You are on page 1of 67

MAHAVIDYAS

A Publication of Dynastar Company

ABHISHEK JAGUESSAR

MAHAVIDYAS
A Publication of Dynastar Company

This is the eighth book that Dynastar Web Design Company has
published together with the collaboration of other high publishing
company.

This Book will be available in 15 countries around the world.

@Copyright - 2016

ISBN: 9780000979155

People Collaborated in the Book:

Vimi Sahye (Riya)


Sanya Munoruth (Gracy)

A PUBLICATION OF DYNASTAR WEB DESIGN COMPANY


2

I dedicate this book to:

My Sisters

Ganistha Bhoyrub
&
Fatemah Deelawor

My Friends

Sanya Munoruth
&
Vimi Sahye

CONTENT
Acknowlegement

Introduction

Story of the Origin of the Das Mahavidyas

Kali Mata

Tara Mata

16

Shodashi Mata

23

Bhairavi Mata

28

Bhuvaneshvari Mata

31

Chhinnamasta Mata

34

Dhumavati Mata

37

Bagalamukhi Mata

40

Matangi Mata

44

Kamala Mata

48

ShaktiDus Mahavidya Shabar Mantras

56

Prathama Jyoti Mahakali Pragatli (Mahakali)

57

Dwitiya jyoti tara Trikuta Totla Pragati (Tara)

58

Tritiya jyoti tripur sundari pragti (shodshitripur sundari)

59

Chaturth jyoti bhuvneshwari pragti (Bhuvneshwari)

59

Pancham jyoti chhinmasta pragti (Chhinmasta)

60

Shashtam jyoti Bhairvi Pragti (Bhairvi)

61

Saptam jyoti dhoomavati pragati (dhoomavati)

62

Ashtam jyoti baglamukhi pragti (Baglamukhi)

62

Navmi jyoti matangi pragti (matangi)

63

Dasvi jyoti kamla pragti

64

****END*****

66

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to the many people
who saw me through this mantras book; to all those who
provided support, talked things over, read, wrote, offered
comments, allowed me to quote their remarks and
assisted in the editing, proofreading and design.

I would like to thank Amazon and Bookboon for enabling


me to publish this book. Above all I want to thank my
sisters, NEHA and FATEMAH who supported and
encouraged me in spite of all the time it took me away
from them. It was a long and difficult journey for them.

I would like to thank Vimi Sahye and Sanya Munoruth for


helping me in the process of selection and editing.

Last and not least: I beg forgiveness of all those who have
been with me over the course of the years and whose
names I have failed to mention."

INTRODUCTION
Mahavidyas (Great Wisdoms) or Dasha-Mahavidyas are a
group of ten aspects of devi Parvati or Goddess Shakti in
Hinduism. The 10 Mahavidyas are Wisdom Goddesses,
aspects of devi Parvati, who represents a spectrum of
feminine divinity, from horrific goddesses at one end, to
the gentle at the other.

The development of Mahavidyas represents an important


turning point in the history of Shaktism as it marks the rise
of Bhakti aspect in Shaktism, which reached its zenith in
1700 CE. First sprung forth in the post-Puranic age, around
6th century C.E., it was a new theistic movement in which
the Supreme Being was envisioned as female. A fact
epitomized by texts like Devi-Bhagavata Purana, especially
its last nine chapters (31-40) of the seventh skandha,
which are known as the Devi Gita, and soon became
central texts of Shaktism.

Story of the Origin of the Das Mahavidyas

Sati, the consort of Shiva was the daughter of Daksha


Prajapati, a descendant of Brahma. Sati had married Shiva
against the wishes of her father. The vain Daksha
performed a great yagna (with the sole aim of insulting
Shiva), to which he invited all of the gods and goddesses
except his son-in-law, Lord Shiva.

Sati learned about her fathers yajna from Narad Muni.


She asked Shivas permission to attend the yajna, saying
that a daughter did not need an invitation from her father.
Shiva said that Daksha was trying to insult him, and so
even if Sati attended the yajna, the fruit of the sacrifice
would not be auspicious. Therefore he bade Sati not to
attend the yajna.

Sati became furious She thought that Shiva was treating


her like an ignorant lady and not as the mother of
Universe. So to show Shiva who she really was, she
assumed a different form the one of the Divine Mother.
The oceans raged, the mountains shook, and the
atmosphere was filled with the wonder of her form.

Shiva began to shake and tried to flee. But in every


direction that he tried to flee, the Divine mother stopped
7

him. The Divine Mother had multiplied herself into ten


different forms, guarding each of the ten directions, and
try as Shiva might, he could not escape from her, as she
had blocked every escape route.

These ten forms of Divine Mother are known as the Das


Mahavidyas. Each form has her own name, story, quality,
and mantras.

The Das Mahavidyas are Wisdom Goddesses. Das means


ten, maha means great, and vidya means wisdom. The Das
Mahavidyas are considered forms of Divine Mother Kali,
who is the first of the then Mahavidyas. Each Wisdom
Goddess has her own name, story, quality, and mantras.

Kali Mata

In the series of the ten Mahavidyas or wisdom aspects of


the Divine Mother, Kali comes first, for she represents the
power of consciousness in its highest form. She is at once
supreme power and ultimate reality, underscoring the
fundamental Tantric teaching that the power of
consciousness and consciousness itself are one and the
same.

Kali appears to us in countless ways, but some aspects are


more commonly encountered than others. In the esoteric
Krama system of Kashmir, she is said to have a succession
9

of twelve forms, beginning with Guhyakali, the supreme


mystery, the Absolute. The other eleven forms represent
every subsequent level of awareness, all the way down to
our ordinary, unenlightened state. From pure formlessness
and throughout the countless forms she assumes, Kali is
the sole reality. Mother is all, and all is Mother.

The earliest descriptions of Kali belong to the Puranas, and


they place her on the battlefield. The Devimahatmya
vividly depicts a scene with Kali and her associated
goddesses ready to take on an army of demons. Here, Kali
has emerged as the personified wrath of the Divine
Mother Durga. She appears emaciated, with her dark flesh
hanging loosely from her bones. Her sunken eyes glow red
in their sockets. She is clad in a tigers skin and carries a
skull-topped staff. A garland of human heads adorns her
neck. Her gaping mouth shows her to be a fearsome,
blood-thirsty deity. The battle culminates with the slaying
of two demon generals, Canda and Munda, and this act
earns her the name Camunda.

In the next episode Camunda takes on the demon


Raktabija. His name means, he whose seed is blood.
Whenever a drop of his blood falls upon the ground,
another demon of equal size and strength springs up. In
the battle, he sheds blood profusely until the world is
teeming with Raktabijas. Just when the battle looks
hopeless and the onlooking gods despair, Camunda roams
10

the battlefield, avidly lapping up the blood and crushing


the nascent demons between her gnashing teeth. Finally,
drained of his last drop of blood, Raktabija topples lifeless
to the ground.

On the surface this appears to be a grisly tale, but it


symbolizes profound insight. Raktabijas amazing
replicative ability symbolizes the human minds ordinary
state of awareness. The mind is constantly in motion, and
one thought begets another in an endless succession. The
mind rarely rests and is never fully concentrated. In the
light of Patanjalis Yogasutra, we can understand Camunda
as the power to restrain the minds endless modulations,
to stop them altogether. When all mental activity
(cittavritti) ceases, that state is called yoga: consciousness
resting in its own infinite peace and bliss. In that state of
ultimate absorption, represented by Camundas imbibing
of every drop of blood, the soul regains knowledge of its
own original divinity. Camunda Kalis battle scene
represents the resorption of fragmented human
awareness into transcendental wholeness.

Away from the battlefield Kali assumes more benign


forms. As Dakshinakali, she is portrayed as young and
beautiful, standing on the supine, ash-besmeared body of
Siva, who looks up at her adoringly. Siva is absolute
consciousness, ever blissful in its own glory. Kali is
consciousness in motionthe overflowing joy that
11

projects, sustains, and withdraws the universe.


