54  

DAŚA MAHĀ-VIDYĀS
The Ten Great Wisdom Goddesses
KĀLĪ
Of all the Hindu icons, Kali is the most confronting for most westerners! It must also be mentioned
in all fairness that many Indians also find her iconography disconcerting. Mother kali is usually
depicted dancing on the prostrate figure of Lord Shiva. She is black in colour with four arms. Her
hair is disheveled and her tongue lolls out of
her mouth. She has four hands — holding a
decapitated head, a sword, a bowl of blood
which she drinks and the lower right hand
displays the gesture of fearlessness. She wears
a garland of human heads and her skirt is
comprised of severed arms.
Bearing in mind that Kali is the embodiment of
Time and that impermanence and change are
the 2 underpinning realities of the universe and
our existence in it — the image of the Goddess
attempts to portray the force of disintegration
and confronts us with the reality of our own
mortality.
Accoutrements
The kapāla — head she holds represents our
ahaṅkāra concept-of-self — the ego. It is the
concept of ourselves as separate and unique
individuals which is the foundation upon which
the edifice of ignorance and delusion is built. It
is the pivot of our assumptive personal
universes.
The khaḍga — sword represents The severed hands represent the countless
discrimination and wisdom. Through actions Karma that we engage in to support
discriminating between the real and the our assumed identities and to fulfil our
unreal, the truth and the untruth we gradually cravings and repulsions — all in search of the
progress towards insight and wisdom which actualisation of "happiness projects" which
culminates in the elimination of the ego. Our never really bring the ultimate happiness
spiritual practice does not consist of achieving expected.
anything but rather removing those The demon who was Kāḷī’s nemesis on the
conditioning factors which obscure the vision field of battle was Rakta-bīja — the blood-
of the Divine which is our essential, natural seed demon, whose every drop of spilt blood
state. generated another demon like him —
The muṇḍa-mālā — garland of human heads representing our desires. Each and every
represents all the false personalities that we desire that is fulfilled begets another desire
embody and the masks that we wear — all of just as strong. The only way to terminate this
which hinder and obscure insight into our true cycle is to decapitate the demon and to drink
natures. his blood. The drinking of the blood
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symbolises the quaffing of all desires, Mahā-Kāḷī sub-divides herself into the 10
cravings and attachments which are the basis goddesses known as the Mahā-vidyas (ten
for our existential suffering. The hand objects of transcendent wisdom) which are
bestowing fearlessness indicates the need to the 10 aspects of the cycle of time — they’re
overcome the greatest of all fears which is the representative of the entire processes of
fear of personal annihilation. By facing our projection and withdrawal of the universe.
fears and confronting the ultimate time-bound They are the underlying subtle energies of
experience — death, we can achieve which the gross universe is the outer
liberation from our spacio-temporal expression. Impermanence and change are the
limitations and the cycle of rebirth and 2 underpinning realities of the universe and
achieve Nirvana — the Supreme Bliss of our existence in it, hence the Goddesses of
"non-existence". Transcendental Wisdom are ultimately the
Mahā-Kāḷī is the personification of the powers of disintegration, but it is through the
universal power of transformation, the disintegration of all of our assumptive
transcendent power of Time, the Great universes and everything that “appears”
Goddess who rules unchallenged over the desirable and by facing what appears to us
universe and all that is in it. most fearful, (mahā-bhaya) the ultimate time-
bound experience — death, that we can be
All processes in the universe are seen to be liberated from bondage to the cycle of
cyclic and can be divided in 10 phases becoming and attain the ultimate goal of life,
connected with the symbolism attached to the the limitless supreme bliss (parama-ānanda)
mystical number 5 — the five aspects of Śiva of “non-existence” (existence is being
and the five aspects of Śakti operate as day conditioned by time and space.)
and night — the markers of Time.

The 1st Mahā-vidya

Mahā-Kāḷī the Power of Time. The Night-of-Eternity (Mahā-rātrī)
Śiva, as Mahā-kāla is eternal time, he’s the substratum from which arise all the secondary cycles of
time and the energies which rule them — beginning with the cycles of evolution and involution of
the cosmos and including all the cycles which govern everything from the sub-atomic particles to
the galaxies, including the cycles which rule the existence of every single species of life, and it’s
each and every moment. The most representative division of the cycle of time is the alternation of
day and night which are constant reminders of the rhythmic universal patterns of projection and
dissolution of all that exists.

