Goddess Lakshmi’s four hands represent four goals of human life:

Dharma

Kama 

Artha
​
 Moksha

​

Aries:  Om Aem Kleem Saun


Taurus:  Om Aem Kleem Shri


Gemini:  Om Kleem Aem Saun


Cancer:  Om Aem Kleem Shri


Leo:  Om Hreem Shreem Saun


Virgo:  Om Shree Aem Om


Libra:  Om Hreem Kleem Shree


Scorpio:  Om Aem Kleem Saun


Sagittarius:  Om Hreem Kleem Saun


Capricorn:  Om Aem Kleem Hreem Shree Saun


Aquarius:  Om Hreem Aem Kleem Shree


Pisces:  Om Hreem Kleem Saun

​Durga Puja at Belur Math - Kolkata Bengal India

DURGA PUJA:

GENERAL INFORMATION, however, the most comprehensive explanation of Navaratri and Durga Puja (which Bengali's still practice in a huge way, except it is Pandemic this year.

Glorious Autumn in Bengal

The Glory of Autumn

Autumn (Sharat) is regarded as one of the best seasons in India. The sun is on his southward journey and, as his blazing rays begin to slant, the subcontinent feels freedom from the oppressive heat of summer months.
The monsoon has infused new life into trees, shrubs, creepers, herbs, grass, moss and lichen; and Gaia, the Earth Goddess, shows herself off in her richly embroidered green apparel of lush vegetation everywhere.In the villages there is a look of plentitude and peace.

The granaries are full with freshly garnered grain, the fields offer large open spaces with cattle grazing here and there, and along the borders of fields you can see rows of white and light pink kashphool(flowers of a kind of tall grass) tassels waving triumphantly in the breeze.

Overhead, the sky is deep blue with an occasional white cloud sailing across lazily to an unknown destination.

A kind of mystic silence pervades the air, broken only by the laughter of children playing here and there.It is as if Nature has prepared herself for the advent of the Divine Mother. Indeed, which other season can be a better one to welcome the Divine Mother than autumn? And Durga Puja is about the advent of the Divine Mother.

Worship of the Divine Mother

Worship of the Divine Mother is one of the oldest forms of worship known to humanity. In prehistoric times, God was worshipped as the Divine Mother all over the world. Evidences for Mother Worship have been recovered in different places in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. But it is only in India that Mother worship went beyond the framework of a cult and became a full-fledged living religion supported by an advanced theology, scriptures, rites, customs and festivals which are followed by millions of people even in modern times.

And in Bengal, worship of God as Mother attained the highest form of a cultural refinement and ritual sophistication, and became the dominant faith and practice of the people.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say: ”To look upon God as Mother is the purest and the highest form of Sadhana” (Matribhav shuddha bhav, sadhanar shesh katha).

Why did he say that? Because Mother’s love is the most unselfish and unconditional form of human love.

For a child, mother is all sufficient: apart from giving birth, she provides everything that the child needs – nourishment, protection, warmth, comfort, training, education.

To look upon God as Mother is to make God all-sufficient in one’s life. It is a very natural, intimate and purest form of relationship.

Mother worship.

Mother Worship in India

Worship of God as Mother has prevailed in India from prehistoric times. It was perhaps in vogue in Mohenjodaro-Harappa civilization. In the Rig Veda, there is a wonderful hymn known as Devi-Suktam (which is chanted during Durga Puja days) in which the Divine Mother declares that She moves with the Rudras, Vasus, Adityas, and all other gods, that She is the power of all gods, that She is the Queen of the world, and so on.It is, however, in the Devi-Mahatmya, popularly known as the Chandi, that worship of the Divine Mother assumes an independent, supreme status.
Although Chandi forms a part of Markandeya Purana, it is treated as an independent scripture. For devotees of the Divine Mother, especially in Bengal, Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu, Chandi is regarded as the most sacred and valued scripture. It was composed sometime between the 6th and 9th centuries AD.Another authoritative book on Shakti worship is Devi-Bhagavatam.

Between the 6th and 16th centuries a class of Shakta scriptures known as the Tantras (believed to be 63 in all) came into existence. The Tantras became popular in three areas, namely Bengal, Kerala and Kashmir, which form the three angles of a geographical triangle.Worship of the Divine Mother is prevalent all over India – from Kanyakumari (famous for its Kanyakumari temple) to Kashmir (Kshirbhavani temple) and from Rajasthan (Amba temple) to Kolkata (Kalighat temple).

In fact, there is hardly any large area in India which does not have a Devi temple. Great heroes of the past worshipped the Divine Mother. Sri Rama is said to have worshipped Durga before killing Ravana. Shivaji, the great Maratha king, was a votary of Bhavani. Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, is also said to have been a worshipper of Mother Durga.
Different Forms of Divine Mother

Although the Divine Mother is only one, Her manifestations are many. During the early centuries of the Christian Era, the Divine Mother was worshipped as an independent and Supreme Goddess. She was mostly pictured as riding a lion (Simha-vahini).

This is the image of Durga we find in the Chandi where she appears as Chamundeshvari and Mahishasura-mardini.In later centuries, the Divine Mother came to be regarded as the spouse of God Shiva. Here again, there were two schools. In one school, the Divine Mother and Shiva are regarded as equal in power.

This school, known as ”Samya”, is the more common one, especially in South India. In the other school, known as ”Kaula”, the Divine Mother as Kali is regarded as the dynamic principle, and Shiva as the passive principle.

This school is most prevalent in Bengal, and also in Kashmir and Kerala.
The Divine Mother is regarded as having ”

Ten Great Wisdom Forms” (Dasha-mahavidya).

These ten Goddesses of Kali

Kali
Tara
Tripura Sundari
Bhuvaneshwari
Bhairavi
Chhinnamasta
Dhumavati
Bagalamukhi
Matangi (Saraswati)
Kamala (Lakshmi)

The ten forms of Divine Mother, Dasa Mahavidyas

Navaratri and Durga Puja

The nine days from the first day after the new moon (known as Mahalaya) in the Indian month of Ashwin to the 9th day constitute the festival of Navaratri which is observed all over India. During this period, the Divine Mother is worshipped in some form or other.

The majority of Hindus who cannot conduct such worship at home visit Mother’s temple in their locality after taking bath and putting on new clothes. The tenth day is known as Dassera. In the northern parts of India, on this day the life of Rama (known as Ramlila) is enacted in public.