Consciousness and its power are one and the same reality.

With her lower right hand the four-armed Dakshinakali


displays the varadamudra, the gesture of boon-giving. Her
upper right hand makes the abhayamudra, reassuring us
to have no fear. The upper left hand wields the bloodied
sword of knowledge. This is the capacity we can call upon
to cut through all appearances and perceive the
underlying reality. It is the power of mental discrimination
(viveka) essential to spiritual practice and growth. From
Kalis lower left hand dangles the freshly severed head of a
demon. This represents the human egothe small, false
sense of individual selfhood that binds us to this world. It
is our crippling limitation. Once it is out of the way,
awareness expands to infinity. We become one with the
Divine and are liberated.

Kalis nakedness signifies her boundlessness. Nothing can


contain her who is infinite. Her loose, flowing hair also
represents freedom, in this case the freedom from social
convention, from all the conditioning that has been
imposed on us and that we impose on our own minds. Our
true nature is unconditioned consciousnessnirguna
caitanya. Another symbol of freedom can be found in the
girdle of severed human arms that circles her waist. This
represents the divine power to cut through the bonds of
karma. It is the power inherent in our own
12

consciousnessa freedom of choice in the moment that


can also be taken as a sign of divine grace.

Around her neck Kali wears a necklace of skulls. All


appearances to the contrary, this is a symbol of creative
power. It is the varnamala, the garland of letters. Each
skull represents a sound of the Sanskrit alphabet, a
particular manifestation of energy. Physics tells us the
same thingthat the universe is nothing but energy,
vibrating at different frequencies and levels of intensity,
and the result is this palpable world of name and form.
The imagery of the skulls also reminds us that all created
things pass away. Vibration is movement, and everything
in the universe is constantly changing. Change is not
possible except for time, and Kali is also time, the
relentless devourer that in the end swallows up all things.

Kalis iconography in its various forms invites deep


contemplation, and that leads to ever-deepening insight.
In general, we can say that all the dualities of life, the light
and the dark, the beautiful and the fearsome, are united
and reconciled in Kali. She represents supreme nonduality,
for she is none other than Brahman. At the same time, the
duality of this world is nothing other than her own selfexpression.

Two incidents in the life of Sri Ramakrishna bear this out.


As a young priest at Dakshinesvar, Ramakrishna developed
13

an unbearable longing for the vision of Kali. One day,


feeling he could stand it no longer, he seized the Mothers
sword from the wall in the shrine room, intending to end
his life. Just then Kali revealed herself. In that moment the
temple and all surroundings vanished and Ramakrishna
beheld only an endless, radiant ocean of consciousness.
Feeling he was to be engulfed by the onrushing waves, he
lost awareness of the outer world but continued to
experience a steady flow of undiluted bliss. Kali had
revealed herself as the Absolute. But she is also the
relative. On another occasion in the same shrine room,
Ramakrishna beheld the image, the altar, the worship
vessels, the doorsill, the marble floor, and everything else
as nothing but vibrating consciousnesseven a cat, to
whom he fed the Mothers food offering! In that
experience Kali revealed to him that it is she who has
become everything.

From the Absolute to the relative and from the relative to


the Absolute, Kali represents the power of transformation.
For us, who wrongly think ourselves to be mere mortals,
she holds out the promise of transformation from the
human to the Divine.

Her form was fearful, her hair untied and loose, her body
the color of a dark cloud. She had deep set eyes and
eyebrows shaped like curved swords. She stood on a
corpse, wore a garland of skulls, and earrings made from
14

the bones of corpses. She had four hands on one hand


she had the head of a skull, and the other a curved sword
with blood dripping on it. She had mudras on her other
two hands one giving freedom from fear and the other
giving blessings. She roared and the ten directions were
filled with that ferocious sound. The exploits of this
Goddess Kali are outlined in the Chandi Path. She is the
Goddess that killed Chanda and Munda and also drank the
blood of Raktabija. She is known as Kaushiki, She who
came from within, and is the Slayer of Shumbha and
Nishumbha. Kali is the first of the Das Mahavidyas. She is
beyond time. She takes away the darkness and fills us with
the light of Wisdom, which is why She is the embodiment
of Jnana Shakti. She resides in the cremation grounds,
where all creation dissolves.

15

Tara Mata

In the succession of Mahavidyas, Tara comes second,


immediately after Kali, whom she closely resembles. Just
as Kali herself has many different aspects, so does Tara.
Tara is prominent both in Tibetan Buddhism and in Tantric
Hinduism, and her many aspects include forms that are
either gentle (saumya) or fierce (ugra). The Hindu Sakta
Tantra seems to prefer the fierce forms.

So close are the representations of Tara and Kali that often


their identities blur. Of course, divinity is a single reality,
and that has been proclaimed from the time of the
Rigveda onward: Truth is one; the wise call it by various
16

names. The recitations of Kalis and Taras thousand


names (sahasranama hymns) have many names in
common. Not only that, Ramprasad, in his great
devotional songs, used the names Kali and Tara
interchangeably.

Images of Tara often show her seated on a white lotus in


the midst of the primordial waters that envelop the entire
universe. From this we understand that she is the Mother
of the three worlds of the heavens, the atmosphere, and
the earth.
Like the common representations of Kali in the form of
Dakshinakali, Tara is four-armed and holds a sword in her
upper left hand and a severed head in the lower one. The
sword symbolizes the power of consciousness to cut away
whatever is misleading, divisive, fragmentary. It is called
jnanakhadga, the sword of knowledge. Our ordinary
awareness is engaged in a constant swirl of perceiving
physical objects and formulating subtle objects, the
thoughts, ideas, opinions, and concepts that we derive
from our perceptual experience. Our unenlightened
awareness centers on the idea of individual selfhood
conditioned as ego or personality. That ego is represented
by the severed head. Through the power of consciousness
to reveal the true Self, to let us know who and what we
truly are, the Divine Mother uses her sword to cut away
the limiting ego. She who causes all our mistaken ideas of
who we are, along with false notions of our imperfections,
17

inadequacies, and limitations, is also she who frees us


from the bondage of that conditioning. Once freed, we
experience our own true being identity with the
unconditioned Infinite.

In her upper right hand Tara wields a pair of scissors,


which symbolize the same cutting action as the sword; in
particular they represent the ability to cut off
attachments. Her lower right hand is often shown holding
a blue lotus, said to represent her open heart.
Tara is bejeweled, signifying her beauty and infinite
wealth. There is nothing lacking, for she is absolute
perfection. Her complexion is dark blue like the night sky.
That also signifies her boundlessness.

Not only is she infinite; she is all-knowing. Her three eyes


signify the knowledge of past, present, and future.

Unlike Kali, whose hair flows loose and wild, Tara wears
hers in a carefully coiffed topknot (jata). Whereas Kalis
hair represents absolute freedom from constraint, Taras is
a symbol of yogic asceticism that is to say, of the yogic
ability to manage and direct the movement of the mind, to
achieve Self-knowledge through self-mastery.

18

Her tongue is in constant motion, framed by fearsome


teeth and a mouth that appears terrible. Like Kali, she is
all-devouring, unrelenting time.

She wears a tiger-skin around her waist. This is a symbol of


her liminal character she stands as the edge of civilized
order. She can be wild and uncontrolled. She is
uncircumscribed nothing, including the laws of human
society, can contain her. Still, this minimal clothing, some
say, shows that she represents either the last stage before
liberation or the first stage of cosmic emanation. She is not
completely naked like Kali, whose utter lack of clothing
symbolizes infinitude and total freedom.

