Special arrangements are being made at Sri Danvantri Arogya Peedam, Walajapet, in Vellore district, for the performance of Sri Prathiyankara Nikumbala homam on Sunday, January 22, 2012, on Thai Amavasai day.
A note from the peedam says that worshipping Prathiyankara Devi relieves us from all kinds of doshams, gives protection from accidents, enemies, diseases, wrath, curses, obstacles and black magic. Prathiyankara Devi bears eight snakes on her body. Those who have sarpa dosham or often get scary dreams involving snakes can worship Prathiyankara Devi for instant relief.
Quite interestingly, the Sri Prathiyankara Nikumbala homam is performed using red chillies mixed with neem oil for the destruction of negative forces.
Prathiyankara is worshipped to prevent major accidents and any health issues caused due to poisoning. It is believed worshipping this goddess helps in the removal of all mental blocks, Navagraha doshas especially Saade Sathi, Sarpa Dosha, Rahu Dosha. It also helps in the general well-being and self-protection.
Prathiyankara Devi is believed to have been born to calm lord Narasimha’s anger and to save the world from his wrath after he killed demon king Hiranyakashipu. When Hiranyakashipu was killed, lord Narasimha’s ugram (anger) was unbearable and he could not be calmed by other gods. They feared that his anger might destroy the three worlds and all creation will come to a standstill. The gods approached lord Shiva to help calm lord Narasimha. Lord Shiva worshipped the Tri Shaktis (Parvati, Mahalakshmi and Saraswathi) and with their combined powers incarnated as lord Sarabeswarar (Sarabha Pakshi). From his wings appeared a huge, fearful goddess called Prathiyankara.
Her form was powerful – 1,000 times larger than Sarabeswarar, her head rising above the clouds and her feet well into the underworld, fearsome with 1,000 faces of roaring lions, 2,000 protruded bloodshot red eyes, 2,000 hands with multiple weapons, 1,000 blood stained tongues protruding from her wide open mouth. It is believed her creation came with thunder and lightning and as soon as lord Narasimha saw her huge figure, he realised the mission of his avatar and calmed down immediately.
According to another story, it is believed that sages Angiras and Prathiyankaras meditated on this Devi and, as a result, Prathiyankara appeared in front of them and, pleased with their bhakti, offered to have their names combined as hers.
Prathiyankara Sadhana is derived from Atharvana Veda which contains the riks (verses) of goddesses Prathiyankara. Angirasa Maharshi is the drasta (who gains the experience of the god in his meditation and provides us that experience in the form of vedic verses), so the name of the goddesses is Devi Prathiyankara. There are 64 riks about Prathiyankara in Atharvana Veda.
It is believed that Indrajit (also known as Meghanath), the eldest son of Ravana, worshipped Devi Prathiyankara in the form of Nikumbala (means never allows the enemy to breathe) and using this prowess, beat Indra and, hence, gained the name Indrajit. If we observe Ramayana, even avatara purushas like Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman were unable to win against Indrajit in battle. But, after Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, revealed the power of Indrajit gained by performing Nikumbala homam, Hanuman destroyed the homam that Indrajit was performing. On that day, he was killed by Lakshmana using his Brahmastra. This is the power gained by the worship of Prathiyankara.
Prathiyankara Devi is also known as Atarvana Badrakali as she is the guardian of Atarvana Veda, the religious text which holds the secrets of mantras, tantras and yantras.
Even though she is believed to be dark, her big round eyes are powerful and kind. She can be associated with gold for purity. She is extremely pure at heart and comes to the rescue of her devotees in an instant. She is often referred to as the only supreme goddess who has the power to control lord Yama and protect us from untimely and unnatural death.
Sri Muralidhara Swamigal, the founder of the peedam, extends invitation to all devotees to participate in the homam and “receive the blessings of Prithiyankara Devi for a disease- and disorder-free life”.
Donations can be sent by DD/cheque/money order in favour of Sri Muralidhara Swamigal, to the address given below or funds can be transferred to SB account No.10917462439 at State Bank of India, Walajapet Branch, branch code 0775.
For more details, please contact:
Sri Danvantri Arogya Peedam
Ananthalai Madhura, Kilpudupet,
Walajapet – 632513, Vellore District.
Phone: 91-4172-230033/292133/292433/0-94433-30203
E-mail: danvantripeedam@gmail.com
www.danvantri.org
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