVidyas In Restraining lord shiva.

The Central Theme Of This Version,
Consistent With The Implicit Message
In The Other Versions,
Is the impossibility of escaping
The Presence Of
The Divine Mother Of the universe.
The Story Underscores That
Maa Maha Kaali Is Omnipresent,
And the cosmos Is Her Manifestation.
It Also Emphasizes The Role Of
Maa Das MahaVidya In Bestowing knowledge,
specifically the understanding That
Maa Maha Kaali Pervades all of reality.
Thus, This Version Depicts
Maa Das MahaVidya Not As Cosmic Maintainers,
Givers Of magical powers Or
To Symbolize States Of Consciousness
But As Sources And Expressions Of Great Cosmic Wisdom.
The spiritual enlightenment of lord shiva Facilitated By
Maa Das MahaVidya is the focal point
of this version of the origin story.

Myth 4 -
Maa Durga's Salvation
Of the vedas

Another Emergence Story Of
Maa Das MahaVidya Has Its First Mention
In The "Shiv Purana" (v.50).
In This Story,
a demon named durgama gains control over the four vedas,
granting him power over the entire universe
through a boon from lord brahman.
As a result, a severe drought plagued the earth,
causing suffering for all living beings.

In Response To the gods' plea To Save the world,
The Divine Mother, Who Always Responds To
the prayers Of Her devotees, Intervened.
She First Ended the drought And
Replenished the earth's waters.
The gods then requested Her Assistance
In Destroying the formidable demon
And Reclaiming the vedas.

In the ensuing battle,
The Divine Mother Manifested
Maa Das MahaVidya From Her Own Body.
Ultimately, She Emerged Victorious,
Defeating the demon And
Returning the vedas to the gods.
In Honor Of
The Divine Mother's
Triumph Over durgama,
She Was Venerated As
Maa Durga.

Maa Das MahaVidya Are Primarily Associated
With The Myth Of Restoring vedic teachings.
The lineage of mantra and meditation teachings
Centered Around The Divine Mother
has remained unbroken from the vedas to the tantras.
Periodically,
The Divine Mother Revitalizes And Sustains
these teachings in a world
constrained by time and mortality.

Conclusion

The Supreme Divine Mother Of the universe
Is Unchanging And Beyond Description.
The Divine Mother Is Transcendent,
Remaining Beyond the material world.
However, Within the universe Created By
The Divine Mother,
She Is Omnipresent In space and time.
Even though space is actually one continuous expanse,
we perceive it as ten different directions:
east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest,
northeast, northwest, above, and below.
In a similar way,
The Infinite Divine Mother
Is experienced by Her devotees
In Ten Distinct Divine Forms.
Each Of The Divine
Maa MahaVidya Forms Expresses
A Great Cosmic Wisdom Of The Ultimate Truth.
‍
Therefore,
The Divine Mother Is worshipped and approached
Through The Reverence Of
Maa Das MahaVidya,
The Ten Great Cosmic Wisdom Expressions Of
The Divine Mother.

By learning from and internalizing
Each Great Cosmic Wisdom Teaching From Each Of
Maa Das MahaVidya,
sincere devotees can advance on the path
of self-realization and liberation,
keeping in mind the well-being of all
with the awareness That All Is One.

References