Tara Chaudas and Kaushiki Amavasya — the Bhadrapada Nights, and Why a Householder Should Not Let Them Pass

Today's subject is extremely necessary, the speaker says at the outset: the Chaturdashi and Amavasya of the Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadrapada. In the kshetra of tantra its importance is of the most particular kind. For those people who especially perform tantric sadhanas of any most particular deity, this time turns out to be extremely important.

Ordinary people should certainly keep this in their attention, the speaker says: let it be any month's Amavasya, let it be an Ashtami, let it be a Chaturdashi — and especially the Ashtami of the Krishna Paksha. It is in all these times that abhicharik prayoga of tantra and the rest, kritya prayoga and so on, are predominantly performed.

The Amavasya of Bhadon, and the month of Bhadon in any case, is greatly important for all these things, the speaker says, for two reasons. Because the month of Savan stands completed, and a great many people awaken their siddhis in it. And because, for performing prayoga, Hal Shashthi has gone by. At Hal Shashthi, the gurus who have particular vidhis to give to their disciples by upadesh alone, or those who are to be seated upon the gaddi, have received all of this.

The prayoga kaal of what is received at Hal Shashthi, the speaker says, is precisely this — Aghor Chaturdashi, Tara Chaturdashi, Amavasya and the rest. The Chaturdashi and the navratra around it, which is also called the Aghor Navratri, has already begun by this point. Its importance is of the most particular kind. In the region of Bengal, at Tarapith especially, and at Tarachandi — a chief Shakti Peeth and Siddha Peeth of Bihar — at all these places the tantrics, of the Shakta and Kaul marga especially, complete their sadhanas within these very nine days.

These days are not only for acquiring. Those people who have to relinquish their siddhis — who have perfected kshudra shaktis, or to whom, from known and unknown causes, some such siddhis have come that on their account their own gati may be obstructed — it is in these very times that they abandon all of them. This, the speaker says, is why Tara Chaturdashi and Aghor Amavasya and the rest carry an importance of the most particular kind.

Ordinary people should always keep this in their particular attention, the speaker says, taking Holika's night and Diwali's night as the example. On these days we perform special pujan and path — and on these same days, around this same time, ghaat and the rest by way of enemies is also performed in greater and greater number. In exactly the same manner, this Chaturdashi and Amavasya of the month of Bhadrapada too is extremely awake for all these things, and people perform prayogas.

Therefore, at the very least for the protection of your family and of yourself, an anushthan and the like should certainly be performed in these three days — and especially on the Chaturdashi and Amavasya tithis. If you can do a Havan-form anushthan at home, do it. If some particular anushthan is being held at a temple nearby and you cannot do it here at your own house, then have a sankalp made there.

These times carry a very particular importance. To those people who are performing the siddhi of Dakini Vidya and the like, or who have already done so, it is said that the night of Holika and the night of Diwali are greatly special. But people should know this too, the speaker says: that alongside those stand the night of Ashtami, and this Chaturdashi — which is called Tara Chaudas.

As we call the one day before Diwali Kali Chaudas, in exactly that manner these two nights of Bhadon are renowned by the name of Tara Chaudas. If you go into the region of Bengal, the speaker says, the pujan and path of Bhagavati is performed at this time in a most particular way. It has its fame in the form of Kaushiki Amavasya as well. And it is also renowned by the names Aghor Chaturdashi, Aghor Navratra and Aghor Amavasya. In this time all these kriyas of tantra carry an importance of the most particular kind.

Only those people do not perform this prayoga who have someone's maran or mohini to do, some spoiling to do. For the good of society also, people perform sadhana at this time in Shamshaans and the like — those people who are working for the welfare of the world. Alongside them, those who have an expectation of their own personal siddhi go at this time to some Siddha Peetha or Shakti Peeth and perform sadhana there, because in this time the influence of Bhagavati Tara is at its fiercest.

When we perform the path of the Durga Saptashati, the speaker says, we read in it about the emergence of Bhagavati Kaushiki. Study the fifth adhyaya onward and the sixth: when the devatas were tormented by Shumbha and Nishumbha, they offered the stuti of Bhagavati by means of the Tantrokta Devisuktam. And at that time Bhagavati Parvati had gone upon the Himalaya and was performing tapasya; it was going before her that the devatas made their tapasya and stuti. They went to her because Bhagavati had earlier given the devatas the boon that whenever you remember me, whenever you invoke me, I shall certainly present myself for the protection of you all.

It is the katha of that time, the speaker says, that Bhagavan Shiva had said to Ma Parvati that you are very dark — and so, to make her varna fair, she should perform the tapasya of Brahma. This is leela alone, done by going upon the Himalaya. And at that very time, when the devatas tormented by Shumbha and Nishumbha offer her their stuti, there is the manifestation from Bhagavati's body of a woman full of tejas, who is of fair complexion — and Bhagavati Parvati is left dark.

Now give this your attention, the speaker says. The form of Bhagavati Kaushiki has been held to be the form of Mahasaraswati. Bhagavati Kaushiki is the one who slew Shumbha and Nishumbha. From the forehead of Bhagavati Kaushiki has come the manifestation of Bhagavati Kali, the manifestation of Bhagavati Chamunda, and the manifestation of many mahashaktis.

And the day that is the most prominent of all is this Kaushiki Amavasya, the Amavasya of Bhadrapada. So relate it, the speaker says. Where is the shakti of Mahasaraswati arriving and meeting? To those who say, no, how can it be like this in Aghor — then see, in Aghor what is it that is dissolving? Or into what is Aghor dissolving? Look at it in both ways.

This whole subject of this kind, the speaker says, does not open quickly — not until you are of such a Guru Parampara, have made such a study, have obtained the knowledge of such gurus, or by such a particular grace of Bhagavati have met such people. Look wherever you like. Search on YouTube, on Facebook. The survey of these subjects can be made only by that person who is somewhere within his own guru parampara.

A great many people do not open these subjects quickly, the speaker says, because from it one possibility increases: that people, having become excessively motivated, may go and perform some upside-down sadhana. That all the shaktis are one anyway — so why not do Ma Aghori. We are householders, why not do Aghori. Kaushiki is right here, is she not; this is the very form of Jagadamba. When Bhagavati Chamunda herself has manifested from her forehead, then let us directly take up the upasana of that very one.

This is only for the sake of information, the speaker says: that you should understand your own Sanatan, that you should know about those shaktis, that within you there should be the arising of knowledge and the removal of ignorance. And so that when you perform the upasana of Bhagavati in these two or three days, there is a depth of surrender in your mind — that you remain extremely surrendered towards Jagadamba. Only then will her grace be able to reach you. Even if all you do is kindle a single lamp on this day. This, he says, is why this Chaturdashi and Amavasya is extremely special for an ordinary householder as well; and all should take the benefit of these special qualities.

Asked what can be done, the speaker begins with what is already yours. Whatever anushthans you have performed before for your own protection, those anushthans should certainly be performed again. As an example, let us suppose someone has already completed the anushthan of the Vairi Nashan Kali Kavach. Then in these times let him do at least a three-day Laghu Purashcharana of the Vairi Nashan Kali Kavach. On the last day, do a havan, if it is possible.

Or else, if you do not know how to do anything, then take the mantra that is Jayanti Mangala Kali, and do its path 108 times in the morning and 108 times at the time of night, together with the family. Kindle a lamp in the name of Bhagavati, and one in the name of Bhairava ji. It is a simple sort of task, the speaker says. If you do even that much, then whether there be some enemy or none, whether there be some trouble in your life or none, benefit will certainly reach you. There is a great deal of benefit for what lies ahead.

These times carry great importance. As the night of Diwali has its greatness, as a Chandra grahan and a Surya grahan have their greatness, in exactly that way this Tara Chaturdashi and Kaushiki Amavasya also carries a great deal of importance. So in this time you should certainly perform japa and such work. If you wish to do some new anushthan of that kind then do it; otherwise, whatever earlier anushthan and the rest you have performed, those very ones should be repeated.

If you perform the anushthan of Sabar Mantra and the like, if you do japa of Sabar mantras in greater and greater quantity, then for you this is an amrit kaal. Certainly do it in this time. And if you are an upasak or upasika of Bhagavati, then too — in these three days. Ordinarily it is only two days, the Chaturdashi and the Amavasya; this time three days are falling. By udaya the last day is falling as well, and it is falling on Thursday and on Friday, so the benefit of three days will reach you.

If you are particularly holding within your mind a feeling of revenge of any kind, and you want that this thing should now bear fruit — then too it is an amrit kaal for you. And if you want the quelling of that revenge — then too it is an amrit kaal for you. Because of the form of Jagadamba that is Bhagavati Tara, it is said that her form is called Akshobhya, and her Bhairav is called Akshobhya.

It may be that Bhagavati destroys that enemy also. Or it may be that she destroys the enmity within his mind and the enmity within our own mind alone. So in both ways the quelling of the enemy can take place. This depends upon her, and it also depends upon what is running within our own mind — what kind of surrender there is, what the feeling is, what the desire is.

If you want to perform only and only mantra anushthan, then you can do that. But apart from that, if you want to perform a tantratmak anushthan — the Shodashopachara pujan of Bhagavati and the rest, her Yantra pujan especially — then, if you know how to do yantra anushthan or are learning it, then you may. Some videos have been put out through this channel as well, the speaker notes; that of Bhagavati Mahakali has been put out in full, one avarana at a time. And if you want to do that, if you have learnt it, then you can do that too. It carries a very particular importance.