In many parts of India, on this day weapons, implements, instruments, etc are worshipped. [In Bengal, this worship of tools and implements takes place on another special day known as Vishwakarma Puja.]It is during this period of Navaratri that Durga Puja is celebrated in Bengal.
The celebration of Durga Puja is a unique feature of the socio-religious culture of Bengal. In no other part of India does the worship of Durga affect the lives of the people so deeply as it does in Bengal. Festivities begin from Mahalaya and go on for nearly a month.

During this period, people put on new clothes, worship the Divine Mother at any of the beautiful Durga pandals put up in different parts of the city or town, and enjoy feasts.The most striking aspect of Durga Puja is the image of the Divine Mother as Mahishasura-mardini. Here the Divine Mother is seen as having ten arms, each wielding a weapon.

[Hence She is described as Dasha-prahara-dharini.] Once the image is consecrated, and the Deity is invoked in it, it undergoes a transfiguration. It is no longer a clay image but the living Goddess, radiating power, knowledge, love and joy, the benign Mother of the Universe who has come to bless Her children and to assure them of Her love, help and protection.Another prominent feature of Durga Puja celebration is the gorgeous Pandal or Durga dalan in which the worship is conducted.

Durga Puja is meant for public worship, in which a large number of people participate. Its rituals and paraphernalia are quite expensive. Formerly only kings and aristocratic families could afford to celebrate such public worship. But in modern times Durga Puja is done through organized community effort. People of a locality or street form a celebration committee, take collections and put up the imposing pandal.Who first started this kind of public celebration of Durga Puja?


The generally accepted view is that it was Kamsa-narayan, king of Tahirpur in Rajshahi District (now in Bangladesh), who first started the present style of public celebration of Durga Puja around the year 1600.Commingling of Legends

What is the mythological basis of Durga Puja?

Several mythological legends have commingled to form the basis of Durga Puja. These are mentioned below:Before fighting Ravana, Sri Ramachandra was advised by Narada to propitiate Devi Durga. According to Hindu mythology, during the six months of the sun’s southward journey the gods remain asleep. (They remain awake during the six months when the sun moves northward.) So Rama had to awaken the Goddess first. This is why the first ritual in Durga Puja is the awakening (bodhan) of Durga. This legend is found in the Ramayana in Bengali written by Krittivas. In some other Puranas it is mentioned that, when Rama wanted to propitiate Devi, it was Brahma who did the awakening.
The present-day Durga Puja is, thus, a commemoration of the first Durga Puja performed by Sri Rama.

The second legend is about the coming of Devi Uma from Her abode in Kailash to the home of her parents – Himavat and Menaka. She comes riding a lion. In the Vedas, Uma is first mentioned in the Kena Upanishad where She is described as Uma Haimavati.

It is a popular belief in Bengal that Uma comes and stays with the people for three days. A whole set of songs, known as Agamani, describing the homecoming of Uma has come into existence. These songs are sung during the days preceding Durga Puja. These songs serve to spiritualize Hindu mother’s love and concern for their married daughters.

The third legend is about Sati Devi.

Although neither Sati nor Uma is mentioned in the Chandi, in the mool-mantra used in Durga Puja, Sri Durga is addressed as Daksha-yajna-vinashini, ”The Destroyer of Daksha’s sacrifice.” Daksha was one of the Prajapatis or Creators of the Universe. He had eight daughters, of whom the eldest was Sati. Against her father’s wish, Sati married the great God Shiva who was an ascetic wearing matted hair and leading an unconventional life on Mount Kailash.

After some years, the roving Rishi Narada reached Kailash and gave the news that Daksha was going to conduct a big sacrifice to which all gods and goddesses were invited, except Sati and Shiva. Although uninvited, Sati went to see her father. But Daksha spoke insultingly of Shiva and, unable to bear the insult, Sati fell down dead. Shiva was naturally enraged; and his anger burnt to ashes Daksha and his sacrifice, and then Shiva began a dance of destruction.

But the gods intervened, and Shiva finally returned to His meditation in Mount Kailash. Sati was reborn as Parvati who, after years of intense tapas, got Shiva as Her husband once again. The mool-mantra, Daksha-yajna-vinashinyai, refers to the destruction of Daksha’s sacrifice mentioned above. It is, however, quite obvious that this great Mantra has some deeper mystic, esoteric meaning far beyond the mythological significance.

The most important legend which is central to Durga Puja is about Durga, and forms the theme of Chandi. The word Durga literally means one who ”protects like a fort” or one who ”destroys the evil consequences” of our actions (durgati-nashini). In the Chandi, Durga is mostly referred to simply as Devi, the Goddess, and occasionally as Ambika.

She is an independent, supreme Goddess, not the consort of any male God. As already mentioned, the Chandi is one of the oldest scriptures on Mother Worship.

It was obviously composed before the sectarian divisions of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism entered Hinduism. Hence Devi is referred to in this book as the Power of Vishnu and also addressed as Narayani repeatedly.

Durga in Chandi

The Chandi is divided into three parts. In the first part Devi appears as Mahamaya which is described as yoga-nidra of Vishnu. That is to say, Mahamaya is the power of Tamas which makes people lethargic, indolent and sleepy. Under the influence of this cosmic delusive Power, Lord Vishnu went to sleep. At that time two demons by name Madhu and Kaitabh came out the ears of Vishnu and attacked Brahma the Creator God. Brahma then praised the Divine Mother as Mahamaya or Yoga-nidra. Pleased with the petition, she withdrew herself from Vishnu’s body. Vishnu now woke up and killed Madhu and Kaitabh.In the second part Devi appears as Mahishasura-mardini and is also called Chandika.

The story goes that when a powerful demon by name Mahishasura was the king of the Asuras (demons), they attacked the Devas (gods) and vanquished them. The defeated gods went to Shiva and Vishnu and complained about the atrocities of Mahishasura. Hearing this, Vishnu, Shiva and other presiding Deities became angry. The rays of their anger combined to form a supremely powerful and dazzlingly bright female Being – the Devi known also as Chandika and Ambika. Seeing the dazzling brightness of the Devi, Mahishasura first sent his army to attack Her. But the Divine Mother exterminated them all.

