The fifth form of Mahavidya is Sri Bhairavi Amman.

Bhairavi is a fierce and

terrifying aspect of the Goddess virtually indistinguishable from Kali, except for
her particular identification as the consort of the Wrathful Shiva. She is
considered the female form of Lord Shiva known as Bhairava. Creation and
Destruction are two essential aspects of the universe, which is continually
subject to their alternating rhythms. The two are equally dominant in the world
and indeed depend upon each other in symbiotic fashion. Bhairavi embodies the
principle of destruction. She arises or becomes present when the body declines
and decays, which is a natural,
inevitable, and irresistible force. Bhairavi is also evident in self- destructive
habits, such as eating tamsic food (food having a quality associated with
ignorance and lust) and drinking liquor, which wear down the body and mind.
She is present; it is said, in the loss of semen, which weakens males. Anger,
jealousy, and other selfish emotions and actions strengthen Bhairavi"s
presence in the world. Righteous behaviour, conversely, makes her weaker. In
short, she is an ever-present goddess who manifests herself in, and embodies,
the destructive aspects of the world. Destruction, however, is not always
negative, creation cannot continue without it. This is most clear in the process
of nourishment and metabolism, in which life feeds on death; creation proceeds
by means of transformed energy given up in destruction.

Bhairavi is also identified with Kalaratri, a name often associated with Kali that
means "black night (of destruction)" and refers to a particularly destructive
aspect of Kali. She is also identified with Mahapralaya, the great dissolution at
the end of a cosmic cycle, during which all things, having been consumed with
fire, are dissolved in the formless waters of procreation. She is the force that
tends toward dissolution. This force, furthermore, which is actually Bhairavi
herself, is present in each person as one gradually ages, weakens and finally
dies. Destruction is apparent everywhere, and therefore Bhairavi is present
everywhere.

One of her dhyana mantras, that of Sampatprada-bhairavi, says that she is
intoxicated with her youth, and most descriptions of her, despite her association
with destruction, say that she is attractive, young, and shapely. Bhairavi"s
association with sexual desire and fulfilment is mentioned often in her
thousand-name hymns. In the Shakta-pramoda, for example, she is called She
Who Is Fond of Semen and Menstrual Blood and She Who Is Worshiped by
Those Who Worship with Semen. In her thousand-name hymn in the
Vishvasara-tantra, she is called Lovely One, She Whose Form Is Semen, Who
Produces Semen, Who Gives Love, Who Enjoys Sexual Intercourse, Who Is
Dear To Kama, and Who Dwells in the Yoni. She is shown here seated on a
lotus, with four arms, two of them making the gestures of granting boons and
removing fear respectively. The other two hands hold a goad and noose.
Bhairavi has facets and epithets that assert her cosmic importance, if not
supremacy. A commentary on the Parashurama-kalpasutra says that the name
Bhairavi is derived from the words bharana (to create), ramana (to protect), and
vamana (to emit or disgorge). The commentator, that is, seeks to discern the
inner meaning of Bhairavi"s name by identifying her with the cosmic functions
of creation, maintenance, and destruction.