Ḍamaru
Ḍamaru, “the small hand-drum”
Grammar: masculine noun: a small drum held in the hand. Also ḍamaruka.
Meaning: the small hand-drum, one of the divine objects held in the hands of Bhagavān Śiva and of the fierce forms of the Devī.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa names the ḍamaru in the dhyāna (meditation on the form) of Mahādeva, of Cāmuṇḍā and of Durgā, and in a rite for victory.
In the hand of Mahādeva. In the Śiva-pūjā which Bhagavān Śiva teaches Skanda, the worshipper installs Mahādeva on the siṃhāsana and meditates on him: white like camphor, all-pervading, with five faces and ten arms, the half-moon on his head. In his right hands he holds the śakti, the ṛshṭi, the śūla, the khaṭvāṅga and the varada-mudrā; in his left hands the divine ḍamaru, the citron, the serpent, the akshasūtra (rosary) and the blue lotus (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74).
For victory. In the Yuddhajayārṇava, Parameśvara teaches Gaurī a rite of Bhairava against an enemy army. After nyāsa and the dhyāna of Bhairava in the heart, devouring the enemy army, one does japa of the mantra 108 times in front of the enemy army. Then, when the ḍamaru is sounded, the enemy army lets go of its weapons and flees (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 133).
In the hands of the Devī. In the vidyā of victory in battle, Cāmuṇḍā Devī is meditated on with twenty-eight hands holding their objects in pairs; one pair holds the darpaṇa (mirror) and the ḍamaru (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 135). At the Mahānavamī, when the nine Durgās are installed and worshipped, Durgā Devī holds in her left hands the kapāla, the shield, the bell, the mirror, the tarjanī-mudrā, the bow, the banner, the ḍamaru and the noose; these weapons too are to be worshipped (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 185).
In the Bhavishya Purāṇa. In the marks of the body, those whose waist is like a ḍamaru, like a mṛdaṅga, or in the middle like a grain of barley have a life with fear, kleśa and bad conduct (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 5).
Related terms: Ḍhakkā · Paṇava · Khaṭvāṅga · Triśūla · Mahānavamī · Āyudha
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 74, 133, 135, 185
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 5