If you have obtained the deeksha of the Sri Yantra and the like, if you know Shri Chakra pujan, then that too you should certainly do in these days. If you do not have the deeksha of the Shri Chakra, and being undiksha you make the attempt to perform this act — then, brother, a great deal of dosha will attach. In all these things, the speaker says, we can never give you our cooperation or our support. This is wrong.

The pujan of the Shri Yantra should not be done without the Shri Vidya deeksha, the speaker says, because its entire vidhi-vidhan and all the prayogas that go with it are intricate. Without learning it you will not be able to perform it, and dosha will attach. Apart from this there are those of the ordinary form — Bhagavati Durga ji. Not that Bhagavati Durga is any ordinary form; the meaning of saying it, he explains, is that her yantra is somewhat simple to perform. If you know that, if you know her chakra pujan and the rest, then you can do that too. In that there is no dosha upon you at all. And if your ishta aradhya is Hanuman ji, or Bhairav ji, or it is their very sadhana and upasana that you are performing, then do theirs also, certainly.

Then Vashishtha Muni went to Kamakhya, and thereafter to Cheen, which is the region of Tibet, and there performed the upasana of Bhagavati Tara by the Tantrokta vidhi-vidhan, by the Vamachara vidhi. Then Bhagavati gave him boons and the rest according to his own mind, and bestowed siddhi and the like upon him.

So Bhagavan Shri Ram held the mantras of Tara herself within his heart. As for the jata that Bhagavan Shri Ram wears — when you go into the Tantrokta anushthans, the speaker says, especially the Sankarshan Tantra, which we speak of again and again: within the Vaishnav Tantra there is the Sankarshan Tantra. If you should ever get to study it among the old and ancient granths, if you are within some guru parampara and that granth is present there for you, then read in it how the jata is bound.

However many sadhaks of the Kaula Sampradaya there are, you will see that they wear ornaments and the like upon their jata as well. Sadhaks of the Shakta sampradaya also adorn themselves. But you should all have this information too, the speaker says: that the ornament did not use to be merely for adorning, nor is it only that in the case of those who wear it even now. It is worn. Siddhis of many kinds are held within the jata. And among the three chief forms of Tara, one form is this Jata Tara.

The siddhi of that form was had performed by Maharshi Vashishtha at the time of the avatar of Bhagavan Shri Ram ji. And it was that very one which he wore upon his head for the purpose of Ravana's slaying. And it was on that very account that Bhagavati Nikumbhila — who remained Ravana's aradhita, Ma Parvati being present there in that form — once Bhagavati Tara was present in his jata, having come before Bhagavan Shri Ram, withdrew from there. Nikumbhila did not perform his protection. You will also come by this information, the speaker adds, that Bhagavati Tara, who is a chief form of Bhagavati, had also performed the protection of Ravana.

But on account of the blessing of Maharshi Vashishtha, and of the tantra vidyas taught by him, Bhagavan Shri Ram has been victorious. Although all of this is leela alone, the speaker says — had they wished, Hanuman ji, Bhagavan Shiva, or any such mahashakti could comfortably have slain Ravana; they could have done it. But all this was leela, for the sake of human beings. Even so, we should all know that this is not a learning we can take from the Ramayana alone. When you study the tantra granths, you will obtain the information of a great many things, and this is one of them.

So whenever any siddhi connected with the jata is performed, the contribution of Bhagavati Tara in it is the most important of all. Her siddhis and her mantras are what is used. When you perform the prayoga of Chaur Ganapati and the like, connected with some guru parampara; or are performing the sadhana of one of your Mahavidyas and something connected with it; or when you do the japa of Kurukulla mantras and so on — then too, among the very many mantras you will find in it, the beej mantra that is connected with the jata will be the beej mantra of Bhagavati Tara alone.

If you go to perform upasana connected with Bhagavati Kamakhya, then in it too, from the Ekakshari onward, when you begin to advance — if you are going in krama, although Bhagavati Kamakhya does not come within the Krama Vidya, she being a svatantra vidya — in those too there is somewhere the complete inclusion of Bhagavati Tara. In the form of Bhagavati Kamakhya the inclusion of three mahashaktis has in any case been held. Even so, according to different granths, Bhagavati Tara too remains contained within her in a chief manner. So the contribution of Bhagavati Tara is very great.