A nimbus or halo of light surrounds her head, signifying


her glory. Rising above it is the ten-headed serpent
Akshobhya, who represents Siva-consciousness a state
utterly free of agitation consciousness in a state of rest
(visranti), the state of absolute being-awareness-bliss
(saccidananda). This is the ultimate reality as well as the
Mothers own true nature (svasvarupa) and ours. Patanjali
says the same thing in the Yogasutra (1.2), where he
defines yoga as the cessation of all activity within the
individualized
field
of
awareness
(yogas
cittavrittinirodhah). When consciousness ceases its
activity, it ceases to be modified and conditioned as
thought-waves (vritti). These thought-waves are the
projections and the contents of consciousness. In the
19

stillness only pure awareness remains, the experience of


undivided, nondual wholeness.

Tara sits on the body of Lord Siva, who lies motionless


beneath her. This can be interpreted in more than one
way. It can mean that Mother is supreme, but it can also
indicate the mutual necessity of her relationship with Siva.
He is the foundation which supports her, and she is the
dynamism that makes possible the play of the universe.
Siva and Sakti are not only mutually dependent they are a
single reality. Consciousness and its power are not just
inseparable; they are identical. Without Siva Sakti would
have no being, and without Sakti Siva would have no
expression.

The serpent Akshobhya reinforces this point. Mother, in


her supreme glory, is identical to Sivaconsciousness-initself, motionless and unperturbed, the eternal, selfluminous reality. The meaning of this symbol affirms Taras
closeness to Kali, who heads the list of the Mahavidyas.
Kali represents the highest form of wisdom or liberating
knowledge, and Tara, in her own way, represents a close
second. It is possible to read the serpent Akshobhya as a
symbol of the humans innate capacity for enlightenment,
and Tara herself as the penultimate stage in the process of
enlightenment, which is in fact the dissolution of the
human ego.

20

Both Kali and Tara are strongly associated with death and
dissolution. Whereas Kali is often said to be the power of
time (kala) that inexorably causes all created things to
perish, Tara is more often associated with fire, and
particularly the fires of the cremation ground. One of her
names is Smasanabhairavi, the terrible one of the
cremation ground. It is important to remember that fire
represents not only destruction but also purification and
transformation.
Much of Taras symbolism can be related to deathbut in
its broadest perspective. The death it refers to is the death
of the ego, the false idea of selfhood that keeps the
individual in bondage, ever reactive and in thralldom to all
of lifes ups and downs. Like Kali, Tara is sometimes shown
wearing a girdle of severed human arms, a symbol of her
ability to relieve us of the burdens of karma. The scissors
and sword, rather than being understood as agents of
death, should be thought of as tools to dismantle and
remove the ego, the sense of mistaken identity that
defines, limits, and binds. Taras name is derived from tri,
which means to cross. One of her epithets is
Samsaratarini, she who takes across the ocean of worldly
existence.Tara is thus the all-gracious liberator.

Added to all this, the figure of Tara also embodies


maternal tenderness. Her mothers love is unconditional,
and her liberating mantra is given freely to all.

21

When Lord Shiva bade Sati not to attend Her Fathers


yajna, Sati became furious and assumed the fearful form
of Kali causing Shiva to flee in another direction. Sati then
assumed the form of the ninth Mahavidya, Tara. Tara is
blue, Her tongue is fearfully sticking out, and Her face is
terrifying. Her hair is tangled like snakes sticking straight
up and She is dressed in a tigers skin. On Her head are five
half moons. She has three eyes, four arms, a large
protruding belly, and stands on a corpse. She has four
arms in which She holds a lotus, a sword, a drinking bowl,
and a bell. Tara is the illuminator, She illuminates all our
attitudes.

22

Shodashi Mata

Mother Shodashi is an aspect of Mother Lalitha Tripura


Sundari represented as a sixteen-year-old girl, believed to
actualize sixteen types of desires. Shodashi also means
vermillion hued. As Sundari, She is one of the Dasha
Mahavidyas. It is sometimes written that Goddess
Shodashi is Bala Tripurasundari or that Shodashi is another
name for Mother Lalitha Tripurasundari. It is conceded
that Bala and Shodasi are aspects of the Devi. However
Bala is the 9 year old virgin form of a young girl. Shodasi, in
Sanskrit means 16, implying a teenage form. They both
have legends and myths to support their respective roles
to different levels of bhaktas. Shodasis story links Lord
Siva and Mother Kali. A devotee who takes her refuge
23

achieves great divinity. Even the Vedas are incapable of


describing her greatness. Being pleased with her devotee
she gives more than he demands.

Shodashi also refers to the sixteen syllable mantra, which


consists of the fifteen syllable panchadasakshari mantra
plus a final seed syllable. Indeed sixteen days form the
completed lunar cycle from the new moon to the full
moon. The full moon is the moon of sixteen days. This girl
of sixteen rules over all that is perfect, complete,
beautiful.The Shodashi Tantra refers to Shodashi as the
"Beauty of the Three Cities," or which is literally
Tripurasundari. It also means 'One who is beautiful in the
three realms.' The three worlds are Swarkalokha, Bhulokha
and Patalalokha.

So Shadoshi is the most beautiful girl in all these three


places. It is also said that her body is the collective Shaktis
of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra being Brahmani, Vaishnavi
and Rudrani respectively. Shodasi is also said to be the
radiant light in the eyes of Shiva. Her other name 'Lalita'
implies softness. These two qualities give
rise to images that depict her as ravishingly beautiful and
of unsurpassed splendor. The Divine mother is to be
meditated upon as shining in a vermilion-red body, with
three eyes, sporting a crown of rubies studded with the

24

crescent moon, a face all smiles, a splendid bust, one hand


holding a jewel-cup brimming with mead, and the other
twirling a red lotus.

DEPICTION:
The word Shodashi literally means sixteen in Sanskrit. She
is thus visualized as a sweet girl of sixteen. She is depicted
in several ways. As Kali, she sits naked and shares the
features of the ferocious mother. She has four hands and
three eyes. Otherwise She is also shown seated on the
lotus, which is placed on the supine body of Shiva who is
lying in a peaceful posture, who in turn lies on a throne
supported by legs in the form of Lord Brahma, Vishnu,
Shiva and Rudra. She holds a noose, a goad, a bow and an
arrow in each of her hands. Symbolically the noose
represents attachment; the goad represents repulsion; the
sugarcane bow represents the mind and desires and the
flowery arrows are the five sense objects. The bow
significantly is made of sugarcane, so it is also a symbol of
sweetness. Her darts thus are sweetness personified. Her
appearance is completely sober and gentle, her heart is
full of compassion and she is ravishingly beautiful and of
unsurpassed splendor.

25

MYTHOLOGY:
Sixteen is a sweet age. In human life it represents an age
of accomplished perfection. Goddess Shodasi is visualized
as a sweet girl of sixteen with an interesting story behind
her supreme beauty. According to that story, Once Lord
Shiva referred to his consort, Kali by her name in front of
some heavenly aspara damsels of exquisite beauty with
fair and shining complexion who had come to visit, calling
her Kali, Kali implying blackie, blackie in jest. The Tamil
version of this karupayee, karupayee which has the same
purport. Karupayee is the rural name for a Kali deity and
karuppu means black. This remark by Shiva was uncalled
for especially when done so in front of third parties. Kali
took to be a slur against her dark complexion.

Kali was extremely angered by the insult. She left Lord


Shiva and hid herself for a prolonged period in utter
asceticism and severe meditation, resolved to rid herself
of her dark complexion. The sage Narada visits Shiva only
to see him alone and lamenting alone. Shiva complained
that she had abandoned him and vanished. Through his
yogic powers Narada discovered Kali still in meditative
posture, living north of Mount Sumeru. He takes it upon
himself and travels to Mount Sumeru and convinced her
return to Lord Shiva.

26

Narada had to play a trick as Kali was still harboring anger.


He told a white lie that Lord Shiva was contemplating
marriage with another goddess. If she wanted that to be
stopped, then she had to return to Kailasa, he said. By
then Lord Brahma had given her a boon and that changed
her complexion. But she had not realized that. She returns
to Kailasa and arriving in the presence of Lord Shiva, she
saw a reflection of herself with a light complexion in
Shiva's heart. At once, her envy and anger surges again.

