There is a Goddess Durga temple in my neighborhood which attracts devotees every day. I often visit this temple along with my family to seek divine blessings. The temple priest daily decorates sacred idol with a silk saree and garlands made of tulsi , roses, jasmine and marigold. Hindu deities are often depicted with multiple arms and heads.Goddess Durga is also depicted with multiple arms. Ever ponder over this concept of Hindu deities portrayed with multiple arms. What could be the reason behind this imagery?
According to Vedas God or Brahman is consciousness. Every
human has a soul and consciousness which has the ability
to perceive limited senses. Vedas preach that God possesses all senses
and resides in every soul. God is everywhere . God is all-powerful ,
all-pervasive , omnipotent
and omniscient. God can assume different forms to portray various cosmic
manifestations.
In Hinduism deities are often portrayed with
multiple arms and heads especially when they are battling cosmic forces. God doesn't suffer from some kind of
polycephaly or physical deformity as some dimwit self-proclaimed rationalists do this immoral propaganda. Almighty can not be perceived with limited senses we humans possess.In our Puranas deities are described to have multiple heads
and arms to emphasize the immense super human powers God possesses.
God with multiple arms is an attempt to describe God as
omnipotent capable of doing several acts at the same time.
In some of the artistic description of Lord Vishnu , He carries a symbolic item in each of his hands.
Conch symbolizes creation
Lotus symbolizes purity
Mace symbolizes authority
Discus symbolizes thought.
Depending on cosmic manifestation also known as avatar, Lord Vishnu is illustrated as God with fish tail or a boar head.
Conch symbolizes creation
Lotus symbolizes purity
Mace symbolizes authority
Discus symbolizes thought.
Depending on cosmic manifestation also known as avatar, Lord Vishnu is illustrated as God with fish tail or a boar head.
Kali is usually depicted as having four arms. In her left hand she is usually holding a sword (representing divine knowledge) and severed head of a slain demon (signifying the human ego that must be slain by divine knowledge). Her other two hands are said to be blessing her worshipers. Kali can however also be depicted having two arms or even ten. Kali is depicted with three eyes to symbolize sun, moon and fire as well as her ability to see into the past, present and future.
In the picture below Goddess Saraswathi is shown with 4 arms holding a Veena instrument (symbolizes fine tuning one's mind and intellect with the eternal knowledge of Universe) , a holy book ( indicates knowledge alone can remove our ignorance) , prayer beads (denotes all branches of spiritual and scientific knowledge). She is the ultimate source of knowledge , power and creation.
The cosmic manifestations of God are meant to accentuate various characteristics God owns. Often these characteristics are visualized with images of God having multiple heads.
Below Brahma with four heads representing 4 divine Vedas.
Lord Vishnu reclines on a celestrial serpent Ananta or Adi-Sesha with many heads. The serpent signifies infinite causal energy of the Creator. It stands for infinitude or an unending expansion of universe.
Panchamukhi anjaneya with 5 heads signify five key elements of the universe i.e. Fire, Wind , Water, Sky and Earth. Another legend says Anjaneya had to take Panchamukhi form in pathala loka with Hanuman,Hayagriva,Narasimha,Garuda and Varaha faces to extinguish flames pointing in 5 different directions at the same time in order to protect Lord Rama.
The pseudo secular Islamic fanatics in social networking sites and media who do not hesitate to ridicule Hinduism of worshiping snakes,monkeys,cows etc. have no idea of what our Upanishads and Puranas teach. Let their ignorance overwhelm their senses.
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Enigma