Then Mahishasura, who had the form of a buffalo, himself attacked Her. Devi at once jumped upon his body, pressed his neck with her foot, struck his chest with her spear, and finally cut off his head. The gods being extremely relieved and pleased, praised the Devi, and their praise takes up the rest of the second part of Chandi.In the third part of the book, Devi appears first as Parvati and then, out of her form, there arises another form known as Kalika. But she continues to be referred to as Ambika. The third part narrates another valorous act of the Divine Mother.

Once upon a time two brothers, Shumbha and Nishumbha became lords of the three worlds, and the gods lost everything. Coming to know of the beauty of Kalika, they sent word to her asking her to come to them. When she spurned their order, they at first sent two demons, Chanda and Munda, to capture her. Seeing them, Ambika became angry and out of that anger there issued forth a terrible form known as Kali who fought with the demons. Finally Kali cut off the heads of Chanda and Munda. She thus came to be called Chamunda. Now Shumbha and Nishumbha themselves rode in their chariots and attacked Ambika and Kali. After a protracted battle Ambika herself destroyed Shumbha and Nishumbha.Madhu and Kaitabh killed by Vishnu.

The image of Durga as Mahishasuramardini epitomizes the Chandi. To understand the significance of the image we have to understand the significance of the Chandi.

The gory scene depicted by the image of Durga, and the blood-curdling descriptions of a warrior Goddess exterminating hordes of evil doers drenching the earth with blood, may be enigmatic and repulsive to some people, especially to those who are outside the Shakta tradition of Hinduism.

A mature and realistic understanding of the Divine in the context of the real situations in human life and society is necessary to understand the true significance of Chandi.

The basic significance of Chandi may be briefly stated as follows.The main purpose of Chandi is to glorify Shakti. Shakti is the dynamic aspect of the ultimate Reality known as Brahman. Shakti is generally regarded as the feminine principle. The feminine principle has two aspects: a lower, seductive aspect, and a higher, maternal aspect. It is the higher maternal aspect that is glorified in the Chandi, and in the Shakta tradition in general. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: Jini Brahma tini Shakti, tini i Ma ”He who is Brahman is Shakti, and He himself is the Mother of the Universe”

A mother has three main functions: to give birth, to nourish, to care and protect. It is the third aspect that is highlighted in the Chandi. God is not a disinterested spectator of the drama of human life. She is an active participant. She protects people from dangers.

Think of the cosmic figure of a Divine Mother towering over millions of people guarding them from dangers, punishing evil doers. Well, you can see this image of the Cosmic Mother in the Chandi.The second purpose of the Chandi is to depict the reality of evil. Vice, wickedness, cruelty, injustice, suffering – all these are as much real as virtue, love, compassion, cooperation etc which humanity has idealized and dreamed about from time immemorial. Dharma and Adharma, virtue and vice, are two inseparable aspects of reality, and we have to accept both.

We generally tend to associate Godhead only with love and compassion. We forget that Godhead has also an aspect of power, terror and destruction. It was this destructive aspect of Godhead that Sri Krishna showed Arjuna through the Vishwarupa Darshana revelation. What we find in the Chandi is the same terrible aspect, but associated with the Eternal Feminine.Mahishasura, Shumbha, Nishumbha and other characters portrayed in the Chandi are of course mythological, but this does not make them irrelevant in the present-day world.

Do we not find similar, or even worse, types of people in modern times? Political leaders who commit mass genocide, terrorists who bomb crowded trains, buses and market places, serial murders, rapists et cetra, about whom we read in newspapers – are these people in any way better than the demons described in the Chandi? As a matter of fact, Chandi assumes greater reality and relevance in the contemporary world than at any other time before.Chandi is not a book of romance.

Nor does it promise a utopian world. On the contrary, it wakes us up from our futile dreams and situates us right in the midst of the terrible realities of the present-day world which we very often fail to face.The third message of the Chandi is the empowerment of women. In recent years there is a lot of talk about empowerment of women, especially in rural and tribal areas in India.

The Chandi shows to what heights this empowerment can be raised. In all countries in all times, women have been indoctrinated from childhood to believe that they are weak, helpless and totally dependent on men.
The Chandi shows how much power women can wield, how they can work independently, and face boldly even the worst challenges of life without unduly depending on men.

Lastly, Chandi delivers a message of hope, the assurance of divine help and succour. In spite of all the terrible happenings described in the book, there is absolutely no pessimistic tone or note of despair in the Chandi.
Let troubles and difficulties come, let even dire calamities occur; we have nothing to fear, for there is a God, a Mother, who protects us from all dangers or gives us the inner strength to face them. In modern times the Divine Mother, born as Sri Sarada Devi, has given us this assurance: ”Always remember, there is somebody behind you … Place your burden upon me and remain unperturbed.” This is also the last message of the Chandi.

DURGA PUJA AT BELUR MATH

Durga Puja was first celebrated at Belur Math in 1901. Since then Durga Puja has been celebrated at Belur Math year after year, although for a few years after the first celebration in 1901, Pratima worship was not done. (In this connection it should be mentioned that Durga Puja was conducted on a small scale, without the image, by the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna during the early years of Ramakrishna Math at Baranagar.)

It was Swami Vivekananda himself who started the first Durga Puja with the image at Belur Math. As a rule, Hindu Sannyasins do not conduct this kind of ritualistic worship. Why then did Swamiji start the new tradition?
One reason was to gain the acceptance of the local community for the new way of life that Swamiji and his monastic brothers were leading.

The Hindu society in Calcutta had not fully accepted Swamiji’s going to the West, and the rather unconventional ways of life at Belur Math which included disregard for caste rules and mixing with Western people.
As a matter of fact, the celebration of Durga Puja helped to remove much of the misunderstanding and misgivings about the new monastic institution among the local people.Another reason was Swamiji wanted to institutionalize respect for divinity of motherhood and sanctity of womanhood.

Swamiji saw that one of the main reasons for the advancement of Western people was the elevation of women in the West, and one of the main reasons for the backwardness of India was the neglect of women in this country.

Worship of the Divine Mother, especially the Kumari Puja, would create the awareness of the potential divinity of women and a respectful attitude towards them.A third reason was supernatural.

A few days before Durga Puja in 1901, Swamiji had a vision of Durga Puja being done at Belur Math. More or less at that time, Swami Brahmanandaji saw in a vision Mother Durga coming across the Ganga from Dakshineshwar to Belur Math. Swamiji asked Raja Maharaj to make preparations for Durga Puja immediately, although only a few days were left to begin the Puja.The main problem was to get a clay image for worship.

