Deva-shaṭka
Deva-shaṭka · deva-shaṭka, “the group of six devas”
Grammar: neuter noun, a compound of deva and shaṭka (a group of six): “the six devas”.
Meaning: the six devatās Gaṇapati, Sūrya, Agni, Vishṇu, Śiva and Durgā Devī, who are invoked and worshipped in the ghaṭa (the pot) before the pūjā of a devī. It is a term of the rite, not the name of a being.
In the scriptures: In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Nārāyaṇa tells Nārada how Indra worshipped Mahālakshmī. Indra bathed in a puṇya-tīrtha, put on washed garments and set up a kalaśa on the shore of the Kshīra Sāgara. He worshipped six devatās with flowers, sandal and the rest: Gaṇapati, Sūrya, Agni, Vishṇumūrti, Śiva and Durgā Devī. Then he invoked Mahālakshmī, whose form is supreme aiśvarya, in the kalaśa and worshipped her. The text calls the six the deva-shaṭka. Nārada asks Nārāyaṇa to explain clearly how Devendra with the devas worshipped the deva-shaṭka, beginning with Gaṇapati, and then worshipped Mahālakshmī (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 39).
In the pūjā of Durgā Devī by Mahārāja Suratha, he first did nyāsa and bhūta-śuddhi, bathed the Devī, invoked her into a pratimā made of clay and placed a pratimā of Mahālakshmī on her right side. In the ghaṭa in front of Durgā he invoked and worshipped the Deva-shaṭka, Gaṇapati, Sūrya, Agni, Vishṇu, Śiva and Durgā Devī. Having worshipped the six and bowed, he praised Durgā with the dhyāna-ślokas told in the Veda (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 64).
Related terms: Ghaṭa · Kalaśa · Pañcāyatana · Durgā-pūjā
Sources
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapters 39, 64