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SHODASHI, THE GODDESS WHO IS 16 YEARS OLD
Shodashi, or Tripura-Sundari, is believed to have taken
birth to save the gods from the ravages of a mighty and
wrathful demon. The tale begins when Shiva burnt down
Kama, the god of love, who tried to distract Shiva from
his meditation. One of Shiva's followers then scooped
off Kama's ashes and formed the image of a man out of
them. This man then persuades Shiva to teach him a
powerful mantra. By the power of this mantra, one could
gain half the might of one's adversary. But because he
was generated from the ashes of Shiva's wrath he is
transformed into a fierce demon. Intoxicated with his
new found power he proceeded to rampage the kingdom of
the gods. Apprehending defeat and humiliation, the gods
all propitiate Goddess Tripura-Sundari to seek her help.
The goddess appears and agrees to help them. Taking the
battlefield she heaps a crushing blow on the mighty
demon, thus saving the gods.
Iconographically this Goddess is shown seated on a lotus
that rests on the supine body of Lord Shiva, who in turn
lies on a throne whose legs are the gods Brahma, Vishnu,
Shiva, and Rudra
This is a direct and hard-hitting portrayal of the
Goddess dominating the important male deities of the
Hindu pantheon, a central belief of the Maha Vidya
ideology. She is the savior of all, the Last Refuge
She holds in her hands a pair of bow and arrows. The bow
significantly is made of sugarcane, a symbol of
sweetness. Her darts thus are sweetness personified. One
of her epithets is 'Tripura-Sundari,' meaning 'One who
is beautiful in the three realms.' Another of her names
'Lalita' implies softness. These two qualities give rise
to images that depict her as ravishingly beautiful and
of unsurpassed splendor.
The word 'Shodashi' literally means sixteen in Sanskrit.
She is thus visualized as sweet girl of sixteen. In
human life sixteen years represent the age of
accomplished perfection after which decline sets in.
Indeed sixteen days form the completed lunar cycle from
the new moon to the full moon. The full moon is the moon
of sixteen days. This girl of sixteen rules over all
that is perfect, complete, beautiful. Her supreme beauty
too has an interesting story behind it:
Once upon a time Shiva referred to Kali (his wife) by
her name in front of some heavenly damsels who had come
to visit, calling her "Kali, Kali" ("Blackie, Blackie")
in jest. This she took to be a slur against her dark
complexion. She left Shiva and resolved to rid herself
of her dark complexion, through asceticism. Later, the
sage Narada, seeing Shiva alone, asked where his wife
was. Shiva complained that she had abandoned him and
vanished. With his yogic powers Narada discovered Kali
living north of Mount Sumeru and went there to see if he
could convince her to return to Shiva. He told her that
Shiva was thinking of marrying another goddess and that
she should return at once to prevent this. By now Kali
had rid herself of her dark complexion but did not yet
realize it. Arriving in the presence of Shiva, she saw a
reflection of herself with a light complexion in Shiva's
heart. Thinking, that this was another goddess, she
became jealous and angry. Shiva advised her to look more
carefully, with the eye of knowledge, telling her that
what she saw in his heart was herself. The story ends
with Shiva saying to the transformed Kali: "As you have
assumed a very beautiful form, beautiful in the three
worlds, your name will be Tripura- Sundari. You shall
always remain sixteen years old and be called by the
name Shodashi."
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