Enquiries at Kamartuli (the street in Kolkata where artisans make clay images) revealed that there was a single beautiful image of Durga in a shop. The person who had ordered it had not turned up, and so the artisan agreed to sell it to the monks.Apart from the image, a lot of other things had to be collected for the elaborate ritualistic worship.

Under able direction of Swami Brahmanandaji everything was done well at short notice.The first Durga Puja at Belur Math was conducted in a huge Pendal (decorative shed) on the open ground to the north of the old shrine.

The invocatory worship on Shashthi (the 6th day of the lunar month) was on 18 October 1901. The Pujari was Brahmachari Krishnalal and the Tantradharak was Isvar Chandra Chakravarty, the father of Shashi Maharaj.

Sitting under the Bel tree (which now stands in front of his temple) Swamiji sang Agamani songs welcoming the Divine Mother.The householder disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and orthodox Brahmins of nearby area had been specially invited, and thousands of people, irrespective of the distinctions of caste or religion, attended the three-day festival.

On the night of Navami Swamiji sang many songs in praise of Divine Mother, some of which used to be sung by Sri Ramakrishna.Mother's 

Holy Mother and Durga Puja

When Swamiji decided to celebrate Durga Puja at Belur Math, one of the first things he did was to seek the approval of Holy Mother Sarada Devi who was then staying at Baghbazar in Kolkata.

Swami Premananda went to Mother, and Mother whole-heartedly approved the proposal. On Shashthi day She came with other women devotees and stayed at Nilambar Babu’s garden house nearby.

Mother attended the awakening ceremony that day and attended the Puja on all the three subsequent days.Since Sannyasins cannot undertake this kind of ritualistic worship, Swamiji decreed that the Puja should be done in the name of Holy Mother.

This became a tradition which continues to this day. Swamiji looked upon Sri Sarada Devi as the divine counterpart of Sri Ramakrishna, born for the awakening of womankind in the modern world.

In a letter to Swami Shivananda written in 1894 from America, Swamiji had given expression to his conviction about the Divinity of Holy Mother as follows: ”Brother, I shall show how to worship the living Durga (Jivanta Durga), and then only shall I be worthy of my name.

I shall be relieved when you have purchased a plot of land and established there the living Durga, the Mother (i.e. Sri Sarada Devi).”

The presence of Holy Mother, the Living Durga, during the Puja must have given boundless joy and satisfaction to Swamiji and the other disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.Holy Mother attended the Durga Puja at Belur Math in 1912 and in 1916 and perhaps in some other years also. Each time Mother stayed for a few days and blessed Her monastic and lay children.

Agamani

As already mentioned elsewhere, several mythological legends underlie Durga Puja festival. One of these is the legend that every year during the Navaratri, Goddess Uma, who is identified with Parvati the divine consort of Shiva, comes to the home of her parents – Himavat and Menaka.
In Bengal this legend has been universalized into the belief that the Divine Mother visits the homes of all her children during the three days of Durga Puja.

Agamani songs are songs which vividly depict the maternal love and deep concern of Menaka for her divine daughter. They are sung to welcome Mother Uma into homes.

They also reflect parents’ love for their married daughters.Swami Vivekananda was fond of Agamani songs because of the tender feelings expressed in them.

On the Shashthi of the first Durga Puja at Belur Math, Swamiji sang Agamani songs such as, Giri Ganesh amar shubhakari etc. The tradition of singing Agamani songs continues in Belur Math. Every year from the first day (pratipada) after Mahalaya to the sixth day (Shashthi) Sadhus and Brahmacharins gather at the main temple of Sri Ramakrishna at dawn and sing Agamani songs in chorus. [At night, after Arati, they conduct Kalikirtan.]

Chandipath

During the nine days of Navaratri the book Chandi is recited everyday morning. This recital is done along with worship of the Goddess Chandi. In Belur Math this is done during the first five days at a corner of Natamandir and from the 6th at a corner of Durga Mandap itself.Aagmani Songs

Aagmani Songs
Puja offered at Ghata installed
Mother's Photo
Aarti offered to Devi Durga

Shashthi :

the 6th dayThis is a very important day when ritual preparations are made to begin the Durga Puja proper. These preparations are mainly three: Kalparambha, Bodhan, Adhivas and Amantran
.Kalparambha :

This ritual is done early in the morning. It is mainly an act of making the samkalpa or ”sacramental intention”, the firm determination to conduct the Puja properly during the three days. The ritual consists of installing the ghata, water-filled copper pot, at a corner of Durga mandap and offering worship to Durga and Chandi.

Bodhan:

This rite is performed at the Sandhya or dusk. The word ‘Bodhan’ literally means ‘awakening’. As already mentioned elsewhere, the Hindu mythology holds that all gods and goddesses go to sleep for six months during the southward journey of the Sun. Autumn (Sharat), during which Durga Puja is done, falls in the middle of this period. Hence it is necessary to first of all awaken the deity Durga. We have already mentioned that the awakening of Durga was first done by Sri Ramachandra who wanted to propitiate the Goddess before fighting Ravana.The ritual of Bodhan consists in installing a water-filled copper vessel at the base of the Bel (Bilva) tree (or, as is now done at Belur Math, keeping a branch of the Bel tree in the pot) and praying to the Divine Mother to awaken.

Adhivas and Amantran :

These rites follow Bodhan. Adhivas means ”invocation”. Through Bodhan the Devi has awakened: now the awakened Devi has to be invoked in the Bel tree or branch of the tree. Adhivas is also a ritual of sanctification. The actual ritual consists of the following main steps.Devi Durga and the Bel tree are first worshipped

Twenty-six sacramental things (mangalik dravya) are sanctified by touching Devi Durga and the Bel tree with them.

To ward off evil effects, a red coloured thread is tied around the altar where Puja is done.

The above ritual is followed by Amantran which literally means ”invitation”. Through this rite the Devi is invited or entreated to accept the Puja the next day (Saptami).After this, Devi is worshipped with five items and Arati is done to Her.

Saptami Puja

The important point to note here is that a living medium is necessary to invoke the indwelling of a deity. It is through a living medium that Divinity manifests itself. On the sixth day Divinity was invoked in the Bel tree or a branch of it. On the seventh day the Deity is invoked in a group of nine plants known as Navapatrika.

