Shakambhari
Every question on the site tagged Shakambhari, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
A form of the Devi counted among the six Mahadurgas, who is said to have sustained beings with vegetation during a famine.
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Anyone may worship Shakambhari: she is one of the six Mahadurgas
The speaker says Bhagwati Shakambhari is usually worshipped only by those whose Kuldevi she is or in whose region a Shakambhari Peeth stands. But in the present Kalpa, the Shwetavaraha Kalpa, she is one of the six principal Mahadurgas, and guru-initiated Shakta and Kaula Sampradaya sadhaks worship the six Mahadurgas in the mandal-peeth pujan of their Ishta. So, he says, her worship and the path of her Kavach are not limited to those whose kuldevi she is; anyone can do them.
Shakambhari Kavach for the head of a grihastha family: why, and its origin
The speaker says this teaching is for those in Grihastha life who carry the whole family's Yoga Kshema: running the house, earning, feeding the family, and making spiritual progress at the same time. Such a person needs the capacity to provide properly, and for him the Shakambhari Kavach is, in the battle of life, like the Vajra of Indra himself. He says Bhagwan Kartikeya taught this kavach to Devraj Indra, and that its Purashcharana is done with only 1000 recitations (when he later spells out the method, he gives the count as 1008).
Protections and benefits of a siddha Shakambhari Kavach
The speaker says that once the Kavach has been made siddha and is then recited, it protects from every kind of problem: adhibhautik, daivik, bodily or mental illness of any kind, obstruction by Preta and pishach, and vicharik (mental) obstruction. It also protects when an enemy is running some vicharik prayoga against you, and by Bhagwati's grace it gives victory in a false case or lawsuit. He calls it fully ready to give victory in every worldly trouble, and says this form of the Goddess is especially for the Yoga Kshema of men, women, animals and wealth, that is, for maintaining the family.
Daily recitation rule for the family head, and who must do the purashcharan
The speaker says every head of a household must recite this Kavach, keep it siddha, and do at least one path of it daily. He says it brings destruction of enemies, health of every kind, and both progeny and wealth. For those whose Kuldevi Bhagwati is, or who live where a Shakambhari Peeth stands, as in the Saharanpur region, he says the Purashcharana of this kavach is a must, and it should stay in their daily path.
Wearing the Shakambhari Kavach as a bhojpatra amulet
The speaker says the Kavach can also be written on Bhojpatra in an auspicious parva time such as Shivratri, the Ashtami tithi of Navratri, or the night of Diwali, with a pen of pomegranate wood and devi Ashtagandha ink. Filled into a silver or gold kavach case and worn at the neck, he says it protects you in many ways and brings progress of every kind.
Shakambhari's lamp is always lit alongside the kuldevi's lamp
The speaker says that whenever a Deepak is lit for Bhagwati Shakambhari, it should be lit together with the Kuldevi's lamp, so that there are two lamps. The reason he gives is that Bhagwati is the giver of every kind of sampada: she will give the family wealth, grain and many sons. So light her jyot along with the kuldevi's.
Batuk Bhairav is worshipped alongside Shakambhari, with 108 ahutis at her havan
The speaker says that whenever Bhagwati Shakambhari is worshipped, Batuk Bhairava should also be worshipped in his name as far as one is able. Concretely, if you are doing the 1008 paths of her Kavach, then at least 108 Ahuti should be given with Batuk Bhairav's name mantra at the time of the Havan. He closes by saying that whoever makes the kavach siddha this way and uses it will surely benefit.
Form-specific ahutis for Raktadantika, Shakambhari and Bhramari in Saptashati chapter 11
The speaker says that after the stuti, the 44th shloka — "रक्तदंतिका डाडमि कुसुमोपमा", as the transcript has it — is best offered with pomegranate or red flowers to please Bhagavati Raktadantika. Shlokas 48 and 49 ("तत्वम अखिलम लोकमात…") belong to Shakambhari and take shaak (greens) — especially for those whose kuldevi is Shakambhari — though plain ghrit or sakalya may also be used. Each devi-form described may get its own ahuti, and Bhramari's mantra takes ghrit or kheer, offered separately.
Who is Bhagavati Shakambhari?
The speaker describes Shakambhari as the form of Bhagavati Durga that is world-famous by that name. When famine fell on the whole world because of Durgamasura, Jagadamba took the Shatakshi form, manifesting a hundred eyes in her body, and through those eyes flowed water, that is tears; from those tears the world's water was replenished and every shaak and vegetable sprang up again, and the form she held after that is counted as the Shakambhari swaroop. He adds that the swaroop of Shakambhari and of Bhagavati Annapurna, and especially a great many of their tantra-related mantras and vidhans, are almost one and the same.
Shakambhari or Annapurna anushthan for a householder: purpose and who may do it
The speaker says that in daily life, and a grihastha sadhak especially, one should keep performing an Anushthana of either Bhagavati Annapurna or Bhagavati Shakambhari from time to time, because by their kripa prasad there is never any shortage of anna, dhan, vastra and the like in the house and family. On eligibility he is explicit: any person at all can do this sadhana, initiated or uninitiated, woman or man.
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