The Nepalese tradition of Shakti or Mother Goddess Worship has a very ancient origin.We can sense the antiquity of this tradition very well if we only take a little trouble to examine the nature of customs and rituals connected with the worship still prevalent in the society. Yet, it is quite difficult to say when this tradition exactly started.
When we turn to the Vedas which date back as far as 3000 to 4000 B.C. we meet with several interesting hymns dedicated to the glory of great goddess Devi, the Universal Mother. Some of her earliar names mentioned in the Vedas are Usha,Prithvi,Vac,Ratric and Aditi. All these names belong but to one supreme power, that is, Devi, the Mother Goddess. Many names have always meant many powers.
Even in the Puranas,Devi is addressed by so many different names like Chamunda, Durga, Kali, Laxmi, Saraswati, and so on. Despite all this, she is often identified with Parvati, the most powerful one,the divine consort of Shiva. The Devi Mahatmya of Markandeva Purana, said to be one of the most authenitic works ever known to the history of Hindu, tells us in detail how all the gods had to rush to Devi for shelter when they were driven away by demons in the war. Since it is only Devi Durga, who could destroy demons and rescue her devotees from all kinds of dengers, she has always been regarded as Maha Shakti and worshipped accordingly by all Hindu. Devi Dugra is said to have been created out of the combined energies of all the gods including the triniy of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The beautiful verses in the Vedas devoed to her emphatically extol her as a very unique embodiment of divine powers by which the entir Universe is sustained.
According to Devi Mahatmya, Devi has manifested herself in three basic forms, Mahakali, Mahalaxmi and Maha Saraswati. These three forms of Devi are generally identified with three primordial qualitiies-Tamasic,Rajasic and Sattwic-so to say-destructive, preservative and creative powers. The trinity gods-Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh also stand for the same qualities.Let us not forget here that Kali, Laxmi and Saraswati are the female consorts of Mahesh, Vishnu and Brahma,respectively,always inseparable from their resprctive lords. Thus it appears to be quite clear that basically they are all one though they are in different forms.The philosophy of Hindu religion is wise enough to believe in diversity in unity. However, diversity is never accepted as an ultimate goal in our religion. It is only a means to reach perfect unity, that is to say,god-head. This is one of the main reasons why the Hindus never seem to get bothered by their socalled confusing pantheon of 33 million goods and goddess.
Now let us discuss a bit about one of the most popular froms of Devi, known to all Hindus as Mahisasuramardini.One can see plenty of stone statues of Devi in Mahisasuramardini form, scattered in and around Kathmandu Valley. Some of them are so beautifully carved that they just seem to be breathing. The oldest and most lively piece we have is Palanchokey Bhagawati- said to be built around early 6th century A.D. It is in Mahisasuramardini form she is worshipped during the entire celebration of Dasain through-out the Kingdom of Nepal. There is a interesting story about how Devi was invoked for killing Mahisasura, the most powerful buffalo headed demon king.
Once there broke out a big battle between gods and demons. The battle continued for 100 long years until the demon king Mahisasura vanquished all the gods and became himself the overlord of all the three worlds. The defeated gods grew jealous of his power and position. They all want to the Trinity and asked for help to dethrone the demon king. They were assured help.Goddess Durga was immediately created out of the Trinity powers. She challenged Mahisasura to face her in the battle-field. The result was a big war.Many demons were killed. Mahisasura became furious. He stormed himself across Devi and destroyed many of her weapons. She could not bear this insult any longer. She roared out like a lioness and jumped quickly upon the demon and cut off his head. But it is said that another head peeped out from the same trunk. She beheaded that one too. Vanquishing thus the entire devil forces, Devi brought delight for devas and peace in heaven and earth alike. Ever since then Devi was given the name "Mahisasuramardini".
According to the old tradition, it was on the Dasami Day (10 day of the Dasain celebration) that Devi killed Mahisasura. The day is therefore called a Victory Day or Vijayadasmi, a perfect day for seeking blessings from Devi and of course from senior members of the family too. Dasain in fact is the greatest Hindu festival. The spirit of his festival somehow can be compared to that of Christmas. Every Nepali Hindu regardless of his cast, creed and colour celebrates this festival every year with care-free heart. Actually, it is for this festival the Nepalese people become quite liberal to spend all their hard-earned money.Interesting enough to note is that the most of the amount they spend is specially on choice dresses for their family, on the sacrifice animals and of course on several other festival musts.
There is a Nepalese saying: "Dasain comes with the exciting beats of drums and goes living behind a big debt, for the poor." The Nepalese really don't seem to realise this fact until they find for fun only debt in their empty pockets. This is enough to prove how the Nepalese enjoy this festival called Dasain.
To sum up, the whole story of Dasain celebration centers round Shakti worship (respect for women) which proves itself to be a central core of our culture. Shakti is- woman, wife and mother-all three in one. A divine mother is Shakti in herself. So she is always a goddess. That is why we call great goddess Durga, the Supreme Power or Universal Mother. Even Lord Shiva once called his wife Parvati his Mother. Some people might think Shiva must be crazy to call his wife Mother. This is not a point to the fact. Whateve Shiva said is only an indicative of a great respect He has for an ideal woman.
A great saint has rightly said "Kuputro Jayeta Kwachidapi Kumata Na Bhawati." This means a son may turn out bad but a mother never turns bad. As we Nepalese say-mother is always a mother. Let us imagine if a mother does not allow her helpless child to have a safe and-soothing shelter in her warm wonderful lap what would have been this world like. As far as I can see-the majesty of man's life lately lies nowhere but in warmth of a mother's heart. Oh Divine mother, you are so great' Salutation to you!
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