| Yogamaya | |
|---|---|
Goddess of Illusion[1] | |
.jpg) 19th century painting byRaja Ravi Varma depicting Yogamaya (above) issuing a warning to Kamsa | |
| Other names | Mahamaya,Durga, Vindhyavasini, Narayani,Ekanamsha |
| Affiliation | Shaktism,Vaishnavism |
| Abode | Vaikuntha,Vindhyas |
| Texts | Bhagavata Purana |
| Festivals | Vaikuntha Ekadashi |
| Genealogy | |
| Avatar birth | Gokulam |
| Parents | Nanda andYashoda (parents of her earthly manifestation) |
| Siblings | Vishnu (ceremonial brother)[2] |
| Dynasty | Yaduvamsha |
Yogamaya (Sanskrit:योगमाया,lit. 'illusory potency',IAST:Yogamāyā) is aHindu goddess who serves as the personification ofVishnu's powers of illusion.[3] InVaishnava tradition, she is accorded the epithetNarayani—"the shakti of Narayana (Vishnu)[4][5]"—and is regarded as the benevolent aspect of the goddessDurga.[6]
According toHindu texts, Yogamaya plays the role of the facilitator of the earthly birth ofKrishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. She took theavatar of the daughter of Yadava cowherdNanda andYashoda, after which her place is swapped with Krishna to protect the latter from the tyrant rulerKamsa. After warning Kamsa about his impending death, Yogamaya vanished and resided in theVindhya hills, due to which she is accorded the epithetVindhyavasini.[7]
Yogamaya is also an important goddess inShaktism sect, and is worshipped as a form ofMahadevi.
Yogamaya refers to “the internal potency ofBhagavan, that arranges and enhances all his pastimes” in theBhagavad Gita.[8]
The goddess Vindhyavasini gets her name from theVindhya Range, literally meaning, "she who resides in Vindhya".[9]
At the time of thebirth of Krishna as the eighth child ofDevaki andVasudeva, Yogamaya had been born at the same time at the house ofNanda andYashoda, as instructed byVishnu. Vasudeva replaced Krishna with this daughter of Yashoda. WhenKamsa tried to kill this infant, believing that she was his prophesied killer, she escaped from the grasp of Kamsa, and turned into her form ofDurga. She informed the tyrant that his killer had already been born elsewhere, and subsequently vanished from the prison ofMathura.
The child, Yoga-māyā-devī, the younger sister of Lord Viṣṇu, slipped upward from Kaṁsa’s hands and appeared in the sky as Devī, the goddess Durgā, with eight arms, completely equipped with weapons
— Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10,Chapter 4, Verse 9[10]
O Kaṁsa, you fool, what will be the use of killing me? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has been your enemy from the very beginning and who will certainly kill you, has already taken His birth somewhere else. Therefore, do not unnecessarily kill other children
— Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10,Chapter 4, Verse 12[11]
Thereafter, she is believed by local lore to have chosen to reside at the Vindhyachala mountains, where her temple is located at present.[12]
Authors Constance Jones and James D. Ryan opine that Vindhyavasini is mentioned in theDevi Mahatmya, an important text that presents various incarnations or forms of the Supreme Goddess ofShaktism (Mahadevi). She is also mentioned in an early 19th-century local text called Vindhya Mahatmya. In both, she is understood to be the Ultimate Reality in its totality. She is also assimilated withParvati, conceived of as "ultimate divinity".[13]
Yogamaya is regarded to be the embodiment of either the internal or the external potency of Vishnu, or his avatar of Krishna, inVaishnavism.[14] The goddess, also referred to asVaishnavi Mahamaya, assumes a number of manifestations likeDurga, Ambika, Kshemada, andBhadrakali, according to theVishnu Purana.[15]
In the Bhagavata Purana, the asuraHiranyaksha mocksVaraha and references Vishnu'sYogamaya:[16]
Are you employed by our enemies for destroying us? You kill Asuras by Māyā and thus conquer them by fraudulent means. Oh dunce, I shall wipe out the sorrows of my friends by killing you, whose strength lies in yoga-māyā, but have little personal bravery.
— Bhagavata Purana, Chapter 18
According to a 17th century literary poem called theMukundavilasa, whenBhudevi andBrahma petition Vishnu to intervene in earthly affairs due to the oppression ofKamsa andShishupala, he recruits a number of deities to assist him in his Krishna avatar:Lakshmi is to be born asRukmini, Bhudevi is to manifest asSatyabhama,Shesha is to incarnate asBalarama, and Yogamaya is tasked to be born as the daughter of Yashoda.[17]
In the narratives of Krishna, the deity employs the phenomenon ofYogamaya in order to spend time with the cowherd women ofGokulam, thegopis. During his blissful dalliance with the gopis, it is Yogamaya who creates spiritual doppelgangers of each gopi at their houses so that they can also act as chaste wives to their husbands, while also dwelling on the deity.[18]
In theBhagavad Gita, whenArjuna wonders why Krishna's pastimes and true form are not visible to mortals, he responds by stating that his manifestations are not visible to all men, and that he is veiled by his illusory potency.[19]
When theasuraJalandhara wages a war againstShiva to abductParvati, Vishnu employs Yogamaya as an illusory form to break the chastity of the asura's wife,Vrinda. This allows Shiva to prevail in his war.[20]
Due to Yogamaya's service to Vishnu, the deity offers her the occasion ofEkadashi (the eleventh day of every month) for veneration in her honour.[21]
Yogamaya's temple is located atVindhyachal, 8 km away fromMirzapur on the banks of riverGanges, inUttar Pradesh.[22] Another shrine is located in Bandla, Himachal Pradesh, also called Bandla Mata Temple.[23][24][25] A huge crowd visits the temple, especially duringNavaratri in the Hindu months ofChaitra andAshvin. In the month ofJyeshtha, the Kajali competition, is held here.[24][25] The temple is one of the most reveredShakti Peethas of India. The Vindhyavasini Devi is also known popularly by name of Kajala devi. The goddess Kali is adorned in the form of Vindhyavasini Devi.[24][25]
There is a temple ofSaraswati named Ashtbhuja Temple, 3 km away on a hillock, and a temple of goddessKali in cave called Kali khoh temple. The pilgrims prefer to visit these three temples, which is a part of rite called TrilokanParikrama.[24][25]
TheYogmaya or Jogmaya temple in Mehrauli, New Delhi is said to have been built by thePandavas at the end of theMahabharata war. Jain scriptures from the twelfth century state that the ancient city ofMehrauli was once calledYoginipura after the temple.
In Kerala, Goddess Durga in her incarnation as Yoga-Nidra or Yogamaya is worshiped in the sacred forest temple ofIringole Kavu, situated in the state'sErnakulam district. This temple is one of Kerala's famedkavu, orsacred grove. It is also considered to be one among the 108 Durga temples in the state consecrated by LordParasurama himself.
The goddess is known as "Bijasani devi" in central India, and the Bijasani Mata temple is present on the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border.
There is also a temple dedicated to this goddess inPokhara,Nepal namedBindhyabasini Temple.[26]
5.↑Uncovering the Rich History of Vindhyachal Temple
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