The nine plants, which include a branch of Bel tree also, are bundled together, given a ceremonial bath, covered with an orange coloured cloth and installed on a wooden seat on the right side of the image of Durga.

This is followed by Mahasnan (great bath) on a mirror, using various materials. After this, consecration and divinization of the image, known as pranapratishtha, takes place. This is followed by elaborate worship of the Devi with sixteen items (shodashopacharapuja). The other deities, attendants and other objects associated with Devi are then worshipped. The Seventh Day’s Puja is concluded with bhog (food offering) and Arati to Devi.Deity is invoked in the Navapatrika

Ashtami Puja

As on Saptami, on Ashtami also, Mahasnan and Shodashopacharapuja are done. In addition, nine small pots with flags of different colours attached are installed and the Nine Shaktis are invoked in them and worshipped. After this sixty-four yoginis are worshipped. Then one crore yoginis are worshipped. This is followed by worship of Nava Durga (nine aspects of Durga) and Goddesses Jayanti, Mangala, Kali, Bhadrakali, Kapalani, Durga, Shiva, Kshama, Dhatri, Svaha and Svadha. Ashtami Puja is concluded with Bhog and Arati.

Kumari Puja :

Worship of a young girl, treating her as Devi, is also a part of Ashtami Puja. Sri Ramakrishna has said that the Divine Mother manifests herself more in a pure-hearted girl and that is why Kumari Puja is done. He used to bow down before little girls looking upon them as manifestations of the Divine Mother. When Durga Puja was done at Belur Math for the first time, Swami Vivekananda worshipped several Kumaris. Now only one Kumari is worshipped. The same kinds of offerings made to the Devi are given to the Kumari also, and finally Arati is performed. Even senior monks offer flowers at her feet.

Sandhi Puja :

The last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami (a total of 48 minutes between the two lunar days) constitute the Sandhi or ”Sacred Juncture”. It is considered to be a most auspicious time. At this time Durga is worshipped as Chamunda (that is, Kali who killed the demon Chanda and Munda).

This Puja is considered to be the highest point in the whole Durga Puja and the most important ritual.It is customary to perform bali or animal sacrifice at this sacred juncture.

When the first Durga Puja was celebrated at Belur Math in 1901, Swami Vivekananda wanted to have bali done. But Holy Mother prohibited it and, in obedience to Holy Mother’s injunction, animal sacrifice is never done at Belur Math. Instead, a banana is ‘sacrificed’ as a symbolic bali
.Navami Puja

As in Ashtami, during Navami also Mahasnan and Shodashopacharapuja are offered to Devi. In addition, bali and Homa are performed. In Belur Math for bali white pumpkin and sugarcane are offered. The Homa (fire sacrifice) is a combination of Vedic and Tantric traditions.

Dashami Puja

In the morning a brief Puja, Shital bhog (cooling food offering) and Arati are first done. Then the Pujari and Tantradharak circumambulate the altar and perform the visarjan ritual.

In this ritual the Devi, who had been invoked in the Navapatrika and consecrated Image, is entreated to return to Her celestial abode. The Divine Mother, however, dwells for ever in the hearts of devotees.In the evening the Image of Durga along with Navapatrika is taken in procession to the river bank and immersed in the river.

​The water taken from the spot, known as Shanti Jal is sprinkled on the devotees who embrace one another as an expression of their solidarity as children of the same Divine Mother. And thus the holy Durga Puja comes to an end leaving joyous memories in the souls of people.Homa on Navami
Visarjan

Happy Navaratri, Durga Puja, Maha Vidya time, many systems simultaneously. It all depends on the level of the sadhaka or sadhika !

Traditional Way: Druga Puja

Nava 9 Durga
1. Shailaputri - Sun
2. Brahmacharini - Saturn
3. Chandraghanta - Moon
4. Kushmanda - Jupiter
5. Skandamata - Mars
6. Katyayani - Venus
7. Kalaratri - Rahu
8. Mahagauri - Mercury
9. Siddhidatri - Ketu
Devi Mahatmaya -
1st 3 days Kali,
2nd 3 days Laxshmi,
3rd 3 days Saraswati.

Tantric Way:

Nava Graha (planets)
1. Rahu - Dhumavati and Kali's black body.
2. Ketu - Chinnamasta and Kali's sword.
3. Shukra - Kamla and Kali's beauty.
4. Chandra - Lalita and Kali's severed head (ahamkara)
5. Surya - Bhuvaneshwari and Kali's maya.
6. Shani - Baglamukhi and Kali's tongue
7. Mangal - Bhairavi and Kali's tejas (radience)
8. Brihaspati - Tara and Kali's speech (her necklace of skulls or aksharas)
9. Matangi - Budha and Kali's third eye or transcendental wisdom

Dasa 10 Maha Vidya (Tantric aspects of Kali)"

1. Kali - Saturn
2. Tara - Jupiter
3. Tripura Sundari - Mercury
4. Bhuvaneshwari - Moon
5. Bhairavi - Lagna
6. Chinnmasta - Rahu
7. Dhumavati - Ketu
8. Bagalamukhi - Mars
9. Matangi - Sun
10. Kamla - Venus

Nava Graha (planets)

1. Rahu - Dhumavati and Kali's black body.
2. Ketu - Chinnamasta and Kali's sword.
3. Shukra - Kamla and Kali's beauty.
4. Chandra - Lalita and Kali's severed head (ahamkara)
5. Surya - Bhuvaneshwari and Kali's maya.
6. Shani - Baglamukhi and Kali's tongue
7. Mangal - Bhairavi and Kali's tejas (radience)
8. Brihaspati - Tara and Kali's speech (her necklace of skulls or aksharas)
9. Matangi - Budha and Kali's third eye or transcendental wisdom

Dasa 10 Maha Vidya (Tantric aspects of Kali)"

1. Kali - Saturn
2. Tara - Jupiter
3. Tripura Sundari - Mercury
4. Bhuvaneshwari - Moon
5. Bhairavi - Lagna
6. Chinnmasta - Rahu
7. Dhumavati - Ketu
8. Bagalamukhi - Mars
9. Matangi - Sun
10. Kamla - Venus

Each system is interrelated! However, you can not compare apples to oranges, an each category has a specific purpose and it is easy to get confused. You must learn your categories by entering into Sadhana (practice) through the Lord of Categories Ganesha.

