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Mother Goddess
The Vedic conception of the Mother Goddess is found best represented in Aditi, who is mentioned no less than eighty times in the Rig Veda. She is the mother not only of the gods—deva-mātā—but also of kings, heroes, men, and women; of the entire nature—the manifest as also that which lies in the womb of the future. She is the mistress of the moral order that governs the universe and also the giver of freedom. This tradition of Aditi is the mother of the gods is found continued even in the Puranas. The ‘Durga Sukta’ of the Taittiriya Aranyaka is one of the most beautiful hymns in the Vedas. Therein Agni is conceived of as the Divine Mother Durga, the resplendent goddess, blazing in her power: "Tāmagnivarnām tapasā jvalantīm vairocanīm' karmaphalesu justām; Durgām devīm śaranamaham prapadye sutar-asi tarase Namah!" I take refuge in the Goddess Durga, fiery in her luster and radiant with ardency, who is the power of the Supreme manifest in diverse forms, residing in actions and their results. O thou skilled in deliverance, you steer us expertly across difficulties; salutations to thee. In another Vedic hymn, Rishi Kushika invokes Night as Mother. She is the daughter of the heaven above, pervades the worlds, protects all beings from evils, and gives them peaceful shelter in her lap, mother as she is. In later Puranic texts, Night is described as originating from Maya, the creative power of Brahman, and is called Bhuvaneshwari—the sovereign mistress of the worlds. In the Durga Saptashati, Mother Durga is given many epithets ending with the word rātri or night—kālarātri, mahārātri, and so on. The most striking and comprehensive concept of the Divine as Shakti in the Vedas is found in the ‘Devi Sukta’. The whole hymn is an ecstatic outpouring of the realization of Brahman by Vak, the daughter of the sage Ambhrina. Realizing her all-pervasive identity she exclaims, " It is I  who move in the form of the Rudras, the Vasus, the Adityas and all other gods. … I am the sovereign power (over all the worlds), bestower of all wealth, cognizant (of the Supreme Being), and the first among those to whom sacrificial homage is to be offered; the gods in all places worship but me, who am diverse in form and permeate everything. … I give birth to the infinite expanse overspreading the earth; my birthplace is in waters deep in the sea; therefrom do I permeate variously all the worlds, and touch the heaven above with my body. It is I who blow like the wind creating all the worlds; I transcend the heaven above, I transcend the earth below—this is the greatness I have attained." The Mother Goddess makes her appearance in the Kena Upanishad as Uma Haimavati, the power of Brahman. Having defeated the asuras, the devas—led by Agni, Vayu, and Indra—were puffed up with pride. They considered themselves all-powerful without knowing whence exactly their power came. Brahman appeared before them in the form of a Yaksa to remove their conceit—to show them that they were not only powerless but they also did not realize this fact. He asked Agni to burn a straw and Vayu to lift it. Both failed. To Indra, the Yaksa did not even grant an interview. When Indra felt humbled, ‘Knowledge (of Brahman) made her appearance in the form of Uma’, in all her splendor. She told Indra that the Yaksa was none other than Brahman, the ultimate Reality, the source of all powers. The Devi Bhagavata dwells elaborately on this legend and records Indra’s adoration of the Supreme Mother through various hymns. According to Shankaracharya and Sayanacharya, the Vedic commentator, Uma, who imparts the knowledge of Brahman is vidyā or ‘spiritual knowledge’ personified. The Mundaka Upanishad also speaks of seven female powers—Kali, Karali, and so on—personifications of the flames of the sacrificial fire. The Shvetashvatara, a later theistic Upanishad, refers to the ‘innate power of the Supreme, concealed by its own nature’. The sages realized that this power, Maya, is none other than Prakriti, or primordial nature, ‘of infinite variety, with knowledge and action as its natural forms’. Your birth is a result of Great Divine Universal Mother Energy! Read "Mysterious Kailash: The Kingdom of Shiva"  and know much more... Sivkishen Ji. Author