Bhūvaneśvarī Dvādaśī & Vāmana Jayantī

Bhūvaneśvarī Dvādaśī & Vāmana Jayantī

Today marks two auspicious festivals on Śukla Dvādaśī (bright twelfth lunar day) in the month of Bhādrapada (aug/sept).

Bhūvaneśvarī, the Mahāvidyā aligned with the Moon, arises as the boundless expanse of consciousness itself. She is the sovereign Queen of the cosmos, whose presence is the infinite sky in which all forms appear and dissolve.

Like the Moon, she reflects and nourishes, embodying saumyatā—the cooling, gentle essence of grace, the Presiding Śakti of space, sky, and the entire manifested cosmos (bhūvana = worlds).

Her essence is ākāśa tattva (the principle of space), the infinite container of creation. Through her teachings, the mind is stilled in her vastness, the heart attuned to her rhythms, and the individual self dissolved into the ocean of the universal Mother.

oṁ hrīṁ bhuvaneśvaryai namaḥ

ॐ ह्रीं भुवनेश्वर्यै नमः । 🌙

Pinterest: Artwork edit by ___turiya

Vāmana Jayantī — As Śrī Vāmana, the fifth avatāra of Lord Viṣṇu, he employed divine strategy (māyā-upāya) to restore the worlds to their rightful place—subduing the asura king Bali by requesting three paces of land and then covering the universe in three steps.

Connected to Bṛhaspati, Guru to the Devas in Jyotiṣa (Vedic astrology), who is the carrier of Ākāśa-tattva and is Jīvakaraka—significator of life itself—the one who restores things back to their rightful place; we invoke him to protect our intelligence (buddhi), wisdom (jñāna), and discernment (viveka).

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oṁ hrīṁ śrī gurubhyo namaḥ

ॐ ह्रीं श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः । 🐚

Ḥāfeẓ // “Even from the distance of a millennium

I can lean the flame in my heart into your life

And turn all that frightens you

into holy incense ash.”

Rādhāṣṭamī: Rādhā’s Appearance Day

RĀDHĀṢṬAMĪ राधाष्टमी

Artwork: “Krishna Adoring Radha’s Hair”, ca. 1815-20. VMFA. Kangra

Today (August 30/31st) marks the auspicious occasion of Rādhāṣṭamī (Rādhā’s appearance day), observed on the eighth day (āṣṭamī) of the bright fortnight (śukla pakṣa) in the sacred month of Bhādrapada (Aug–Sept).

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the eternal consort and beloved of Lord Kṛṣṇa, is the embodiment of unwavering devotion and selfless love. She personifies patience, humility, and pure devotion, offering a divine example of love in its highest form. Though she endured suffering in the fires of separation from her beloved, Rādhā expected nothing in return, never once allowing complaint to cloud her radiant heart.

To contemplate Rādhā is to unveil the profound mystery of unconditional, transcendental love—where the offering itself becomes devotion, and union with Kṛṣṇa is the soul’s ultimate fulfillment.

It is said that her birth star was Viśākhā विशाखा (sidereal Scorpio), whose Vyāpana Śakti is ‘the energy to achieve many goals,’ awakening ambition, devotion, and courageous pursuit—a constellation often connected to Devī and reflective of Rādhā’s own spiritual leadership.

The trials Rādhā endured through separation from Kṛṣṇa resonate with Śani Dev—the graha of restraint, patience, and longevity (Āyuḥ-kāraka). Saturn, who became the foundation for the churning of the cosmic ocean (Samudra Manthana), teaches endurance through hardship and the purification of desire, where love is tested and refined. 

Rādhā, the hightest expression of Śani, reveals how devotion endures even under these conditions, ultimately leading to the transcendence of worldly attachments.

The rituals of Rādhāṣṭamī begin with the ceremonial bathing of Śrī Rādhā’s mūrti in pañcāmṛta—a sacred blend of milk, ghee, honey, sugar, and yogurt. She is then adorned in new attire and honored in procession alongside Lord Kṛṣṇa.

In Braj, her birthplace, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are dressed in garments of flowers, and in a rare and auspicious darśana, Śrī Rādhā’s feet are unveiled for devotees to behold.

Many fast on this day, immersing themselves in Harikathā—recounting the holy names, divine qualities, and pastimes of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The festival concludes with prasādam, celebrating her transcendental love and presence.

जय जय श्री राधे
Ground yourself, strip yourself down, To blind loving silence. Stay there, until you see You are gazing at the Light with its own ageless eyes”

~ Jalaluddin Rumi

Gaṇeśa Caturthī

GAṆEŚA CATURTHĪ

Commencing on the fourth day (caturthī) of the bright fortnight (śukla pakṣa) in the month of Bhādrapadā (Aug–Sept), Gaṇeśa Caturthī is observed for ten days, culminating on Ananta Caturdaśī (14th day).

Salutations to Śrī Gaṇeśa who has a curved trunk, who has a large body and whose splendor is similar to that of a million suns; who is the son of Śiva and Pārvatī, the remover of obstacles and the writer of the story.

Gaṇeśa, revered as the deity who governs the threshold of new beginnings, wisdom, and intelligence, represented by the brain stem in our physiology, the lord of Jyotiṣa Vidyā (Vedic astrology) and the one who is associated with Ketu and Mercury. He rules over the planetary vibrations that guide us through transitions—encouraging us to see obstacles not as hindrances, but as divine redirections towards our true nature. 

Vyāsa invoked Gaṇeśa to serve as the divine scribe of the Mahābhārata—some traditions even say he fashioned him into being through tapas for this immortal task. Gaṇeśa agreed on the condition that Vyāsa dictate without pause, and Vyāsa, with equal cleverness, required that Gaṇeśa only write once he fully understood each verse.

On Gaṇeśa Caturthī, it is said one should avoid looking at the moon (Candra Darśana) as it can bring false accusations or misunderstandings—stemming from the Purāṇic tale where Candra mocked Gaṇeśa, leading to a curse that whoever sees him on this night may suffer slander. Instead, devotion is directed wholly to Gaṇeśa, the remover of obstacles.

On this sacred day, devotees immerse themselves in fasting, chanting Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, offering sweets such as modaka —believed to be the favorite of Lord Gaṇeśa—as prasāda. The festival culminates on the tenth day with visarjana, when the Mūrti (depiction of a deity) is carried in a grand procession, accompanied by music and chanting, and immersed in a nearby body of water, symbolizing the cycle of creation and dissolution.

O Deva, lord of new beginnings, please make my undertakings free of obstacles, by extending your blessings in all my works, always and may I remember to trust that when you place obstacles in my way, that you’re gently guiding me back to my most aligned path.

ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः