Atas Gram Devi of Mathura — Vindhyavasini Shashthi and a Navchandi Anushthan at the Yogamaya Siddha Peeth

The speaker introduces the video as no ordinary place: Shri Vindhyavasini Shashthi, which is observed on the Shashthi TithiA lunar calendar day — some idols (like a Shivling) need daily bathing regardless, while others only need it on their dedicated weekly day or tithi. of the Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month, is famous by the name Aranya Shashthi and by the name Vindhyavasini Shashthi. On that day, he says, the Grihastha Tantra family's AnushthanaAn extended ritual observance — such as 108 recitations of a scripture — carrying its own strict rules. was performed in Bhagavati's divine dham, before her principal vigraha. At Atas, he says, a mela is now organised on the Shashthi tithi. Shashthi tithi is extremely dear to Bhagavati. Because Vindhyavasini Mai's form here is such, Shashthi, Aranya Shashthi and the like should be celebrated at this place as the principal festival — but people celebrate only in Chaitra Navratri and the like, since many people do not come and go there and many do not know. It is a Puranic site and so old a place, where Jagadamba"Mother of the World" — an epithet of the Devi. sits in person — so, he asks, how would people even go?

This, the speaker says, is no ordinary dham but a Puranic tirtha in the Vrindavan–Mathura region. Its Puranic account is this: when Bhagavati Vindhyavasini of Vindhyachal mountain appeared through her thousandth amsha from Mother Yashoda's womb in Gokul dham and reached Kansa's prison, Kansa lifted her up in his hand and tried to dash her down; then Jagadamba"Mother of the World" — an epithet of the Devi. went into the sky, appeared in her ashtabhuja form and said in her divine voice that the one who would kill him had already reached Gokul. When she appeared in her full form — when she took her divine form from the form of a girl-child — this is the very place where she took it on. The region is called Atas, the Atas village of Atas Devi; that is the Devi's name here. Jagadamba's form here is the form of Yogamaya, present as Mahishasura Mardini. The vigraha, he says, was not made by anyone; it is held to have appeared by itself in the Puranic age. It is a natural vigraha, and various divine wonders are seen and heard here — so the sadhaks of the ShaktaBelonging to the stream that takes the Goddess as the supreme principle. path there report — and in the most ancient times it was a principal centre of shakta tantra sadhana in Mathura. In the video, he notes, a brahman varan is under way. This is a divine tirtha where Bhagavati herself dwells in the form of Vindhyavasini; it is a form of Vindhya Durga, the form of Yogamaya. Before going to Vindhyachal, when Bhagavati appeared here in the time of Dwapar, she was present in this very form. The vigraha on screen is Jagadamba as Yogamaya, famed here as Mahishasura Mardini, and beside her, seen in red, is Bhagavati Mansa Devi. It was by Jagadamba's grace, he says, that the group was given the fortune of the puja and seva of her principal vigraha and of the Navchandi samput anushthan. Whenever you go to Vrindavan or Mathura, he says, be sure to take darshan of Bhagavati Mahishasura Mardini, Ma Yogamaya, seated at Atas village, for this is no ordinary form.

A second important point, the speaker says: those who feel that ShaktaBelonging to the stream that takes the Goddess as the supreme principle. worship and the like never took place in the Vrindavan or Mathura region should go to these places and see. It is certainly true that at present these divine places are being neglected by people somewhere along the way. But if Jagadamba by her grace is making you and him a medium to go to these most ancient places — places where at some time in the Puranic past worship was current and tantra sadhana used to be done — then the proofs are found there. The people of the place, he says, also told them that at one time Bali puja and everything else used to happen there. But because the region itself is what it is, people had the custom of bali stopped, and at present no bali is done there. Whereas the form of Bhagavati that is here is one in which bali certainly is offered — it is simply not being offered at present, because it was shut down.