Lord Shiva smiled at her and advised that she look more
carefully, this time with the eye of jnana, knowledge. Then
she would see what she is supposed to see. What Kali then
saw in Shivas heart was her own reflection.

When one is clouded in the mind one often sees the


wrong reflection of the clouded mind. Jnana clears such
clouds of illusion. The Lord then tells to the transformed
Kali "As you have assumed a very beautiful form, beautiful
in the three worlds, your name will be Tripura Sundari.
However this new form that stands before me shall always
remain sixteen years old and hereafter shall be called by
the name Shodashi.

27

Bhairavi Mata

Goddess Bhairavi is an incarnation of goddess Shakti and is


a popular deity in Hindu rural folklore and among tantric
practitioners. She is believed to reside in the netherworld
(Patal). She is one of the most ferocious forms of Goddess
Shakti and is equated with the Kal Bhairava form of lord
Shiva. She is also known as Shubmkari, Good Mother to
Good People. It is believed that when goddess Bhairavi
entered the battle field, her horrible appearance made the
demons weak and very feeble, and the most of the
demons started panicking as soon as they saw her.
Goddess Bhairavi is seen mainly as the goddess Kali in the
28

Durga Saptashathi version of slaying powerful demons


Shumbha and Nishumbha. However, she also killed and
drunk the blood of Chanda and Munda, so goddess Parvati
gave her a boon that she would be called
Chamundeshwari. She is shown holding weapons such as a
trident axe and thunderbolt.

Goddess Bhairavi embodies the principle of destruction.


She is considered the consort of Bhairava,the fierce form
of lord Shiva and is an ever-present goddess who
embodies the destructive aspects of the world.
Destruction is not always negative, creation cannot
continue without it. Her complexion is red similar the
thousands of rising-sun, wears smooth clothes and has a
garland of heads roughly her collar. Goddess Bhairavis lips
are depicted with blood and she has three eyes. Goddess
Bhairavi is known as Durga, the Goddess who saves us
from difficulties. Goddess Durga rides on a lion, a symbol
of fire or solar energy, from which she wields her weapons
of light to kill the demons or negative forces. She is one of
the Mahavidyas. All paintings are courtesy of Art of Legend
India.

She has many names including Tripura Bhairavi, Sampath


Praja Bhairavi, Kaulesh Bhairavi, Siddhida Bhairavi, Bhay
Vidwamsi Bhairavi, Chaitanya Bhairavi, Kameshwari
Bhairavi, Nitya Bhairavi and Rudra Bhairavi. Her body is the
color of the rising sun. She wears a pearl necklace around
29

her neck, has red breasts and has four hands in which She
holds a japa mala, pustak, and displays the mudras of
blessing and freedom from fear. She has three eyes that
are red in color and wears a moon on her forehead.
Bhairavi is the form of Kali that killed Chanda and Munda.
She is free from all fear and frees us from all fear

30

Bhuvaneswari Mata

Goddess Bhuvaneswari is a form of Shakthi and comes as


fourth among the ten Mahavidyas or Dasa Maha Vidyas.
She is considered as the divine mother whose eternal body
represents the Universe and ornaments as living beings.
The oceans, mountains, rivers and various flora and fauna
are her own creations in nature. She is the mother of the
solar systems and creator of the space. She transforms all
these creations as universal truth by sustaining and
protecting them. Goddess Bhuvaneswari is also the symbol
of beauty, love and freedom. In the chanting prayers, her
beauty is compared with the elegance of the rising Sun. It
is assumed that she is the incarnation of Goddess Parvathi
and hence her activities are very much associated with
31

Lord Shiva. She is also described as the Mother goddess of


Kali Ma, Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswathi and
Goddess Gayatri. Bhuvaneswari Kavacham is a popular
mantra of the Goddess.

Appearance of Goddess Bhuvaneswari


Goddesses Bhuvaneswari is enchanting with a pleasant
smile on her face. She has three long eyes, reddish brown
lips, delicate nose and well shaped ears. Her broad
forehead and black curly hairs are very much attractive.
Around her neck there are ornaments made of rare gems
and stones. In addition, she has also worn flower garlands,
anklets, and bracelets. In two of her four arms, she has
carried a rope and a spur for signifying the control over
negative qualities. With the remaining two hands she
offers blessings and symbols of refuge and fearlessness to
her devotees. She is found seated on a marvelous Lotus
flower throne. Her divine crown is with full of jewels and
highlights her charm to a greater extend. In her fore head
below the crown there is one crescent of moon.

Bhuvaneswari is assumed to be the supreme goddess and


often referred as Ohm Shakthi, the eternal energy which
creates life in the Universe and destroys unnecessary evils.
She has the power to give unique characters to each and
every creations made by her.
32

Goddess Bhuvaneswari Story


According to mythology, it is said that Lord Surya created
the universe from this miraculous energy of the goddess.
The sages supported the Sun God in this process by
offering him a sacred plant from the heaven called the
Soma. In association with this creation, the goddess took
the incarnation of Bhuvaneswari for sustaining and
protecting the three worlds. She interfered in all negative
qualities aroused in these worlds by nurturing the
spiritualism among the inhabitants. In this way she
controlled the bad tendencies of human minds and thus
helped to resolve their inner problems.

33

Chinnamasta Mata

Chinnamasta, also known as Chhinnamastika and


Prachanda Chandika is one of the Tantric goddesses in
Hinduism. In Tantric Buddhism she is known as
Chinnamunda. Chinnamasta devi is a form of Shakti who is
ferocious and Chinnamasta means, 'severed head'. The
Hindu Divine Mother is commonly identified with her
fearsome iconography.

Chinnamasta is one of the most outrageous forms of


divinity in Hinduism. The self-decapitating Goddess is one
of the important and worshipped Shaktipat goddess.
Chinnamasta symbolises both life-giver and life-taker. One
of the goddesses of Mahavidyas, Chinnamasta is
34

considered both as a symbol of self-control on sexual


desire as well as an embodiment of sexual energy,
depending upon interpretation.

The mythology emphasizes her sacrifice with maternal


element, her sexual dominance and her self-destructive
fury. As her approach is dangerous and ferocious, she is
not worshipped everywhere. Her temples are mostly
found in Northern India and Nepal. So She is recognised by
both Hindus and Buddhists. Chinnamasta is closely related
to Chinnamunda - the severed-headed form of the Tibetan
Buddhist goddess, Vajrayogini.

Chinnamasta is mostly depicted nude and with dishevelled


hair in blood red or black coloured body. In the texts, She
is described to be a sixteen-year-old girl with full breasts
and has a blue lotus near her heart. She is standing over a
naked couple. The couple is said to be Rati, Goddess of
sexual desire, and her husband Kama, God of love.
Chhinnamasta is depicted wearing a serpent as a sacred
thread and a garland of skulls or severed heads and bones
like Maa Kali. Blood streams out of her neck and Her two
female attendants Dakini and Varnini (also called Jaya and
Vijaya) are drinking the blood.

On the left hand, She carries her own severed head (in a
platter or a skull-bowl). On the right hand, She holds a
35

khatri (a scimitar or knife) by which she decapitated


herself.

Story:
There are many stories about the birth of Chinnamasta
Devi. One legends of Narada-pancharatra narrates this
story- Once while having bath in Mandakini river, Goddess
Parvati got sexually excited and turned black. Meanwhile
Her two attendants Dakini and Varnini (also called Jaya
and Vijaya) get hungry and ask the goddess to satisfy their
hunger. Goddess Parvati looks around but couldn't find
anything to eat. So She severes her head and the blood
flows in 3 directions; one in Jaya's mouth, other in Vijaya's
mouth and the third in Parvati's mouth.
Another story shows Chinnamasta who is standing over a
naked couple which is said to be Rati and Kama. Standing
on the body, the goddess masters the physical body, and
to free her mind from this, Chinnamasta cuts her head.