The Eternal Night

The original Absolute state of the universe is an Eternal Night. The
planetary movements of the Sun and the Moon which give rise to
day and light by night, to our experience of divisible time, are only
temporary phenomena implying a coming into being, existence in a
location and some form of relativity. The psychological state of
deep dreamless sleep (turiya) resembles to a degree the absolute
quiescence of the Universe after dissolution (pralaya) when all
existences return to the state of the Great Night (Mahā-rātrī). In
this state of perfect integration nothing remains but the transcendent
power of Time, Mahā-Kāḷī.
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The term Śiva can be derived from the root the Rig Veda 10.127) we can understand that
Sin, which means “to sleep.” Hence Śiva is there are two divinities of night, the one
described as he in whom “all goes to sleep,” experienced by mortal beings, the other by the
“he who puts all things to sleep,” etc. His divine Being; the one experienced by all the
power is represented by the eternal night in spheres and in relation to which all activities
which all goes to sleep. come daily to rest, the other in which the
As absolute eternal time, Śiva is transcendent. activity of divinity also comes to rest. This
He is the “Beyond the beyond” (parat parah) absolute night is the night of involution,
of the Upanishads. The absolute, indivisible inversion, and is the nature of the Power-of-
night (Mahā-rātrī) is the abode of the Time (Kāḷī). Nothing then remains except the
Transcendent- power-of-Time (Mahā-Kāḷī). transcendent Immensity chequered with its
power of illusion. This stage is the stage of
From the ‘Hymn to the Night’ (Rātri Sukta of Unmanifest-Nature (avyakta).

“Night has for its substance the power of illusion of the Immensity (brahma-maya- atmika); the nature of night is
dissolution into supreme divinity (paramesa-laya- atmika). The principle presiding over this absolute night is
celebrated as the goddess-of- the-spheres (Bhuvanesi).” (Devi Purana.)
“May the divinity of night (Rātrī), the transcendent power of consciousness (cit-śakti), be pleased, so that we
may nestle in happiness like birds in their nests at night. Dwellers in the villages, their cows and horses, the
birds of the air, men who travel on many a business, and jackals and wild beasts, all welcome the night and
joyfully nestle in her; for to all beings misguided by the journey of the day she brings calm and happiness.
Then all comes to rest. Even those beings who have never heard the name of the lady-of- the-spheres
(Bhuvanesvari) come to her lap, where they sleep as happily as unconscious children. O merciful! O power of
consciousness! O enfolding darkness! O divinity of Night! Overlook our deeds; take us away from the killers
who harm us, the wolf that is sin, and the she-wolf that is never-ending desire. Remove us from lust and the
other passions which rob us of wisdom and wealth, and be for us the ship of gladness that brings us to the other
shore and leads us to beatitude.” (Karapatri, Sri Bhagavati tattva.”)
The word rātrī (night) is symbolically derived from the root rā “to give,” and is taken to mean “the
giver” of bliss, of peace, of happiness.

The Iconography of Kāḷī

“Most fearful, her laughter shows her dreadful teeth. She stands upon a corpse. She has four arms. Her
hands hold a sword and a head and show the gestures of removing fear and granting boons. She is the
auspicious divinity of sleep, the consort of Śiva.
“Naked, clad only in space, the goddess is resplendent. Her tongue hangs out. She wears a garland of
heads. Such is the form worthy of meditation of the Power of Time, ‘Kāḷī, who dwells near the funeral
pyres.- (Kāḷī Tantra. [496])

