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O Guru , please bless us in our search for the Truth
The Divine Mother took the form of Śrī Durgā Devi in the beginning of creation and assumed six forms on Her own free will. They were Agni Durgā, Mahādurgā, Jala Durgā, Vana Durgā, Śabari Durgā and Śūlini Durgā. Of these the one with the trident (Śūla) is called Śūlini Durga, Her form is very fierce and grants boons to Her devotees instantly. She is the Śakti, driving force behind Śarabha form of Śiva. The meditative verse of Śarabha says “kālī durgā ca pakṣau “- the Kāli is Śrī Partyaṅgira Devi of the Atharva Veda and Durga is Śūlini Durga, they are in the form of his wings. Another meditative verse (of the 32 armed-form) says ”durgāślișta karāmbhujam” - he embraces Durga Devi with a hand. The seer of this mantra is Dīrghatapas - one who is involved in a long penance. The meditative verse is:
bibhrāṇā śūla bāṇāsyabhayavara
gadā cāpa pāśān karābjaiḥ
meghaśyāmā kirīṭollasita śaśikalā
bhīṣaṇā bhūṣanāḍhyā
siṃha skandhādhirūḍhā catasṛbhiḥ
asi kheṭānvitābhiḥ parītā
kanyābhiḥ bhinna daityā bhavatu
bhavahaya dhvaṃsinī śūlinī naḥ
śūla = Trident; bānā = arrow; asi = sword; abhaya= gesture of dispelling fear; vara = gesture of granting boons; gadā = mace; cāpa = Bow; pāśān= rope; bibhrānā= holding; karābjaiḥ = in Her lotus like hands; megha+śyāmā = like the rain bearing clouds (dark); kirīṭollasita = sporting on Her crown; śaśikalā = moon crescent; bhīṣanā = terrible — fear causing; bhūṣaṇāḍhyā = ornaments are worn; siṃha skandha adhirūḍhā = riding on the shoulder of lion; catasṛbhiḥ kanyābhiḥ asi khetānvitābhiḥ parītā = four maidens having sword and shield are surrounding (Her); bhinna daityā = (those maidens are) destroying evil demons; bhavatu = let her be; bhavabhaya = mundane existence; dhvaṃsinī = (cause of) removal; śūlinī = Devi Śūlini; naḥ = for us.
Śūlini Devi is meditated as dark in colour (like a rain-bearing cloud) having a crescent on her crown, wearing fierce-looking ornaments, seated on a lion, holding the trident, arrow, sword, gesture of removing fear and granting boons, mace, bow, and noose (clockwise from Her right upper arm) with a prayer to remove all worldly fears. She has four attendant maidens holding a sword and shield, who vanquish all demonic forces.
The mantra of Śūlini is śrīṃ hrīṃ klīṃ duṃ jvala jvala śūlini duṣtagraha huṃ phaṭ svāhā
The meaning of the word “Durgā”: Devi Upaniṣat says “durgāt samtrāyate yasmat devi durgeti gīyate”. The word “durg” means a moat full of crocodiles and other fierce creatures. Hence the force which guides us in crossing over this moat is called durgā. Here moat is the personification of the mundane world, crocodile and other creatures are the forces causing misery.
This is a study on the inner meanings of the above mantra.
śrīṃ: This is the bija of the Brahman who is the cause of the Universe.
hrīṃ: This is the creative force of the Brahman, his Śakti
klīṃ: “Ka” denotes Śakti tattva and “la” denotes pṛthvi tatva (earth element). “ī” is the Devi in the form of Kāmakalā who creates this Universe. Hence this bīja denotes the Universe and also an individual immersed in these worldly affairs.
duṃ: The above individual who is in search of eternal happiness, finally finds a sadguru and surrenders to Him. This Guru imparts to him a path and guides him. ‘da’ denotes dahara - the heart center and the knot (viṣṇu granthi) above it. ‘u’ the vowel placed in the right ear in matṛka nyāsa denotes upadeśa the initiation by the Guru and His guidance. ānusvara -‘ṁ” denotes the removal of miseries.
jvala - This denotes fire. Just like whatever is offered into it cannot be retrieved, we are guided in the path of self- realization by the Guru by renouncing the merits or demerits of our actions, surrendering them to the Guru / chosen deity.
jvala — This again is fire. This fire denotes the hunger for self-knowledge, removal of ignorance, and this is acquired by constant awareness and discrimination. A repeat of the above is to stress on the path and to ensure this in all the three states constantly.
śūlini: śuk’ denotes the individual ego which is likened to a stain in the fickle mind and is the cause of sins. The removal of this is revealed in the second part ‘lini’. Śula is a trident a three-pointed spear, which removes the stains in the gross, subtle, and causal bodies.
duṣtagraha: This term denotes the ego, pride, miserliness, desire, anger, infatuation, and also the evil forces that surround us.
huṃ: This is kavaca bīja - the armour. Hence the meaning of this syllable is She protects the aspirant from the above using all śastras as armour.
phaṭ: This is the astra bija - the arrow which destroys. Hence we can see that Devi destroys the above and all doubts on constant enquiry
śvāhā: This is the offering into the fire, here the doubts and all miseries are poured into the divine fire and the aspirant is filled with everlasting bliss.
Mediation guide:
While repeating ‘oṁ visualize a form of the Devi in your heart, then while repeating ‘śrīṃ’ visualise trident in the right upper arm and noose in the left upper arm, then while repeating ‘hrīm’ visualise bow and arrow in the next pair of hands, then while repeating ‘klīṃ’ visualise sword and mace, then while repeating ‘duṃ’ visualise gestures of granting boons and dispelling fears, then while repeating ‘śūlini’ visualise dark(black) colour of Devi with golden ornaments, then while repeating ‘duștagraha huṃ’ visualise roar of the lion and that Devi is seated on it, then while repeating ‘phaț’ visualise four maidens surrounding Her holding sword and shield slaying demonic forces, then while repeating ‘śvāhā’ visualise that the Devi enters you and expands till She/you fill this universe.
O! Lovable Guru please accept these flowers at your feet
Source: "Meditative Texts - Revised Thoughts on the Way" by Yogamba Sameta Atmanandanatha (Ramesh Kutticad)
Yogamba Sahita Atmanandantha (Ramesh Kutticad) is a Śrī Vidyā Guru from Chennai. He is associated with Guruji since 1996. Smt. and Sri Ramesh have painstakingly written the following scholarly, research. We're grateful to him for allowing us to make these articles available for the public.
