tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post867843998912614635..comments2024-03-29T11:07:45.409+05:30Comments on Ancient Inquiries: A Harappan tablet depicts Kartikeya slaying the buffalo-demon MahishaBibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-51154856881479344572021-08-26T00:25:39.717+05:302021-08-26T00:25:39.717+05:30Thanks for leaving for your comment and observatio...Thanks for leaving for your comment and observations. The Chandi tradition that you mentioned certainly provides a good example of the idea of Shakti as a goddess and a weapon. In the Mahabharata there is a story of a celestial fire-emitting sword called Asi, whose birth star is the Pleiades, and which is used by Rudra (Shiva / Kartikeya) in war. <br />In my next article (https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2021/06/orion-taurus-and-pleiades-star-map-of.html) I have discussed that in Mesopotamian tradition the Pleiades were a group of ferocious warriors, and were described as the "seven awesome weapons fashioned by Anu". In Egypt, Horus is brought up by Isis and the "Seven Hathors" who correspond to the Seven Mothers. So, this is also a globally dispersed tradition. Bibhu Dev Misrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-84902334274556534672021-08-24T20:05:40.659+05:302021-08-24T20:05:40.659+05:30"Truly I tell you that he who will listen to ..."Truly I tell you that he who will listen to your word and turn away his face or sneer at it or smirk at these things, truly I tell you that he will be handed over to the ruler above who rules over all the powers as their king, and he will turn that one around and cast him from heaven down to the abyss, and he will be imprisoned in a narrow dark place. Moreover, he can neither turn nor move on account of the great depth of Tartaros and the heavy bitterness of Hades that is steadfast [...] them to it [...] they will not forgive [...] pursue you. They will hand [...] over to [...] angel Tartarouchos [...] fire pursuing them [...] fiery scourges that cast a shower of sparks into the face of the one who is pursued. If he flees westward, he finds the fire. If he turns southward, he finds it there as well. If he turns northward, the threat of seething fire meets him again. Nor does he find the way to the east so as to flee there and be saved, for he did not find it in the day he was in the body, so that he might find it in the day of judgment."Awakened Yetihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219391445080268180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-69428854105682855022021-08-18T07:39:35.784+05:302021-08-18T07:39:35.784+05:30Hello! This is an excellent article. I have also...Hello! This is an excellent article. I have also been researching the myths and stories surrounding these figures as well, especially in terms of the revisionism and transfer or evolution of characteristics throughout the ages and across the regions. <br /><br />In particular I have discovered some correlations in Chandi di Var (lit. "Chandi's deeds") - "a composition written by Guru Gobind Singh, included in the 5th chapter of Dasam Granth. It is based on an episode from the Sanskrit work Markandeya Purana, and describes the conflict between the Gods and the Demons. In the ballad, the supreme goddess Chandi is transformed into a liberating divine power in the form of sword... The first part of the text, Chandi Charitra Ukti Bilas, states it is retelling the Markandeya Purana story, where Durga fights a shape shifting buffalo demon Mahishasura and slays the evil demon and his companions."<br /><br />This text gives a direct correlation between the idea of Shakti as a weapon (or sword) and Shakti as a goddess (or Chandi). Furthermore, the Chandi tradition in general seems to emanate from the lineages which also venerated Skanda/Murugan/Kartikeyya, in the sense of tribal outliers and other various versions of the war god. I cannot say for certain when/where/why the shift from the "child of Rudra/Shiva" to the "wife of Rudra/Shiva" first originated - but there is certainly a correlation there as well, so the connection is inherent. The young warrior god who vanquishes the buffalo demon is raised by the Pleiades as Seven Mothers - this is also a key, because of the global pervasiveness of this idea of Seven Sisters or mothers or so forth. <br /><br />For further reference: "In another paper I have argued that the Greek word for Titans (Titanes) derives from the Semitic ditānu and its variants (see Annus 1999). Given the close connection of the Suteans with the tribal name Ditanu, one can plausibly speculate whether the Greek word for netherworld, Tartaros, derives from the mountain name Sharshar. To explain this etymology, a comparison can be made between Zeus imprisoning the rebel Titans in Tartaros, Ishum flattening the mountain