The episode of the battle of the great goddess and the demon Raktabija as mentioned in the Vamana Purana describes the powerful expansions of the Adi-Shakti, which took the form of warring goddesses, each one of them originating from the other, assisting the Adi Devi Durga in slaying the demon. These goddesses came to be known as Sapta-Matrikas, “seven mothers”, and are associated with the mal

The five (‘pancha’) faces (‘mukha’) of Panchamukha Hanuman stand for the five means of worship that the great yogi extended to Lord Rama: naman, smaran, keerthanam, yacham, and arpanam. The faces are (from left to right) Lakshmi Varaha, Mahaveera Garuda, Anjaneya, Karala Ugraveera Narasimha, and Hayagriva. The Panchamukha on this page is possessed of eight arms (the ashtabhujadhari). The m

Salutations to Lord Ganesha -son of Uma-Mahadev, who has an elephant-head, being attended by the band of his followers (GANANATHA), dines his favourite wood-apple and rose–apple fruits, who is the cause of the destruction of all sorrows, Whose feet are like lotus. One should observe Ganesha with full devotion, feel his qualities and waves such as immensity, pride and fearlessness, immense streng

The bhumisparsha mudra is an interesting gesture assumed by no other deity than the Buddha. In Sanskrit, 'bhumi' means earth and 'sparsha' means to touch. The Buddha sits in the gracious shade of the Bodhi tree, His long limbs folded in the perfect padmasana. He is steeped in meditation as could be deduced from his composure of countenance, sculpted flawlessly from bras

Durga, identified as Adi Parashakti, is a principal and popular form of the Hindu Goddess. She is a goddess of war, the warrior form of Parvati, whose mythology centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity, and Dharma, the power of good over evil. Devi Durga is also a fierce form of the protective mother Goddess, who unleashes her divine wrath against the wicke

A kingly Lord Ganesha sits on the throne. From the lalitasana of His limbs to the ample regalia of His person, He looks every bit the ruler of paraloka and ihaloka alike, over the hearts of numerous devotees who consider Him the jewel of Shiva-Parvati. He is shashtabhujadhari: conchs and the Sudarshan chakra and the gesture of blessing in His hands, and of course a freshly made laddoo in the anter