The Jagadamba"Mother of the World" — an epithet of the Devi. who stands on Vindhyachal in the form of the ashtabhuja Bhagavati — MahasaraswatiThe Goddess presiding over the third charitra of the Saptashati., Ma Brahmani, Ma KaushikiThe Goddess who issues from Parvati's own sheath, whose roar undoes the messengers of Shumbha and Nishumbha., whose description is in the Durga Saptashati — manifested her complete form for the first time at this very place, the speaker says. And wherever a shakti suddenly takes on her entire form, bearing all her kalas at once, the energy of that spot is divine and extraordinary. So every pilgrim who goes to the Vrindavan–Mathura region should take darshan and do puja of this magnificent form of Jagadamba at this divine shakta centre, this shakta tirtha. He recounts the Saptashati: when we read the Uttam Charitra, it is described there that Ma ParvatiThe daughter of the mountain and consort of Shiva; the questioner to whom much of tantra is expounded., in the form of Bhagavati Kalika, was performing tapasya, and during that tapasya the danavas Shumbha and Nishumbha attacked the gods; the gods went and praised her, and at that time a Devi emerged from Bhagavati Parvati's body. Bhagavati Parvati remained on the Himalaya in the form of Kalika, and the Devi who emerged was fair-complexioned, gauri — so her form became famous by the name Kaushiki. In the full account that follows, Bhagavati Brahmani remained the principal form: Kaushiki, Brahmani, the ashtabhuja Bhagavati Mahasaraswati and Bhagavati Vindhyavasini. The principal Shakti Peeth by the name Vindhyavasini is on Vindhyachal mountain, where Mai is principally present as Vindhyavasini; but apart from that, this form too is called Vindhyavasini — it is Vindhyavasini Mai's own form, more widely known by the name Yogamaya — and before going to Vindhyachal she took her form at this very place. In the eleventh chapter, he says, you find its description in the mantra: नंदगोपगृहे जाता यशोदागर्भसंभवा। ततस्तौ नाशयिष्यामि विंध्याचलनिवासिनी। — that for the killing of Shumbha and Nishumbha Ma will take on such a form, as Bhagavati herself told the gods in the Ekadash Adhyaya.

The puja in the video, the speaker says, is the AnushthanaAn extended ritual observance — such as 108 recitations of a scripture — carrying its own strict rules. that the group organised together on Vindhyavasini Shashthi for the welfare of all people: one, the divine parva-kaal of Vindhyavasini Shashthi was obtained, and two, the fortune of doing puja before her principal form, her principal vigraha. The full vidhi with SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. was taken and Mai's complete seva-puja done. He adds that it was by Bhagavati's grace that they received this fortune of the Navchandi Anusthan Samput anushthan. The Durga Saptashati mantra from the eleventh chapter — नंदगोपगृहे जाता यशोदागर्भसंभवा। ततस्तौ नाशयिष्यामि विंध्याचलनिवासिनी। — in which Bhagavati herself tells the gods that she will take on such a form to slay Shumbha and Nishumbha, is the mantra with which the Navchandi was samputed. In the divine anushthan held on the Shashthi tithi, on Vindhyavasini Shashthi, the samput was done with this very mantra so that Ma Vindhyavasini's supreme pleasure be obtained. He says it gave him great joy and a very fine, divine experience to have held it in Mai's own divine court, on her principal Shashthi tithi, and with the samput of her own mantra; the mantras and the manner of the path, he says, can be heard in the video, where Navchandi samput path is being done by brahmans — remember the mantras, watch the havan and pray to Bhagavati. In the recorded path itself, as the transcript has it, the brahmans chant the samput mantra before and after each verse of the Narayani StutiA passage of praise offered to the deity, shorter and less formal than a stotra. — samput mantra, stuti verse, samput mantra, and so to the next verse, each verse ending नारायणि नमोस्तुते. The recitation then passes into the Havan, where the same mantra is offered again and again with SwahaThe closing utterance for an oblation offered into fire for the devas, as distinct from Swadha, used for the pitrs. — at first as नंदगोपगृहे जाता यशोदागर्भसंभवा। स्वाहा। repeated many times, and later as the full mantra prefixed with ओम — followed by aarti and mantra pushpanjali.

In a Kamya PrayogaThe application of a mantra for worldly or material desire fulfillment — an Ekakshari Guru Mantra, for instance, may be used to awaken other mantras but should not be employed for this purpose directly. and the like, the speaker says, we act to obtain Bhagavati's grace so as to be freed of every obstacle — that Ma protect us from every kind of trouble. But somewhere in it there is one's own wish: that we obtain this, that this suffering of ours be removed by it. But on Vindhyavasini Shashthi, if we have done this path for her pleasure, for her sake, or have had it done for the welfare of us all, then Ma will be even more pleased by that. This is the spirit in which the Navchandi at Atas was held. He hopes that in the time to come too Bhagavati will surely bring them all into her seva, and asks that, for the welfare of all, whenever anyone goes to that region they take darshan and do puja of this greatly divine form of Vrindavaneshwari Ma Bhagavati Vindhyavasini at Atas village in the Mathura region, whenever time allows.