The sixth Goddess among the Mahavidyas is Sri Chinnamasta, also known as

Chinnamastaka. She is the goddess of courage and discernment. The literal

meaning of the word Chinnamasta is one with a severed head. She is
traditionally portrayed as a naked or scantily dressed woman astride the bodies,
in intimate position, of Kama (Hindu god of love and sexual lust), and his wife
Rathi. Chinnamasta, having severed her own head with her own sword, holds
her severed head on one of her hands. Three jets of blood spurt out of her
bleeding neck, and one streams into her own mouth of her severed head, while
the other two streams into the mouths of her two female associates.

One day Parvati went to bathe in the Mandakini River with her two attendants,
jaya and Vijaya. After bathing, the great goddess's colour became black
because she was sexually aroused. After some time, her two attendants
asked her, "Give us some food. We are hungry." She replied, "I shall give you
food but please wait." After awhile, again they asked her. She replied, "Please
wait, I am thinking about some matters." Waiting awhile, they implored her,
"You are the mother of the universe. A child asks everything from her mother.
The mother gives her children not only food but also coverings for the body. So
that is why we are praying to you for food. You are known for your mercy;
please give us food." Hearing this, the consort of Shiva told them that she
would give anything when they reached home. But again her two attendants
begged her, "We are overpowered with hunger, O Mother of the Universe. Give
us food so we may be satisfied, O Merciful One, Bestower of Boons and
Fulfiller of Desires." Hearing this true statement, the merciful goddess smiled
and severed her own head. As soon as she severed her head, it fell on the
palm of her left hand. Three bloodstreams emerged from her throat; the left
and right fell respectively into the mouths of her flanking attendants and the
center one fell into her mouth. After performing this, all were satisfied and later
returned home. (From this act) Parvati became known as Chinnamasta.

In visual imagery, Chinnamasta is shown standing on the copulating couple of
Kamadeva and Rathi, with Rathi on the top. They are shown lying on a lotus.
There are two different interpretations of this aspect of Chinnamasta's
iconography. One understands it as a symbol of control of sexual desire, the
other as a symbol of the goddess's embodiment of sexual energy. The most
common interpretation is one where she is believed to be defeating what
Kamadeva and Rathi represent, namely sexual desire and energy. In this
school of thought she signifies self-control, believed to be the hallmark of a
successful yogi. The other, quite different interpretation states that the
presence of the copulating couple is a symbol of the goddess being charged by
their sexual energy. Just as a lotus seat is believed to confer upon the deity
seated atop it's qualities of auspiciousness and purity, Kamadeva and Rathi
impart to the Goddess standing over them the power and energy generated by
their lovemaking. Gushing up through her body, this energy spouts out of her
headless torso to feed her devotees and also replenish herself. Significantly
here the mating couple is not opposed to the goddess, but an integral part of
the rhythmic flow of energy making up the Chinnamasta icon. The image of
Chinnamasta is a composite one, conveying reality as an amalgamation of
sex, death, creation, destruction and regeneration. It is stunning representation
of the fact that life, sex, and death are an intrinsic part of the grand unified
scheme that makes up the manifested universe. The stark contrasts in this
iconographic scenario-the gruesome decapitation, the copulating couple, the
drinking of fresh blood, all arranged in a delicate, harmonious pattern - jolt the
viewer into an awareness of the truths that life feeds on death, is nourished by
death, and necessitates death and that the ultimate destiny of sex is to
perpetuate more life, which in turn will decay and die in order to feed more life.
As arranged in most renditions of the icon, the lotus and the pairing couple
appear to channel a powerful life force into the goddess. The couple enjoying
sex convey an insistent, vital urge to the goddess; they seem to pump her with
energy. And at the top, like an overflowing fountain, her blood spurts from her
severed neck, the life force leaving her, but streaming into the mouths of her
devotees (and into her own mouth as well) to nourish and sustain them. The
cycle is starkly portrayed: life (the couple making love), death (the decapitated
goddess), and nourishment (the flanking yoginis drinking her blood).