Bhavani was the protective patron deity of the Maratha King Shivaji, in whose veneration he dedicated his sword, Bhavani Talwar. Many Marathi folk stories celebrate her. Shivaji's mother was said to be a great devotee of Bhavani. The town of Tuljapur in Maharashtra is the location of the annual Tulja Bhavani fair during Navaratri (September to October), and home to the Tulja Bhavani Temple which dates to the 12th century. The temple contains a granite icon of the goddess, one metre (approximately 3 feet) in height, with eight arms holding weapons and the head of the slain demon Mahishasura.[citation needed]

EtymologyEdit

The word Bhavānī translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is an aspect of Parvati and considered to be a mother who provides to her devotees and also plays the role of dispensing justice by killing Asuras.[3][4] According to the Śiva Purāṇa, Bhavānī is the supreme goddess and the consort of Lord Bhava (Sadasiva). Bhavānī (भवानि, “the giver of existence”).—One of the names of the Goddess, Devī, who is regarded as the female principle of the divine; the embodiment of the energies of the Gods. Bhavānī (भवानी) is an epithet of the Goddess (Devī), who incarnated as Satī, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.14. Accordingly, as Brahmā narrated to Nārada:—“[...] On seeing the mother of the universe born of Vīriṇī, Dakṣa joined his palms in reverence, paid respects to her, and eulogized her. [...] O mother of the universe, those who eulogize Thee with the names of Bhavānī, Ambikā, Jaganmāyā and Durgā will have everything”. The Goddess has a great variety of names referable to her various forms, attributes, and actions but these names are not always used accurately and distinctively. As the mother of the world, she is Gauri, Ambikā or Jagaṭ Jananī (the reading Jagaṭ Jananī/Jaga Jananī for Jaganmāyā is preferable). In her fiercer form, she is Durgā, the inaccessible.[5]