Ma Bhagavati — if it is looked at in that way, the speaker says, then in the avatar of Bhagavan Shri Krishna too, the darshan of the Vishwa Virat Swaroop that was caused to be had by Bhagavan Shri Krishna: in that too it has been held that he displayed that Vishwa Virat form of his by employing the vidyas of Bhagavati Tara. Somewhere you will find it to see and to read that it was Nara and Narayana who were present in the forms of Bhagavan Shri Krishna and Arjuna.

It was he who was the muni Narayana, who had taken the form of Bhagavan Shri Krishna; and it was only after obtaining the grace of Bhagavati Tara — at the time of his gurukul, at the time of tapasya, when he had attained that siddhi — that he became capable of holding this thing. On the mor pankh that is upon the crown of Bhagavan Shri Krishna, the speaker says, you should all certainly know that in the kshetra of tantra this has been held. This we cannot say with authoritativeness, he adds. It is what we have heard: by scholars of this kind, in some portion of the upadesh and the rest concerning Bhagavati Tara, it has been said that within his mor pankh the shakti of Bhagavati Tara is held to remain contained, and that he always used to wear it upon his head.

In this manner Bhagavati Tara, in the many avatars of Bhagavan Narayana as well, becoming their ally, has stood together with them and with their shaktis, and has kept granting victory. Therefore, whether you are Shakta, Shaiva or Vaishnava, you should all certainly perform the dhyan of Bhagavati Tara. In the form of a Bhagavati Mahavidya, she is capable of destroying even the fiercest of enemies and calamities also; she holds the capability and she does it — if this surrender be kept.

It is not necessary that you perform the pujan of Bhagavati only by the Vamachara vidhi. What is said by some people in a wholesale way — that you cannot perform her pujan at home — that thing is right, the speaker allows. But it cannot be said that her pujan will take place only and only by the Vamachara vidhi. To brush it aside in one stroke, that no, her pujan cannot happen at all by the Dakshinachara vidhi — saying that is wrong. See how it can happen, and where it can happen.

The Vamachara vidhi has been spoken of for siddhi. It has not been spoken of for pujan. Those people who want to perform siddhi, who by taking mantra upadesh want to obtain the grace of Bhagavati Tara, who want to perfect her shaktis — for them it is necessary. Those people who want to perform the ordinary seva and puja of Bhagavati, who want to obtain Mai's grace — for them it is not necessary in that way.

When people tell it by that reckoning, the speaker says, then it takes in Bhagavati Chhinnamastika, Bhagavati Tara, Bhagavati Tripura Bhairavi, Bhagavati Dhumavati. And go a little further ahead: you may say freely enough that Bhagavati Baglamukhi is in some kula — but you should also know this, that Bhagavati Baglamukhi too sits upon a shavasan alone. So how is anyone to perform pujan at home? She will be held as an anga vidya of Shri Vidya, as an anga vidya of Bhagavati Tripurasundari. But even so, in the krama of the svatantra vidya, she too sits upon a shavasan — then her pujan too cannot happen.

So it cannot be said in a wholesale way, the speaker concludes — but by the Dakshinachara vidhi you can perform seva and puja. If you are performing an anushthan and the like of Bhagavati Tara, then there ought to be a guru adesh and the rest in it. The most particular anushthan, the japa of her mantras: at home you cannot do these with freedom, freely of your own accord. For that an adesh is wanted.

Yes, the speaker says: if you are one living around Tarapith, one living around the Kamakhya peeth, if your region is the region around a Shakti Peeth — then there, according to your own parampara; or if in your parampara, in your Kul Shakti parampara, Bhagavati Tara, Bhagavati Chhinnamastika, Bhagavati Dhumavati or some shakti of this kind is one who stands worshipped in the kula parampara — then there you have no need at all to ask anything of anyone. But that some other person should begin doing it on seeing you, or that you should preach to some other that we are doing it, so you do it too — this is wrong.

Varna and dharma, and desha and kaal — all of these carry their greatness in all of this. Some person says that we perform the pujan of Tara or of Bhagavati Chhinnamastika at home, and not from today, we have been doing it for ten years. And you become greatly agitated by it, and you too begin doing it. Then you should at least look at this: whose kula parampara is theirs, who stands worshipped in their house, and which other people there were in their house before them who performed her puja.

From which panth, from which sampradaya are they initiated; which sadhanas did they perform — will they tell you everything? They will only say this much: that we do it, you do it too, nothing happens, these people lie. And then difficulty follows. Where a thing is to be forbidden, people do not forbid it; and where a thing is not to be forbidden, that thing they forbid. So one should do a thing only after knowing it, hearing it and understanding it.

Those people who are not performing the anushthan and the rest at a temple, or cannot have it done through their own family, the tantra family, or do not wish to have it done — let them at the very least do at home, for three days, whatever has been told, whatever they can, according to whatever their capability is. Protect yourself and your family. Stay safe.