Chinnamasta signifies that life, death and sex- three forms


of transformation, three parts of the cycle . Chinnamasta is
not that popular as an individual goddess. Tantric
practitioners worship Chhinnamasta for acquiring siddhis
or supernatural powers. Her mantra is, Srim hrim klim aim
Vajravairocaniye hum hum phat svaha.
36

Dhumavati Mata

Dhumavati means smoky. Goddess Dhumavati is the


seventh form of the ten 'Mahavidyas'. In this form, the
Goddess is portrayed as widow without Shiva. She has a
smoky complexion, and rides a chariot with a flag bearing
a crow or sometimes she is shown riding a crow. She is tall
and wears pure white clothes. She is extremely
unattractive and is associated with negative things like
annoyance, greed, distress, failure, sorrow, loneliness and
disgrace. She resides in burning grounds as well. But
despite these depressive features, the Goddess blesses
Her devotees with unnatural abilities and fulfills all their
wishes.
37

Story of Dhumavati
There are many versions of the story of Goddess
Dhumavati. One of them says that once the Goddess
Parvati felt very hungry. But there was no food available.
So, She asked Her husband Lord Shiva to provide some
food for Her. Shiva asked Her to wait for some time and
went into meditation. Unable to control Her hunger,
Goddess Parvati became furious, took the form of Kali and
ate up Lord Shiva. Her extreme hunger is satisfied only by
consuming Lord Shiva.
However, when Lord Shiva realised that Parvati has
devoured Him, He becomes angry. As the third eye of
Shiva opens, the Goddess is unable to contain the extreme
energy. So, She turns smoky due to the burning energy of
Shiva. She soon realises Her mistake and asks Lord Shiva
for forgiveness. She disgorges Lord Shiva, who curses Her
to wander like a widow.

Another story of Goddess Dhumavati says that She


consumed Lord Shiva to fulfill Her promise to protect Her
devotees. Once an Aghori sage named Malla asks Goddess
Kali for a boon to protect him against all the cosmic forces.
Granted the boon, the sage created havoc for all humans.
Lord Shiva took the form of Aghora and tried to kill Malla.
But as per Her promise Goddess Kali came to the rescue of
Malla. To stop Shiva from killing Malla, Kali devours Shiva
and becomes a widow.
38

Hence, Dhumavati is always portrayed as a widow. She is


the only one of the Mahavidyas without Her consort. She
is considered unlucky and inauspicious. Married couples
are advised not to worship Goddess Dhumavati. It is
believed that worshipping this Goddess creates a sense of
wanting solitude and distaste for the wordly pleasures. So,
Dhumavati is worshipped only by the Tantriks and people
who have renounced the worldly pleasures.
Though Dhumavati seems like an inauspicious and
fearsome Goddess yet She blesses all Her devotees with
whatever they desire. She rescues Her devotees from all
troubles. Dhumavati's worship is performed at night in
cremation grounds with only a loin cloth on the body. The
worshipper must observe fast and remain silent for the
whole day before worshipping her. Dhumavati temples are
also very rare. The most famous temple of Goddess
Dhumavati is located in Varanasi where the Goddess is
worshipped with very unusual items. She is offered fruits,
flowers along with meat, bhaang, liquor, cigarettes and
sometimes even blood sacrifices.

So, in spite of being a fearsome Goddess who devoured


her husband, Dhumavati is an exceptional Goddess with
amazing powers.

39

Bagalamukhi Mata

There is nothing like a Goddess scorned. And in case of


Bagalamukhi (called the One who checks the mouth), she
can be a towering personality to behold. While she
protects her devotees, she can be the face of evil in case of
any wrong doer. She is the eighth of the ten forms of the
goddess known as dashamahavidya. Some ancient
scriptures also call her crane faced. She is focused on her
intent and gaze like the crane who waddles in the waters
looking at its target. Those who pray to her whole
heartedly, get the same kind of physiognomies to silence
their enemies. But they can be granted their wish only
when they are able to fulfill the rituals and manage to
appease her long enough to grant a blessing.
40

Recognizing the Goddess


It is not only her crane face that is identified as her main
feature. She is called Peetambari devi or Brahmastra
Roopini in some of the northern regions of India. This is
because she wears yellow colored clothes and has a
golden aura around her. Her throne is also made of yellow
lotuses. She has a crescent shaped moon on her head. In
some images she is shown having two arms and in some
she is four armed. In west Bengal her worshippers see her
as a demon slaying demi goddess. She carries a club in her
right hand and looks ferocious. With her left hand she is
pulling out the demons tongue. With this image one
knows that the Goddess is capable of quashing her
adversaries and has the ability to paralyze them
completely. In a way her powers are such that a person
who uses speech for evil doing is made silent. She can
overturn failure into success. And in a metaphysical way
she can also reveal the significance of life in death. She can
transform defeat into victory for her followers.

Goddess Bagalamukhi is a perfect example of duality the


ying and yang. One can easily find peace and balance in lie
following her principles. In a more metaphysical way she
embodies the consummation of the unborn into the
uncreated.

41

Legends about the Goddess


Every God and Goddess is associated with some legend.
How Goddess Bagalamukhi came to earth is an interesting
tale. Eons ago there was a raging storm on earth. It was so
strong that it would have wiped out all creation from it.
The Gods were perturbed and held an emergency council
to stop the flooding and destruction of Mother Earth. The
meeting was apparently held in Saurastra (western India).
The storm had to be weakened. From the Haridra Sarovar
emerged the form of Goddess Bagalamukhi. This event has
been faithfully recorded in the scriptures of Peetambari
Peeth in Madhya Pradesh. As the power of the Goddess
grew she assumed responsibility for her followers. They
started to dedicate temples for her.

Bagala is the second Mahavidya. Listen to her story. Once


the creation was in turmoil and being destroyed in many
places (Shree Maa adds, like the present scenario in the
world). Brahma became worried about His creation and
wondered what the outcome of this turmoil would be. He
then meditated to bring peace to the universe. Not
succeeding, He then performed severe tapasya to obtain
the blessings of Tripurambika the Mother of the Three
Worlds. Pleased with His austerities, She appeared before
Him as Mother Bagala in a yellow form and gave him a
boon. Bagala grants all kinds of perfection to devotees
who pray to Her. Here is another story of Her origin. Once
an asura named Ruru, the son of Durgam, performed
42

severe penance to win the favor of Brahma. Since Ruru


was already very powerful, the Gods became very
apprehensive of what might happen if he obtained a boon
from Brahma. So they did aradhana (propitiation) to
yellow water (Shree Maa says here, that yellow intuitively
means peace). Pleased with their tapasya, the Divine
Mother appeared as Bagala. Bagala is the Goddess who
stops all motion at the appropriate time, silences the
mouths and words of all evil beings, and controls their
tongues.

43

Matangi Mata

Goddess Matangi is one of the Ten Mahavidyas. She is a


primary form of the all-powerful Goddess. The goddess is
Siddha Vidya or Tantra personified, thus commanding
occult power. According to Hindu Mythology she is
believed to be the daughter of Sage Matanga. She is the
goddess of beauty, marriage, happy married life, and son
and material gains. The goddess has dark emerald
complexion and has three eyes. In the mythic cycle of
Daksa yajna she appears as a manifestation of Sati, wife of
Lord Shiva and the daughter of Daksa.

44

Goddess Matangi is associated with the full moon, the


`night of intoxication.` Goddess Matangi resides in the
throat chakra. She grants control over poetry and music in
particular. It is believed that she was born outside the
caste of the Hindus. According the Ramayana her father
was a chandala who was raised as a Brahmin. This suggests
that she was a non-Vedic deity. She is a complete Goddess
in herself despite being portrayed as one of the ten
Mahavidyas.