Durga is Kali and Kali is Durga's other rupa (form).

It is not one or the other, all are related.
There are plants, flags and many karakas ( significators) for each category, Ganesha is the Lord of categories and Durga's son, no one can understand without getting past Lord Ganesha.

It all can be complicated to understand the relations of all, it is not one is better than the other, it is what is your purpose for doing any of these practices?

Each sadhana has a purpose.

More to come over the next few days, this is just a simple touch of a huge indigenous practice that belongs to the people of India as they have preserved it for thousands of years, so that we many have a glimpse. This is by no means a complete picture.

Trishula Musings: Kali / Tara Maaa

How many times have I tried to go around and escape but you find me and grind the crushing gravitational pull of Karma. I hide for a while but then I name my Dog Kali and scream Kali Gopeee out loud everyday for years without knowing I am reciting a Mantra, yes of course you came into my life. Then you bring me a predetermined real life Kali Gopi A Baul from Bengali.

I try to find as many ways as I can to slip through her hands but Maa is always there waiting, ever waiting and hanging on. Mercy, mercy please. Time is ever present and always there, time is grinding and polishing at the same time, dual action, as I get older I thought life would be easier.

How I have experienced her love is, if you can do it at twenty, she will give you more in your 30's and if you can make it through that, she will pile on more at 40, and then she says, you are doing a great job, lets see if you can do your 50's and we will give you more to work through, omg if you make it to 60 and through 60 she just keeps piling on because her love shows no bounds and she wants to reward her children with burning as much karma in one life as possible..

Ma is not the easy path! Yes, she is love but her love is to make you evolve and burn as much karma as possible.

Here on earth I think we call this burning of karma, suffering and it is always optional in how we deal with suffering! Just don't be surprised when she actually comes to you.
Jai Maa

Materica Medica of India and their Therapeutics

By Rustomjee Naserwanjee Khory and Nanabhai Navrosji Katrak

Printed at Caxton Works, Bombay - 1903

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Image:
​
Turmeric (Curcuma longa):
​ rhizome with flowering stem and separate leaf and floral segments.

Coloured engraving after F. von Scheidl, 1776

Ancient Glass and India 
By S.N.Sen and Mamata Choudhury 

Published by Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi - 1985
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Review: Ancient Glass and India

The term, glass, includes a wide range of products, which are characterized mainly by their desired rate of cooling from a state of fusion to a solid state in such a way that it does not undergo crystallization. Generally glass is produced by melting a mixture of silica (sand: about 10%) with the required calcium compounds (lime: about 10%), and some metallic oxides are added as colouring agents.

In this monograph the authors have discussed the occurrence and manufacture of glass in ancient India, in the backdrop of the world history of glass.

The first chapter out of the five in which the book is divided deals with the historical background of ancient glass. In addition the chapter deals extensively with the general characteristics, the properties, compositions and processes involved in the manufacture of ancient glass. The authors do not wish to evaluate or analyse the history, rather they present it as it is generally accepted, along with its unsolved questions. They tell us that glass was discovered around 1500 B.C. in Egypt as a development from faience to glaze to glass. On the other hand, glass making in the Far East may be traced back to the sixth century B.C.

The global backdrop given by the authors is however weak. The correct position is that the Egyptians and ancient Assyrians had glass-makers even in the third millennium BC. Glass beads have been found in the cemeteries of Ur III (c. 2100 BC.) and also at Assur under the Ziggurat (c. 1800 BC.) in Mesopotamia.

There is archaeological evidence to indicate that there were glass-producing factories in Egypt during the XVIII Dynasty in the reign of Amenhotep II (1448-1420 BC.). At Tell el Amarna (1450-1400 BC.) the remains of a glass house and fragments of glass in several stages of manufacture have been found. There is a series of Assyrian clay tablets from the library of Assurbanipal (seventh century BC.) which provide details of glass-making at that time. But the glass industry matured only during the Graeco-Roman times, specially by the Romans who were well versed in the art of glass-blowing and sheet-making (Subbarayappa 1999).

The remaining chapters deal in glass with regard to its occurrence in India. The second chapter deals with the literary and archaeological evidence of glass in ancient India. The authors point out that mention of glass Kanch or Kaca is profuse in the ancient texts going back to 1200 B.C., or perhaps even further beyond.

The Vedic text, Satapatha Brahmana refers in a general way to Kaca, the Sanskrit term used for glass. Under this brief section of the literary sources the authors have only considered the ancient Sanskritic texts with a view to establish the antiquity of glass works in India. It was, however, in the three or four centuries before and after the Christian era that Indian glass industry began to gain momentum. The rest of the chapter informs us in detail about the archaeological evidence with regard to the antiquity of glass in India.

The archaeological excavations in Brahmapuri and Kolhapuri in Maharastra State (second century BC – second century AD) reveal that there was also a glass noted for its drawn beads which were generally cylindrical in form. Even in the sixteenth-seventeenth century AD, the Portuguese used to trade in these glass objects with East Africa. In the Deccan, some Satavahana sites have yielded folded beads, twisted beads as well as cane-glass beads; Arikamedu, Nevasa, Ter, Prakash etc., were well known for the cane-glass beads.

We are told in the third chapter that despite the wealth of ancient archaeological specimens of glass in India the scientific studies thereof are very inadequate. In contrast, the chemical studies of Indian glass specimens have been carried out in some detail. These physical studies help in forming an idea of the processes involved in producing the glass that it is. The monograph gives due credence to Sana Ullah who was the first to carry out the chemical studies of the ancient glass objects in India after Neumann took up to study the chemical composition of the glass objects in Europe. The detailed results of such study in India are reproduced in the monograph.

Indian glass-makers had adequate expertise in the fabrication of beads, bangles and a few other types. On the basis of various objects excavated at different sites, it may be inferred that the glass-makers employed such methods as moulding, folding, twisting and double-stripping. Possibly, what is known as wire-winding method was also for preparing beads of different types.