Sharshar and Shamash subduing the Tidnu monster by the same mountain. Tid(a)nu was the name of its deified eponymous ancestor, who had an iconographic representation of human-faced bull or bison."Awakened Yetihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219391445080268180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-10128222558850825292021-05-15T13:19:10.011+05:302021-05-15T13:19:10.011+05:30We the readers should be the ones to thank u for i...We the readers should be the ones to thank u for investing ur time and effort in this research and blogging it instead if keeping it all to urself. So Thank You.nanzjulyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04287187952312578056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-45152377934483066702021-05-14T00:06:29.436+05:302021-05-14T00:06:29.436+05:30Thanks for your comment. Yes, it does look like th...Thanks for your comment. Yes, it does look like the effects of the transitional period have already begun. To be honest, I did not expect that it will begin so early, but there you go. I have been doing some further research on the Yuga Cycle, and what we may expect in future. Its taking me a bit of time to put it down in a comprehensive, logical manner, since I am looking at it from the perspective of many different cultures, and also trying to explore the scientific side. I hope I shall be writing some more articles on this in a few months. Thanks for following my blog so consistently and leaving your feedback. Much appreciated.Bibhu Dev Misrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-4590482555239737902021-05-13T13:23:27.611+05:302021-05-13T13:23:27.611+05:30Hi Bibhu , wonderful article as always. Looks like...Hi Bibhu , wonderful article as always. Looks like what u have said will happen post 2025 is happening already in India!! Please write some more articles about the 300 year transision period. When will kalki avatar happen In this 300 year period? nanzjulyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04287187952312578056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-30743428843289794692021-04-27T13:03:55.087+05:302021-04-27T13:03:55.087+05:30Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The "patria...Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The "patriarchal capitalism", as you put it, could have played a part in this shift to a feminine representation of the divine. Another factor that comes to my mind is that Kartikeya is traditionally regarded as a god who is hard to please or propitiate. This is reflected in one of his epithets mentioned in the Mahabharata: Suduschara i.e. Difficult of propitiation. Perhaps, it was felt that, since Kartikeya does not respond easily to the devotees call, a "goddess figure" is needed who might be more responsive and caring towards the pleas and needs of the people. Bibhu Dev Misrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-18041346880835864952021-04-27T12:54:27.163+05:302021-04-27T12:54:27.163+05:30Yes, the Mahishasuramardhini Mandapa at Mahabalipu...Yes, the Mahishasuramardhini Mandapa at Mahabalipuram dates from the late 7th century. This form of the goddess Durga had emerged sometime in the 5th century and then spread quickly throughout the subcontinent.Bibhu Dev Misrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-18233139251076573282021-04-26T02:28:26.912+05:302021-04-26T02:28:26.912+05:30This thought-provoking narrative when seen in the ...This thought-provoking narrative when seen in the light of great climatic and social change makes good sense. After the demise of the Indus civilisation much of the population may well have been disillusioned, deliberately so by the wiles of patriarchal capitalism that had become firmly entrenched. This caused greater divisions within society and the emergence of Buddhism as a solution to poverty, social fragmentation and to save some of the core values of Sanatana Dharma and the spiritual processes necessary for realisation.<br />Following the beginning of Dwarpara Yuga in 510 BC, the wise leaders understood that they needed to be a shift in consciousness to resist the influence of patriarchal capitalism and begin preparations for the movement of civilisation through the ascendant yuga cycle which requires a somewhat softer and more enduring feminine energy hence the shift from Kartikeya killing the buffalo-demon to Durga. NZ Yogihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00993000401591841632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-36035836894318369392021-04-25T21:09:21.312+05:302021-04-25T21:09:21.312+05:30There is a sculpture of Mahishasura and Durga figh...There is a sculpture of Mahishasura and Durga fighting their battle on Mahabalipuram shore temple.SRIMOIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13396312267912988475noreply@blogger.com