The Advaitist

dasha mahAvidyA dasha mahAvidyA or The Ten Great Knowledges the ten aspects or cosmic personalities of the Divine Mother (Devi). These are: a. Kali b. Tara c. Shodashi/ Lalita-Tripurasundari d. Bhuvaneshvari e. Bhairavi f. Chhinnamasta g. Dhumavati h. Bagalamukhi i. Matangi j. Kamala dasha dikpAla dasha dikpAla or the Ten Guardians of Directions are deities who rule specific directions of space. a. Kubera - North b. Yama - South c. Indra - East d. Varuṇa - West e. Ishana - Northeast f. Agni - Southeast g. Vayu - Northwest h. Nirrti - Southwest i. Vishnu - Nadir j. Brahma - Zenith dashAvatAra dashAvatAra or the the ten incarnations of viShNu are as follows: a. matsya or fish b. kUrma or tortoise c. varaha or boar d. narasiMha or man-lion e. vAmana or dwarf f. parashurAma g. rAma h. kRRiShNa i. buddha j. kalki

In this article I will talk about Steps for Nitya Puja in Sanskrit, Bengali and English. Nitya Puja in Bengali style involves the Puja of 5 Gods - Ganesh, Surya, Durga, Shiva and Vishnu, in that order. Even for a general Puja, Panchadevata Puja is an essential step. However prior to the Puja of the 5 Gods, certain other steps need to executed which I have described below. Once these are done, one is ready to perform the Puja of the 5 Gods. 1. Achaman & Vishnusmaran ॐ विष्णुः ॐ विष्णुः ॐ विष्णुः | ॐ तद्विष्णोः परमं पदं सदा पश्यन्ति सूरयः । दिवीव चक्षुराततम् ॥ ঔং বিষ্ণুঃ ঔং বিষ্ণুঃ ঔং বিষ্ণুঃ | ঔং তদ্বিষ্ণোঃ পরমং পদং সদা পশ্যন্তি সূরয়ঃ | দিবীব চক্ষুরাততম্ || Sip water thrice. Rub mouth twice. Touch eyes, nostrils, ears, heart, belly button ॐ अपवित्रः पवित्रो वा सर्वास्थां गतोऽपि वा | यः स्मरेत्पुण्डरीकाक्षं स बाह्याभ्यन्तरः शुचिः || ঔং অপবিত্রঃ পবিত্রো বা সর্বাস্থাং গতোঽপি বা | যঃ স্মরেত্পুণ্ডরীকাক্ষং স বাহ্যাভ্যন্তরঃ শুচিঃ || Whether pure or impure, in...