The beads found at Brahmapuri indicate that they were probably made by this method by coiling the fused glass rod around a wire or spoke, and twirling it to obtain the desired shapes. The technique of preparing what are called the 'multiple-wound beads' of opaque glass of different colours was also known. Bangles, both monochrome and polychrome, were produced with great care. Certain patterns were also imposed on them by skilful methods. As regards flasks, bowls and even bottles which are found in some archaeological sites, they were by and large, made in the Mediterranean (Roman) region with which India had commercial contacts from ancient times. Likewise, the milleflori (Latin word meaning 'thousand flowers') glass with flowery designs, found near Taxila and Ahicchatra (UP) seem to be of Roman origin.

It may be noted that the milleflori technique was a flourishing one specially in Venice. In the medieval period, the artistic glass specimens of the Mughal period show the Persian influence inasmuch as Persian glass-makers came to India with their craftsmanship and were engaged in the production of glass dishes and dish covers, spittoons, flat-bottomed vessels, mirrors and other objects like tiles and ear reels. But glass-tiles appeared in India even as early as the third century BC during the reign of Asoka.

The book gives a summary of archaeological evidence of early glass from various excavated sites. The main ones are:

AHAR, AHAD, Rajasthan

Glass objects, discovered from Ahar, are beads and bangles. Out of five beads, two are of plain translucent variety; two of tabular cuprous glass (Period II – 3rd century BC) and the fifth of opaque green colour. The first two show pulled bubbles and have a very rough surface. They are short tabular, barrel and globular. Four pieces of glass bangles have been discovered. All of them are of monochrome category. Of the four pieces, two came from the phase Ic (Period II) and two were from surface collection. These bangles are of two types – those belonging to phase Ic are plano-convex, and those of surface collections show a triangular section. The colour of these glass bangles varies from turquoise blue, sea-green to milky-white. All these bangles are found to be translucent and full of bubbles. The technique employed for making these bangles was rather crude as indicated by the uneven thickness. Due to the leaching out of the alkalis, the bangle pieces are covered with a whitish filmy patina.

AHICCHATRA, Uttar Pradesh

The glass objects that have been unearthed at Ahicchatra are mainly beads, distributed practically among all the strata. Their dating extends from c. 300 B.C. to 1100 A.D. More than one hundred glass beads were recovered from excavations, besides several others from surface collections.

Period II of the site shows the occurrence of the Painted Grey Ware and black-slipped, black-and red and plain red wares. Among other finds of this period mention may be made of vitreous paste and beads of glass. The dating of period II may be regarded as representing a late phase of the Painted Grey Ware culture.

BROACH, Gujarat

The town-mound at Broach, the ancient Bharukachha of Indian literature and Barygaza of the classical geographers, was excavated by the Western circle of the Department of the Archaeological Survey of India. The occupation of the site may be divided into three periods. Period I (3rd century B.C.) yielded glass beads in association with the beads of semi-precious stones, agate, chert, chalcedony and jasper.

ERAN, Madhya Pradesh

Eran (ancient Airkina) is situated in the district of Sagar. Three mounds, namely ERN-I to ERN-3, were excavated by the University of Sagar. Periods III (1st century to the 5th century) and IV (16th to 18th century AD) were found to be rich in glass beads and glass bangles respectively.

HASTINAPUR, Uttar Pradesh

This site is one of the earliest from where glass has been reported.The occurrence of glass bangles from period II (1100-800 B.C.) is therefore noteworthy.

MAHESWAR AND NAVDATOLI, Madhya Pradesh

Beads. Several fragmentary and eleven intact specimens of glass beads were recovered from Maheswar. Of the intact ones, eight came from layers of Phase VI (100-500 A.D.), two from phase V (100 B.C.-100 A.D.) and one from Phase VII (Muslim-Maratha period). They show a wide range of shapes such as spherical, truncated barrel, globular, hexagonal, cylindrical and irregularly circular. Their colours are deep blue, deep green, yellow, sea-green and soiled white.

Bangles. Bangles are both monochrome and polychrome, the former being more abundant than the latter. Of the monochrome type six hundred and seventy-three pieces were recovered, of which fifty-three came from Navdatoli trenches. Of the bangles unearthed from Maheshwar, 95 per cent came from Phase VI.

NEVASA, Madhya Pradesh

About 350 glass beads were recovered mostly from Phase V (50 B.C.-200 A.D.) which represents the most flourishing period in the history of Nevasa. Besides the colouring of glass, these beads reveal various techniques of glass and bead manufacture.

PAIYAMPALLI, Tamil Nadu

The excavation at Paiyampalli in the district of North Arcot was carried out under the guidance of S.R. Rao in 1964. The work has brought to light the glass beads and bangles of two cultural periods, namely the Neolithic (Period I, 1390±200 B.C.) and megalithic (Period II, 315±100 B.C).

PRAKASH, Maharashtra

Forty-five glass bangles have been recovered from Phase II (6th – 1st century B.C.), Phase III (2nd century B.C. – 6th century A.D.), and Phase IV (6th to 11th century A.D.) and also from an unstratified deposit. The occurrence of monochrome glass bangles during the pre-Christian era is noteworthy in this connection.

SULUR, Kerala

About 148 beads have been found in the middens near the megalithic tombs at Sulur. They are of green (72), red (29), black (11), blue (24), blue zon (1), yellow (3), opaque orange (1), imitation garnet (2), pale brown (1) white (1), clear (2) and corroded (1) glass.

TAXILA, Pakistan

According to Beck, there is no evidence of glass at Taxila before the 7th and 6th century B.C. The glass objects that have been recovered from Taxila comprise beads, bangles, small vessels, tiles and some miscellaneous articles. The glass beads from the fourth stratum of the Bhir Mound (c. 5th century B.C.) are twenty-five in number. Most of the beads are colourless and iridescent. Those that are coloured are blue, black, green, very dark green, grey, opal white, amber, etc.

Two more glass objects, other than beads, which came from the same stratum are an ear-ornament decorated with a rosette on one side and a part of a miniature casket. Both were made of a fine variety of black or very dark green glass, which has the appearance of obsidian and is free from quartz grains or other impurities. The glass beads found in stratum III (c. 4th century B.C.) are 217 in number.

UJJAIN, Madhya Pradesh

The excavation at Ujjain, in Central India, yielded a number of glass beads, ear-reels and bangles belonging to the period c. 500 B.C. to 1st century A.D. Of the few ear-reels, the most interesting feature on one specimen is the decoration of impressed coils representing 'eyes'; the decoration appears on one side only. A squarish seal resembling a specimen from Maheswar, is of black glass with a green tinge and bears on one side the symbol of an elephant. The specimen appears to be of 300 B.C.