The  corpse  
Kāḷī is represented as the supreme night, which devours all that exists. She therefore stands upon
“non-existence,” — upon the corpse of the destroyed universe. The corpse is that of Śiva. So long
as the power that gives life to the universe remains predominant it is favourable (Śiva), but when it
is without strength it becomes as a corpse (śava). The lifeless body is indeed the symbol of
whatever is left of the manifested universe when it reverts to the natural state of eternal time. At the
time of universal dissolution (pralaya), the Power of Time, the power of destruction, is all that
remains.
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The  fearful  appearance  
At the end of the battle, when the warrior stands among the corpses of the vanquished enemy and
remains alone on the field of battle, her appearance inspires fear and horror — exhausted covered in
blood and gore. Who could dare to look her in the face? So terrible is Kāḷī. Her dread appearance is
the symbol of her boundless power of annihilation.
The  nakedness  
The universe which is projected from the Brahman and pervaded by the eternal power of time is
also Its garb. “Having projected it [from himself], he entered into it.” (Taittiriya Upanisad 2.6.)
When the universe is dissolved, the Power of Time remains without a veil, naked. Hence the
Goddess is “clad in space” (digambara), having the vast emptiness of space as her only vesture.
The  four  arms  
The four arms of Kāḷī represent the four directions of space identified with the complete cycle of
time — four being the number of perfection. Completeness is usually represented by the four
corners. With her four arms, she stands as the symbol of the fulfillment of all and of the
absoluteness of her dominion over all that exists. In the strict language of symbolism four arms
always represent the idea of absolute dominion. This is also the meaning of the Christian cross.
The  laughter  
The conqueror laughs in her triumph. That laughter is the expression of absolute dominion over all
that exists. It mocks at those who, in the folly of their vanity, hope to escape dissolution. It ridicules
all those who cling to material existence and clutch their paltry possessions craving to continue
their feeble existence in a cosmos in the grip of change and transformation.
The  sword  
The sword represents the power of destruction. The power of knowledge which cuts asunder the
veil of ignorance and severs the bonds which bind us to our conditioned existence.
The  severed  head  
The head represents the ego (ahamkara) — the notion of individuality. The severed head in the
hand of the Goddess reminds all living beings that there is no escape from the Omnipotence of-
Time (Kāḷī). All the ego personalities that we assume and take with such seriousness are all trifling
and unsubstantial. The ultimate state requires their decapitation.
The  gesture  of  fearlessness  
So long as there is existence, there is fear of destruction. Fear is inherent in all forms of existence;
fear is the law of all that exists. “Out of fear of him fire burns; out of fear the sun shines.” (Katha
Upanisad 2.3.3. [4971)
Every sentient being that is conditioned fears that which is beyond its limits of understanding. Only
absolute time (mahā-kala) which pervades all things and has no limit knows no fear. The
Upanishads say that he alone who exists “beyond the beyond” “exists without fear.” Kāḷī, the power
of time that destroys all, is the embodiment of all fear, while she herself is beyond fear; she alone
who is beyond fear can protect from fear those who invoke her. This is the meaning of the hand
removing fear.
The  gesture  of  generosity  
All the pleasures of the world are transient; all human joy is but a momentary and feeble reflection
of our true nature, which is unbounded joy. But such perception cannot last and is soon veiled by
pain. True happiness can only exist in that which is permanent. Only the Power of Time is
permanent; it alone can grant happiness. Thus Kāḷī is the giver of bliss. This is represented by her
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giving hand.
The  garland  skulls  
Life and death are inseparable aspects of our being. There is no life without death, no death without
life. Hence there must be a common support for both life and death — Kāḷī is the supreme bliss
which supports both and is the only refuge. She is the basis of all existence and non-existence. The
garland of skulls represents impermanence and the traces which are left behind by the dead as
reminders of our own mortality and impermanence. The also represent all the assumptive identities
which we use to validate ourselves.
The  funeral  pyre  
Her dwelling place is the charnel ground illumined with the burning pyres of the world in
destruction. A further reminder to us of the inevitability of our own physical dissolution and
termination in the funeral pyre.
The  black  colour  
Black is not actually a “colour” but the absence of all light. All colours of the spectrum merge in the
colour black. In the Power of Time all colours and light dissolve into darkness. As the embodiment
of the tendency toward dispersion or obscuration (tamas), Kāḷī is depicted as black. All shapes
return to shapelessness in the all-pervading darkness of the eternal night.
The  lolling  tongue  
Kāḷī’s gaping mouth and lolling tongue, her appearance and habits generally, are unquestionably
repulsive to our ordinary sensibilities. In Tantra, this is probably precisely the point. What we
experience as disgusting, polluted, forbidden, and gruesome is grounded in and conditioned by
limited human (or cultural) consciousness. Our cultural and social conditioning has ordered and
divided reality into categories that serve limited, ego-centred, selfish conceptions of how the world
should be. Kāḷī in her crass way, de-constructs these categories, inviting us as her students to relax
and open ourselves up to life in all its aspects — positive and negative, attractive and repulsive. She
invites us to dare to taste the world in its most disgusting and forbidding manifestations in order to
