Come to my house. Mother, may I prosper. With a pure heart I remember you. O, I am small, Mother, surrounded by worries. I sacrifice myself at your feet. Come, Mother to my house.
Devotees in northwestern India (especially in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh) refer to Durga as Sheranvali, literally one with the lion, and frequently worship her in her local form as Vaishno Devi. Every year millions of pilgrims visit Vaishno Devi's sacred abode, a cave in the Trikuta hills of Jammu.
She is associated with an interesting legend:
The woman Trikuta wanted to marry prince Rama of Ayodhya. But Rama said, "I already have a wife and will not take another".
So Trikuta went to the mountains to live as a hermit. But there Bhairava, a sorcerer, forced his indecent attentions on her. Disgusted by his behavior, she left her hermitage and sought refuge in a cave. Bhairava followed her there and refused to leave her alone.
Finally, after being chased across many hills and valleys, Trikuta decided to run no more. She turned on her tormentor with a sword and after a great battle, succeeding in beheading him.
The beheaded Bhairava apologized to the goddess and accepted her as his mother. From a lustful man he was transformed into an innocent child, by the grace of Trikuta.
Thereafter, the hill-dwellers began revering her as a goddess. She came to be known as Vaishnavi, as it is said she will be Vishnu's bride when kaliyuga, the dark age of spiritual blindness, comes to an end.
Worshippers tell the story of the goddess in all-night vigils (jagratas), which are central to her worship. At the end of these ceremonies, they recite the story of Queen Tara and her husband, Raja Harish Chandra, who sacrificed their son in order to obtain darshan (a vision) of the goddess. She granted their wish and brought the boy back to life.
Further Reading:
Dehejia, Vidya. Devi: The Great Goddess: Ahmedabad, Mapin Publishing in association with Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, USA, 1999.
Erndl, Kathleen M. Victory to the Mother: The Hindu Goddess of Northwest India in Myth, Ritual, and Symbol: New York, Oxford University Press, 1993.
Pattanaik, Devdutt. Devi The Mother Goddess: Mumbai, Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 2000.
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