Origin of Goddess Matangi

The first myth of Matangi associates her with Ucchista


Matangini. Once Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi visited
Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati where the former
presented the later with food items. While eating few
pieces dropped on the floor and from those leftovers a
maiden arose who was endowed with good attributes. The
maiden came to be known as Uccista Matangini.

The second myth associated with the origin of Matangini


has been derived from the Pranatosini-Tantra. When
Parvati did not return from her fathers abode Shiva
disguised himself as an ornament maker and went to her.
To test her faithfulness he asked her for lovemaking.
Parvati became furious but stopped upon realizing his
identity. Later Parvati disguised herself as a huntress and
approached Shiva. Lord Shiva was so impressed with her
45

that he even made love with her. While making love Shiva
was himself turned into Chandala and realized that the
Chandala was his wife Parvati. The goddess requested to
Shiva that as they made love in the form of a Chandalini,
this form would last forever and will be named as UccistaChandalini.

The third myth has been derived from the SvatantraTantra. According to legend once Matanga assumed
austerities to achieve the power to suppress all creatures.
He practiced his asceticism for thousands of years. Finally
Goddess Tripura Sundari appeared and emitted rays from
her eyes from which Goddess Kali emerged. Kali put on a
greenish complexion and took the form of Raja-Matangini.
With the help of the goddess Matanga fulfilled his desire
to control all creatures.

Goddess Matangi in Buddhism


Goddess Matangi has been associated in Buddhism and
also finds mention in the Divyavadana which is a Buddhist
collection of stories concerning previous lives of the
Buddha that was probably written around 250-300 C.E.
these texts relates Matangi as the daughter of elephant
hunter king Matang.

The Goddess Meenakshi at Madurai is worshipped as


Mathangi. Mattangi is also the name of the recluse woman
46

on whom the head of Renuka was placed by Parasurama


when he could not find the body of his mother. Since then
she has been worshipped as a tutelary deity under the
name of Ellamma. Matangi is the adviser of Tripur Sundari.
She is summoned to attain command over speech,
creativity and knowledge. Matangi is considered as the
first mortal being and gave birth to humankind. She is
depicted in various forms. She is depicted as green or blue
holding a Veena, Knife and a Skull. At times she is seen
seated on a corpse, holding a skull and a bowl of blood,
with untidy hair. She therefore also represents the
transformative power of the Mantra.

47

Kamala Mata

The series of ten Mahavidyas begins with Kali and ends


with Kamala. Both are aspects of the Divine Mother who
are widely worshiped in their own right apart from the
context of the Mahavidyas. In this way they differ from
aspects such as Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, and Matangi,
who lack similar independence and a widespread popular
following.

One way of analyzing the Mahavidyas places Kali first


because she represents the transcendental experience.
This same scheme places Kamala last as the aspect most
48

closely connected to the here and now. The error here is


to regard Kali and Kamala as separate. In truth, the Divine
is one, and the enlightened soul perceives unity, not
difference.

Another approach categorizes Kali as fierce (ugra) and


Kamala as gentle (saumya), but that is an
oversimplification. Kali is not without tenderness and
beneficence, and Kamala, although overwhelmingly
auspicious, is not exclusively so. Again, Mother is One, and
she is all.

Kamala is portrayed as making the gestures of boon-giving


and fearlessness. She sits on a lotus and holds lotus
blossoms in her two upper hands. Even her name means
lotus. She is flanked by two elephants. Obviously Kamala
is Lakshmi, who is portrayed in the identical manner, but
in the context of the Mahavidyas there are also significant
differences.

Lakshmi is a very ancient form of the Divine Mother. In


Vedic times she was known as Sri. As she appears in the
Vedic hymns, Sri represents light, radiance, luster, glory,
and prosperity. She is the divine resplendence and power
inherent in every deity.

49

In late Vedic times, in a hymn known as the Srisukta, Sri is


identified with Lakshmi, who may originally have been a
non-Vedic agricultural goddess. The Srisukta already
associates her with the lotus and the elephant. The lotus
represents cosmic order, life, and fertility. The universe
unfolds like the blossoming of a lotus, and the creation is
accordingly vibrant, beautiful, and good. The lotus also
represents purity. The plant is rooted deep in the mud, but
the exquisitely beautiful flower it produces is untainted.
Similarly, water beads up on the lotus leaves and
immediately runs off, so the lotus represents serene
detachment as well as incorruptibility. Besides purity, the
lotus is a symbol of spiritual authority, and the lotus on
which Lakshmi-Kamala is seated is in fact a throne.
The elephant stands for similar qualities. The water
showered from its trunk represents rain, and rain is tied to
fertility, growth, increase, well-being, and wealth. The
elephant, being the mount of kings, is also a symbol of
authority.

Purity and authority. These are two qualities that we find


negated by the preceding Mahavidya, Matangi. Are these
two aspects of the Divine Mother antithetical? Or is there
a way to make them fit together? In many of the worlds
religions, doctrinal differences smaller than this have led
to hostility, schism, physical violence, and war. But the
system of the Mahavidyas embraces even radical
differences and manages to fit them together
harmoniously.
50

To understand this better, we need to keep in mind that


there are at least three different views of Lakshmi,
depending on the sectarian standpoint of the viewer. Sri is
the original Vedic goddess, who by late Vedic times had
absorbed and assimilated to herself the probably nonVedic Lakshmi. So today Lakshmi is a Vedic, or orthodox,
aspect of the Divine Mother. In all likelihood, the probably
non-Vedic Lakshmi also retained her original standing
among her worshipers, and in that form we know her as
the Tantric goddess Kamala. In the aspect in which she is
best known and most widely worshiped today, Lakshmi is
the consort of Visnu. This third context is that of
Vaisnavism.

This adds a new layer of complexity. Vedic Sri represents


the divine resplendence, power, and glory inherent in any
deity. As such, Sri had connections with every male god
with Indra in regard to sovereignty and fertility, with
Kubera in regard to wealth and prosperity, with the Vedic
Visnu in regard to the dharma, or moral excellence.
However, in the later orthodox Vaisnava religion, Lakshmi
becomes subordinate to Visnu. She is now his obedient
wife, portrayed iconographically as smaller and therefore
less powerful than he. However, in the Pancaratra system,
an early form of Vaisnava Tantra, Visnu is the inactive male
principle and Lakshmi is the active female power. It is she
who runs the show.

51

Even more so, as the Mahavidya Kamala she is allpowerful. Kamala is not a divine consort but the
independent and all-supreme Divine Mother. She is not
the spouse of any male deity. Interestingly, she is rarely
identified with the other female forms found in orthodox
Vaisnavism, such as Sita, Radha, or Rukmini. If any consort
names are ever applied to her as epithets, they are Saiva
names such as Siva (the auspicious one) and Gauri (she
who is gently radiant). However, Kamala is not
completely auspicious or one-sided. Sometimes she is
called Rudra (the howling one), Ghora or Bhima (the
terrifying one), or Tamasi (the dark one). Like Kali, the
Tantric Kamala embraces the light and the darkness, for
she is the totality.

This helps to explain how Kamala, although


overwhelmingly associated with lotuses, which represent
purity and authority, can be reconciled with Matangi, who
asks us to violate the outward purity laws and to question
the authority that imposes them. In the end, spiritual life is
about regaining our lost autonomy. Once we have realized
our identity with the Divine, through whatever form of
practice, we experience our own perfection. Questions of
purity and impurity evaporate. To know the reality of
divine consciousness in its unconditioned oneness is to
become purity itselfthe ultimate purity beyond the
limitation of thought. Questions of authority likewise
evaporate in the experience of absolute oneness, where
there is no second. This is the experience of liberation or
52

enlightenment, wherein any imposed authority vanishes in


the radiance of divine autonomy (svatantrya).