discover for ourselves its underlying unity and divinity, which is the Great Goddess herself.
The  disheveled  hair:  pollution  and  dissolution  
Another striking feature of Kāḷī as with all the Mahā-vidyas is her long, loose, dishevelled hair.
Hindu women always wear their hair well kept, braided or bound (as do brahmin men with long
hair) – Loose hair is very uncommon — the only occasions being during the ritual impurity of
menstruation in which it is forbidden to bind the hair and during mourning. The loose hair thus
represents her as either menstruating — pre-creation; or mourning — post creation
Kāḷī is the ultimate suffragette openly and proudly displaying her disdain for social convention. She
is totally liberated from all social convention, wild and uncontrolled in nature, and not bound to or
limited by a male consort. She also displays other unconventional features — her nudity, her
standing atop her husband or consort, her dwelling in cremation grounds, and her rude, lolling
tongue, messy, loose, tangled hair emphasises her socially liberated character,
The Sacred texts describe eight principle manifestations of Kāḷī corresponding to the eight aspects
of Śiva.
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The 2nd Mahā-vidya
Tāra — the Star, the Power of Hunger. The Night-of-Anger (Krodha-rātrī)
“I meditate upon the Divine Mother of the three worlds, who is sitting on a white lotus situated in the
centre of the waters enveloping the universe. In her left hands she holds a knife and a skull and, in her
right hands, a sword and a blue lotus. Her complexion is blue, and she is decked with ornaments.... She is
decorated with three beautiful serpents and has three red eyes. Her hair is bunched into a single plait of
tawny colour. Her tongue is always moving, and her teeth and mouth appear terrible. She is wearing a
tiger skin around her waist, and her forehead is decorated with ornaments of white bone. Sage Aksobhya,
in the form of a serpent, is situated on her head. She is seated on the heart of a corpse and her breasts are
hard. Thus should one meditate on Bhagavati Tārā who is the mistress of all three worlds.” (Mantra
Mahodadhi)
The Star (Tārā) is the first force that arises in the Bindu
[Golden-Embryo — Hiranya-garbha], the cosmic
location from which the universe evolves. As soon as the
germ of life is planted, hunger arises — the embryo
wants food. Only through the process of combustion of
some fuel, some nutrients, can the universe survive and
develop. This perpetual cosmic need to consume is the
basis of the cosmic sacrifice, as well as of all the
forms of existence and life. The nature of the
Golden Embryo can well be said to be hunger and its
power lies in the ability to devour. The name given to
this pure and absolute, hunger is — “the Star” (Tārā).
“In the night of time, which is the state of universal dissolution,
light [the first combustion, the first satisfied hunger] appears as a
star. This light is the nature, the source, of all thought [for thought is
also an energy, a combustion] and is the instrument of knowledge
illuminating its object.” (Karapatri, Bhagavati tattva.”)
Although the word tāra means a star, the Tantras take its etymology to mean “that which leads to
the other shore.” “She who brings us to the other shore (Tārāti) is Tāra.” — Tārātyanaya sā tārā.
(Quoted in the Devi-sahasra-nama.)
Just as the nature of hunger is twofold - ravenous, all-consuming, driving, forcing before
consumption, and the other pacified, peaceful and contented after consumption — Tārā also is
depicted in a dual aspect, the one fierce, fearful, all-devouring, the other pacified and luminous.
This is duality is also the nature of the sun and of all beings.
“Hunger” [kṣudha] is defined as a desire to consume —food as well as knowledge, power, resources etc.
Hunger [Tārā] and Time [Kāḷī] are inseparable since consumption is regulated by Time and Time consumes
all things.
“In the Great Void, the sphere of the Egg-of-Immensity that is the universe (Brahmanda), there exist fifty
forms of void. Five of these are the kingdom of the power-of-hunger (Tārā); the rest belong to the power-
of-time (Mahā-Kāḷī).” (Quoted in Karapatri, Bhagavati tattva “)
In the cycle of day and night, Tārā represents early dawn, the hunger, the desire, that first appears
after the calm of sleep, after the rule of Kāḷī. Hence Tārā rules from midnight to dawn. This is the
Night-of-Anger (Krodha-rātrī) when every living thing prepares to destroy and devour other lives,
other beings.
Tārā as the Void
In its peaceful aspect, the power of hunger is merely spoken of as a void.
“She is the transcendent form of the Void, the divider (kala), the Supreme Beauty (Mahā-sundari).
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Beautiful, she commands the king of kings. Boundless, she is the ruler of the vast universe.
“She is the Great Void, the Star from which all was gradually evolved and which leads all toward
liberation from the endless [cycle of life].” (Mahāsundari Tantra. [5021)
“All deities are aspects of the Void. The universe arose from the Void and dissolves into the Void. Seeing
the Void as the goal of the universe, the sages, leaving a world of delusion (moha), dissolve into the Void,
into the changeless shape of the Immensity.” (Hirananda Sastri Gaud, “Tārā-rahasya,” P. 225.)
So long as food is provided, so long as offerings are poured into the fearful solar fire, the cosmic
sun is at peace, but if food is lacking the sun becomes the Fearful-Star (Ugra-Tārā) and devours the
worlds.
Buddhist Tārā
Jains and Buddhists also worship the goddess Tārā. For the Buddhists as for the Hindus hunger is
eternal. In the Buddhist Scripture Tārā is represented as the power of Avalokitesvara. In the Tantras
she is the consort of the Never-decaying (Aksobhya) which is an aspect of Śiva.
“O great goddess, without decaying, Śiva the lord of sleep, drank the halāhala poison, hence he is
known as the Never- decaying (Aksobhya). The transcendent power of illusion, ever in lustful
dalliance with him, is the Star, Tārā.” (Tārā Tantra.1 )