There are many other sites given in the book.

Chapter four, which happens to be the last chapter in the mo
nograph deals with furnaces, tools, and various techniques for fashioning glass objects in ancient India.

The authors tell us that though glasswares have been unearthed from various archaeological sites in India yet the findings do not help in recreating the technology in the past. The authors say that the glass making in India did not advance beyond the first and the very rudimentary stage. The furnaces that were used could not produce heat in excess of 10000 C. Moulding was one of the techniques used in India for the production of glass objects. Blowing was introduced in India towards the end of the first century.

The chemical analyses of glass objects found in over 15 sites of different parts of India indicate that the Indian glass-makers knew the importance of metallic oxides or other compounds for imparting the desired colours to the glass objects.

​Minerals containing iron like haematite, copper, cobalt, managanese, aluminium or lead were used along with the silicates in a desired way and in appropriate quantity for the production of various types of glass beads, bangles, tiles and bottles. The monograph is full of useful technical details, with chemical tables of the glass objects found in India. Tables of archaeological objects found are also given. It is a work that more or less presents the status of research in ancient glass objects in India.

We would like to end the review with some very perceptive remarks by Subbrayappa. He says,

In India, however, glass did not have a social value similar to that of metals and pottery which was preferred to glass vessels in some religious functions, and in iatro-chemical practices as well. There was commercial contact, now and then, between India and the Greco-Roman world. The foreign glass objects found at Arikamedu (first – second century AD) reveal not only such contacts but also their wide use in the Greco-Roman culture. Yet, glass played an insignificant role in the Indian socio-cultural life.

The rasavadins (alchemical-cum-medicinal chemists) did not somehow choose to employ always glass vessels for their chemical operations involving distillation, steaming, mild heating and the like. Their apparatus was by and large earthen which did not permit them to observe the way in which the chemical processes as well as the fabrication of glass apparatus, like those which placed chemistry on a solid foundation in the West in the 18th century. Around this time the West had developed what are known as tank furnaces for large-scale commercial production of glass.

The fabricating methods were also standardized; more importantly, by using the finest raw materials – silica and compounds of sodium, magnesium as well as calcium, and, employing the pot method, optical glass having a required degree of hardness, desired refraction and dispersive powers, was produced. Lenses, prisms, mirrors, glass tubes and vessels played a notable role in the new experimental methods that led to the growth of physics, chemistry and biology in the West. In Indian ethos, however, the importance of glass was hardly recognized (Subbarayappa 1999).

Image:

Different types of beads, Harappa.
The ancient Harappans went to great efforts to obtain exotic colored stones for making beads of different shapes and sizes.
Credit: © Harappaom

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Digital Rare Book:

Science and Society in Ancient India 
By Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya

Published by Research India Publications, Calcutta - 1977
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Summary:

Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya (19 November 1918 – 8 May 1993) was an Indian Marxist philosopher. He made contributions to the exploration of the materialist current in ancient Indian philosophy.He is known for Lokayata: A Study in Ancient Indian Materialism, which is his exposition of the philosophy of Lokayata. He is also known for work on history of science and scientific method in ancient India, especially his 1977 book Science and Society in Ancient India on the ancient physicians Charaka and Sushruta. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, posthumously, in 1998.

This book is about scientific method in ancient India and how societal divisions of the time shaped the development of science. Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya chooses the field of medicine for the purpose, because, according to him, "the only discipline that promises to be fully secular and contains clear potentials of the modern understanding of natural science is medicine".

The main concentration of the book is to present an analysis of Caraka Samhita, the crucial source book on Indian medicine. According to Chattopadhyaya, "discarding scripture orientation, they [the Indian physicians] insist on the supreme importance of direct observation of natural phenomena and on the technique of rational processing of the empirical data.

​They go even to the extent of claiming that the truth of any conclusion thus arrived at is to be tested ultimately by the criterion of practice". For them, "everything in nature occurs according to some immutable laws, the body of which is usually called svabhava in Indian thought" and "from the medical viewpoint there can be nothing which is not made of matter".[17] They even say that "a substance is called conscious when it is endowed with the sense-organs". Further, Chattopadhyaya shows:

"If anywhere in ancient Indian thought we are permitted to see the real anticipation of the view that knowledge is power – which, when further worked out, assumes the formulation that freedom is the recognition of necessity – it is to be found among the practitioners of the healing art".
Chattopadhyaya also tries to show in the book, how societal divisions, especially the caste system, which was enforced by the law-givers and their justificatory idealist ideologies, formed obstructions in the way of scientific development in India.

- Wikipedia
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Illustrated Medical Simples of the Four Tantras, Tibeto-Mongolian manuscript, ink and watercolour on paper, 19th century. 
Credit: Wellcome Library, London

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Digital Rare Book:

Ancient Indian Surgery 
(Based on Nidana-Sthana of Susruta Samhita)

By Dr.G.D. Singhal, Dr.L.M. Singh and Dr.K.P. Singh
Published by Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi - 1972

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Nidānasthāna (निदानस्थान).—Second book of the Purva-tantra (part of the Sushruta Samhita, an ayurvedic text). It is dedicated to aetiology, the signs and symptoms of important surgical diseases and those ailments which have a bearing on surgery. 

1) Nidānasthāna (निदानस्थान) refers to the second of the eight sections of the Carakasaṃhitā which enjoys a prime position among Ayurvedic treatises and is written in the form of advices of the sage Ātreya to the sage Agniveśa. The Carakasaṃhitā contains eight sections [viz., nidānasthāna]. Sūtrasthāna contains 30 chapters.

2) Nidānasthāna (निदानस्थान) refers to one of the six sections of the Suśrutasaṃhitā, an important Ayurvedic treatise. The discourses of the teacher Divodasa are believed to be summarised by his disciple Suśruta, who wrote the work Suśrutasaṃhitā in 4th century CE. Suśrutasaṃhitā contains six sections [viz., nidānasthāna].

3) Nidānasthāna (निदानस्थान) also refers to one of the five sections of the 5th century Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya by Vāgbhaṭa. Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya is divided into two—pūrvatantra and uttaratantra. In the pūrvatantra there are five divisions which go by the names sūtrasthāna, nidānasthāna, śarīrasthāna, cikitsāsthāna and kalpasthāna.
​
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