Lakshmi, or Kamala, is the Divine Mothers most popular


aspect, for she relates to the world of the here and now.
Devotees pray to her for good fortune, prosperity,
abundance, and well-beingfor all the good that life has
to offer. There is no harm in this, as long as we wisely ask
only for enough and no more. Lakshmi, our Mother, urges
us also to pray and strive for the well-being of all our
brothers and sisters. Then beyond that she calls us to
strive for a higher wealth, the riches of dharma. This
dharma includes devotion, kindness, compassion,
truthfulness, and all other forms of moral excellence.
Virtue is our higher treasure, more precious than gold. It
will lead us to seek the still higher knowledge of Selfrealization that is the ultimate goal of human life.

In conclusion, all the Mahavidyas are states of spiritual


awakening that we will experience within our own minds
and hearts along the course of our journey back to the
Divine. How often weve heard it said that God is love.
Lakshmi or Kamala represents that love. To be saturated
with the presence of Kamala is to become an embodiment
of divine love. Then we come to understand her great
secret: love is unique and unlike anything else, for the
more of it you give, the more of it you have. And with this
great secret Kamala offers us a direct path to the Divine.
53

Mahavidya is Tripurasundari, also known as Kamala. A


form of Mahalakshmi, She symbolizes wealth. Her body is
golden in color and She is seated on a gold lotus. Here is
the story of Her origin. One day Indra, the ruler of the
heavens, saw Rambha and was lost watching her beauty.
At that time, the fierce Rishi Durvasa appeared and gave a
garland to Indra. But Indra, still mesmerized by Rambha,
did not realize what he was doing and gave the garland to
his elephant Airavat. Durvasa was angry with the
disrespect shown to him and immediately cursed Indra
thus, You are the King of the Gods, but yet you are
playing with women. You will lose Lakshmi. She will leave
your kingdom. Goddess Lakshmi, true to the curse, left
the heavenly regions. All the Gods were saddened, and led
by Indra went to Vishnu to get His counsel. Vishnu
suggested that Lakshmi would appear if they churned the
ocean of milk. Both devas and asuras arrived at the ocean
of milk (Ksheera samudra). They used Mount Mandara as
the central axle and the serpent Anant Nag as a rope to
move the mountain. Lord Vishnu took the form a large
tortoise to support the Mountain. The asuras and the
devas each took the opposite ends of the snake and
churned the ocean. As they churned, a lot of beautiful
beings and objects manifested including Ucchaisrava (the
divine horse), Dhanvantari (the God of Medicine), the
Sudharshana Chakra, the Parijata flower. And then came
Lakshmi. When they saw Laksmi, the Gods offered Her an
asan with the greatest respect. They did an abhishek to
Her, offered Her a lotus garland and entreated Her to stay
with them, to which She agreed. She became known as
54

Tripurasundari. Tri means three, Pura means city, and


Sundar means beautiful. Tripurasundari is the beautiful
one of three cities, or all the threes. She manifests the
perfection of compassion in all Nature.

55

Dus Mahavidya Mantras

ShaktiDus Mahavidya Shabar Mantras

Om sat namo adesh, guruji ko adesh, Om guruji Om soham


siddh ki kaya, teesra netra trikuti thahraya. Gagan mandal
me anhad baja, vahan dekha shivji baitha, guru hukam se
bhitri baitha, shunay me dhyan gorakh ditha, yahi dhyan
tape mahesha, yahi dhyan brahmaji lagya, yahi dhyan
vishnu ki maya. Om kailash giri se ayee parvati devi, jake
sanmukh baith goraksh yogi. Devi ne jab diya adesh, nahi
liya adesh nahi diya updesh. Sati mann me krodh samayee,
dekhun gorakh apne mahi. No darwaze khule kapaat,
dasve dware agni prajale. Jalne lagi to paar pachhtayee.
Rakhi rakhi gorakh rakhi, main hu teri cheli. Sansaar srishti
ki hu main maai. Kaho shiv shankar swamiji, gorakh yogi
kon hain ditha. yah to yogi sab me virla, tiska kon vichar.
ham nahi jaanat, apni karni aap hi jani. Gorakh dekhe satya
ki drishti, drishti dekhkar mann bhaya unmann. Tab gorakh
kali bich kahaya. ham to yogi gurmukh boli, siddhon ka
marm na jane koi. Kaho parvati deviji apni shakti kon kon
samayee. Tab sati ne shakti ki khel dikhayi. Dus mahavidya
ki pragatli jyoti.

56

1. Prathama Jyoti Mahakali Pragatli (Mahakali)

Om niranjan nirakar avgat purush tat saar, tat saar madhye


jyot, jyot madhye paramjayot, paramjayot madhye utpann
bhai, mata shambhu shivani kali, O kali, kali mahakali,
krishan varni, shav vahini, rudra ki poshni, haath khappar
khadang dhari, gale mundmaal, hans mukhi. Jivha jwala
dant kali. Madya maans kari, shamshan ki rani. Maans
khave rakt-pi-pive. Bhasmanti maai, jahan par paai tahan
lagaai. Sat ki naati dharam ki beti, indra ki Sali, kaal ki kali,
jog ki jogin, nagon ki nagin, mann mane to sang ramai nahi
to shamshan phire akeli. Char veer asht bhairi, ghor kali,
aghor kali, ajar bajar amar kali, bhakh joon nirbhay kali
balaa bhakh, dusht ko bhakh, kaal bhakh papi pakhandi ka
bhakh, jati sati ko rakh, Om kali tum bala na vraddha, dev
na danav, nar ya nari, deviji tum to ho prabrahma kali.
Om Kreem Kreem Kreem hoom hoom hreem hreem
dakshine Kalike hoom hoom hreem hreem kreem kreem
kreem swaha

57

2.

Dwitiya jyoti tara Trikuta Totla Pragati (Tara)

Om aadi yog anadi maya jahan par brahmand utpann


bhaya. Brahmand samaya akash mandal tara trikuta totla
mata teeno basai braham kapali, jahan par brahma,
vishnu, mahesh utpatti, suraj mukh tape chandra mukh
amiras pive, agni mukh jale, aad kunwari haath khadag, gal
mundmal murda maar upar khadi devi tara. Neeli kaya,
peeli jata, kali dant jivya dabaya. Ghor tara, aghor tara,
doodh poot ka bhandar bhara. Panch mukh kare ha ha %
% kara, dankini, shakini, bhoot palita sau sau kos door
bhagaya. Chandi tara phire brahmandi, tum to ho teen lok
ki janni.
Om hreem shreem phat, om aim hreem shreem hoom
phat.

58

3.

Tritiya jyoti tripur sundari pragti (shodshitripur sundari)

Om niranjan nirakar avdhoo mool dwar mai bandh lagai,


pawan palte gagan samaai, jyoti madhye jyot le sthir ho
bhai om madhya: utpann bhai ugra tripura sundari shakti
aavo shiv ghar baitho, mann unmann, budh siddh chitt mai
bhaya naad. Teeno ek tripur sundari bhaya prakash. haath
chaap shar dhar ek haath ankush. Trinetra abhay mudra
yog bhog ki mokshadayini. Eida, Pingla Sushmna devi
nagan jogan tripur sundari. Ugra bala, rudra bala, teeno
brahmapuri mai bhaya ujiyala. Yogi ke ghar jogan bala,
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiv ki mata.
Shreem hreem kleem aim saum hreem shreem km aeel
hreem hans kahal hreem sakal hreem so: aim kleem hreem
shreem.

4.

Chaturth jyoti bhuvneshwari pragti (Bhuvneshwari)

Om aadi jyot aanadi jyot, jyot madhye pram jyot-param


jyot madhye shiv gayatri bhai utpann, om pratah samay
utpann bhai devi Bhuvneshwari. Bala sundri kar dhar var
pashaankush annpurni doodhpoot bal de balka riddhi
siddhi bhandar bhare, balkana bal de jogi ko amar kaya.
Chaudah bhuwan ka rajpat sambhala kate rog yogi ka,
dusht ko musht, kaal kantak maar. Yogi bankhand vaasa,
sada sang rahe bhuvneshwari mata.
hreem

59

5.

