Bālā
From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia
By Swami Harshananda
Bālā literally means ‘the girl-child’.
Worship of Śakti or the Mother Goddess is a very ancient practice. Out of the several aspects of the Divine Mother Pārvatī, Lalitā or Lalitā-Tripurasundarī is very important and popular.
Bālā (also called Bālā-Tripurasundari) is an aspect of this Lalitā. Sometimes she is described as the daughter of Lalitā who helped her to destroy the army of the demon Bhaṇḍāsura.
As her very name suggests, Bālā is pictured as an eternal girl of nine years. Iconographical works describe her as red in color like hibiscus flower. She has four arms carrying the following:
Bālā is specially worshipped by those desiring psychic powers.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore