Spirituality

Maa Chandraghanta (The Moon Bell)

The Fearless and Gracious Divine Mother, The Bride Who Breaks Stereotypes 

 Often, we either look at something as beautiful, or courageous. It is considered rare to see a bold and beautiful combination and this is why people stereotype good looking people. In fact, if a woman is courageous and bold, she is automatically termed unattractive and if she is beautiful, there is a need to protect her. This is obviously the result of a patriarchal system and our Divine Mothers are here to break the stereotypes. In this blog, we discuss how Maa Chandraghanta, the one with the Moon Bell is courageous, brave, ferocious and gracious, beautiful and nurturing at the same time. 

The Story 

Chandra means Moon and Ghanta means bell. Maa Chandraghanta wears a half-moon on her head that is shaped like a bell. The story behind her origin is rather fascinating. When Lord Shiva had given His word that He would never get married again, His sufferings overwhelmed him. That and the Austerity of Parvati Ji resulted in Lord Shiva giving up and agreeing to marry Her. 

When Lord Shiva arrived for the wedding, he brought along with him ghosts, goblins, sages, ascetics and Aghoris. Lord Shiva arrived in his terrorizing form and looking at him, Maa Parvati’s mother, Maina, fainted. This was when Maa Parvati assumed the form of Chandraghanta, to revive her mother and save her parents from Lord Shiva’s fearsome form. She persuaded Lord Shiva to appear in his charming form and the Lord finally agreed and obliged.

Her Appearance 

Chandraghanta is the married form of Maa Parvati. She wears orange clothes, and has ten hands, which respectively carry a Trident, Mace, Bow-Arrow, Sword, Lotus Flower, Bell and a Waterpot. The remaining hands remain in Abhay Mudra. She rides a tiger or lion, representing bravery and courage. The half-moon is worn on her forehead and a visible third eye is in the middle of her forehead. She has a golden complexion and is the perfect combination of beauty, charm and grace.

The Chakra She Rules

She rules the Manipura Chakra or the Solar Plexus. The Manipura Chakra works towards destroying all distractions that come our way. If we look at the story closely, Maa came into Her own when She was surrounded by ghosts, goblins, sages, ascetics and Aghoris. Her mother had fainted and everyone in the wedding party was scared. If one had to list out the most chaotic situations during a wedding, then this one would be on the top. Amongst all this, Maa came into Her own, remained perfectly calm and asked Her groom to come back in His charming form. This wasn’t a negotiation, this was a direct request, honored by Lord Shiva. We aren’t using the words command or demand here because in the marriage of the divine feminine and divine masculine, there are no orders or demands. There is equality and respect for each other. 

Similarly, the Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra, teaches us to remain calm in chaos and handle every situation with grace and efficiency. 

The Balance 

When we look at Maa’s form, we see that She is fierce, powerful, aggressive, violent, loud, bold and even terrifying. While She is all of this, She is also beautiful, graceful, charming, happy, warm, loving, compassionate, and even devoted. These are Her base qualities and everything else just comes and goes. For it is not the other things that matter as much as the source energy and power.  Maa remains Her loving form always. Love is never replaced as She operates from Love. This is important for all of us to know so we can remain gracious, loving, compassionate and all things calm in every situation. Even the fiercest of warriors are checked on their ability to remain calm because it’s the key to the secrets of the universe. 

Maa’s Sadhana 

Here is the link to download the Powerful Navratri Sadhana EBook and understand Maa Chandraghanta’s Sadhana in detail. 

We hope this blog helped you understand Maa Chandraghanta a little better. For any queries, spiritual healing and guidance, feel free to write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com 

May Maa Chandraghanta help you remain calm in chaos and win every situation you come across. Have a wonderful Sadhana.