Pancham jyoti chhinmasta pragti (Chhinmasta)

Sat ka dharm sat ki kaya, brahma agni mein yog jamaya.


Kaya tapaye jogi(shiv gorkha) baita, naabh kamal par
chhinmasta, chander soor mein upji sushumni devi, trikuti
mahal mein phire bala sundri, tan ka munda haath mein
linha, dahine haath mein khappar dharya. Pee pee peewe
rakht, barse trikut mastak par agni prajali,, shwet warni
mukt kesha kaichi dhaari. Devi uma ki shakti chhaya,
parlayi khaye srishti saari. Chandi, chandi phire brahmandi
bhak bhak bala bhak dusht ko musht jati, sati ko rakh, yogi
ghar jogan baiti, Shri shambhujati gorakhnaath jee ne
bhaki. Chhinmasta japo jaap, paap kantante aapo aap jo
jogi kare sumiran paap punay se nyara rahe. Kaal naa
khaaye.
Shreem kali hreem ainm wjar wairo chneeye hoom hoom
phat swaha.

60

6.

Shashtam jyoti Bhairvi Pragti (Bhairvi)

Om sati Bhairvi Bhairo kaal yam jaane yam bhoopal teen


netar tara trikuti, gale mein mala mundan ki. Abhay mudra
peeye rudhir nashwanti. Kala khappar haath khanjar,
kalapeer dharm dhoop khewante waasna gai satwe patal,
satew patal madhye paramtatv mein jot, jot mein param
jot, Param jot mein bhai utpann kaal bhairvi, tripur
bhairavi, sampat prada bhairavi, kaulesh bhairvi, siddha
bhairvi, vindhvansini bhairavi, chaitany bhairavi,
kameshwari bhairavi, shatkuta bhairavi, nitya bhairavi. Jpa
ajpa goraksh japnti yahi mantar matsyendranaath jee ko
Sada Shiv ne kahayi. Riddh phooro shiddh phooro sat shri
shambhujati guru gorakshnaath jee annat koti siddha le
utregi kaal ke paar, bhairavi bhairavi khadi jin sheesh par,
door haate kaal janjaal bhairavi mantar baikunt waasa.
Amar lok mein hua niwasa.
Om hastro hasklro hastro.

61

7.

Saptam jyoti dhoomavati pragati (dhoomavati)

Om patal niranjan nirakaar, aakash mandal dhundhukaar,


aakash disha se kaun aayi, kaun rath kaun aswaar, aakash
disha se dhoomavanti aayi, kaak dhwaja ka rath asvaar
thare dharti thare aakash, vidhwa roop lambe haath,
lambhi naak kutil netra dushta swabhav, damroo baaje
bhdarkali, kalesh kalah kalratri. Danka dankni kaal kit kita
haasy kari. Jeev rakshante jeev bhakshante jaya jeeya
aakash tera hoye. Dhoomavantipuri mein vaas, na hoti
devi na dev tahaan na hoti pooja na paati tahaan na hoti
jaat na jati tab aaye shri shambhujati guru gorakshnath
aap bhai ateet.
Om dhoom dhoom dhoomavati fat swaha.

8.

Ashtam jyoti baglamukhi pragti (Baglamukhi)

Om so so suta samundar tapu, tapu mein thapa sinhasan


peela. Sinhasan peele upper kaun baise sinhasan peela
upper baglamukhi baise, baglamukhi ke kaun sangi kaun
saathi. Kachhi bachhi kaak-kutiya-swan chidiya, om bagla
bala haath mugdar maar, shatru hariday par swar tiski
jeevha khichche bala. Baglamukhi marni karni uchchatan
dharni, anant koti.
Om harileem brahamastrayen vidmahe stmbhanbanaaye
dheemhi tanno bagla prachodyaat.

62

9.

Navmi jyoti matangi pragti (matangi)

On gurujee shunya shunya mahashunya mein onkaar


omkaar mein shivam shivam mein shakti-shakti aptne uhaj
aapo aapna, shubhay mein dhaam kamal mein vishraam,
aasan baithi, sihaansan baithi pooja poojo maatngi bala,
sheesh par shashi amiras pyala haath khadag neeli kaya.
Balla par asvari ugar unmat mudradhari, ud guggul paan
supaari, kheere khande madya maanse ghrit kunde
sarvangdhari. Bund matren kadva pyala, maatangi mata
tripyante. Om maatngi sundri, roopvanti, kaamdevi,
dhanvanti, dhandati, annpurni anndaati, maatangi jaap
mantar jape kaal ka tum kaal ko khaye. Tiski raksha
shambhujti guru gorakshnaath jee kare.
Om harem kaleem hoom matange fat swaha

63

10. Dasvi jyoti kamla pragti

Om ayoni shankar omkar roop, kamla devi sati parvati ka


savroop. Haath mein sone ka kalash mukh se abhay
mudra. Shwet varn seva pooja kare, narad indra. Devi
devatya ne kiya jai onkaar. Kamla devi poojo keshar paan
supari, chakmak cheeni phatri til guggal sahstr kamlon ka
kiya hawan. Kahe gorakh, mantar japo jaap japo riddhi
siddhi ki pahchaan ganga gaurja parvati jaan. Jiski teen lok
mein bhaya maan. Kamla devi ke charan kamal ko aadesh.
Om hareem kaleem kamla devi fat swaha:
Suno parvati hum matsyender poota, aadinath naati, hum
shiv swaroop ulti thapna thapi yogi ka yog, das vidhya
shakti jano, jiska bhed shiv shankar hee payo. Shiddh yog
maram jo jaane virla tisko prsann bhayi mahakalika. Yogi
yog nitay kare pratay use varad bhuvneshvari mata.
Sidhasan siddh, bhaya shmshani tiske sang baiti
baglamukhi. Jogi khad darshan ko kar jaani, khul gaya tala
brahmand bhairvi. Nabhi sthane udiyyaan bandhi Manipur
chakar mein baiti, chhinmasta rani. Omkar dhayan lagya
trikuti, pragti tara bala sundri. Patal jogan (kundlini) gagan
ko chadi, jahaan par paithi tripur sundry, Aalas modey,
nindra tode tiski rakhsha devi dhoomavanti kare. Hansa
jaye daswen dware devi maatangi ka aavagman khoje. Jo
kamla devi kee dhooni chetaye tiski riddhi siddhi se
bhandar bhare. Jo dashvidha ka sumiran kare, paap punay
se nyara rahe. Yog abhyaas se bhaye siddha aavagman
nivrate. Mantar pade so nar amar lok mein jaaye. Itna das
mahavidhya mantar jaap sampooran bhaya. Annat kot
64

siddhon mein, godavari trayambak kshetar anupaan


sheela, avalgad parvat par baith shri shambhujati guru
gorakshnaath jee ne pad kath kar sunaya shri naathji guruji
ko aadesh . Aadesh.

65

**********************

END

66

This is the eightth book that Dynastar Web Design


Company has published. This book is based on Dus
Mahavidyas in Hindu Mythology. It can be used by Temple
priest, teacher etc.
I together with my friends Vimi and Sanya in collaboration
with Dynastar web Design team have made all possible
effort to write this book in order to convey and explain
every question to the readers. Also my sisters Neha,
Fatemah who has encouraged me a lot.

Books that Dynastar Web Design has published:

Dynastar Easy Networking - An Introduction to


Networking Terminology
Dynastar Test Your Networking - Questions In
Computer Networking
Dynastar An Introduction To Elements
Hindu Deities - A Publication of Dynastar Company
Dynastar Short Stories Short and Moral Children
Stories
Dynastar Biology Figures and Structures
Dynastar Aarti - A Publication of Dynastar Company
Mahavidyas A Publication of Dynastar Company

THANK YOU

67

You might also like