Iconography of Tārā
The Hindu Tārā is always depicted in her fearful form with four arms entwined with poisonous
snakes and serpents in her matted hair. She holds a head and a chalice, for in her fearsome mood
she drinks blood, the sap of the world.
“Standing firmly with her left foot forward resting on a corpse, she laughs loudly -transcendent. Her
hands hold a sword, a blue lotus, a dagger, and a begging bowl. She raises her war cry, hum! Her
matted tawny hair is bound with poisonous blue snakes. Thus the terrifying Tārā destroys the
unconsciousness of the three worlds and carries them on her head [to the other shore].”
“She shines upon a white lotus arisen from the water, pervading the world. She holds in her hands
scissors, a sword, a skull, and a blue lotus. Her ornaments are snakes, which form a girdle, earrings,
a garland, armlets, bracelets, anklets. She has three red eyes, fearful tawny tresses, a wagging
tongue, fearful teeth. Round the hips she wears the skin of a panther. She wears a diadem made of
bleached bones. One should meditate on Tārā, the mother of the three worlds, who is seated on the
heart of a corpse, her face resplendent with the power of the Never-decaying (Akshobhya).” (Tārā
Tantra)
The Worship of Tārā
The Hindu Tantras specify that the goddess is to be worshiped according to the Buddhist ritual.
Otherwise her worship remains fruitless.
“The proper way to worship me is the Buddhist way. O Tormentor of Men! That way one people
alone know; none other knows its inner signififificance.” (Lalita-upakhyana.)

The 3rd Mahā-vidya

Tripura-sundari — the beauty-of-the three-realms, Perfection. The Divine-Night
(Divya-rātrī)
“I salute the auspicious goddess who shines like the orb of an infant sun, has four arms and three eyes, and
holds a noose, an elephant hook, an arrow, and a bow.” (Sodasi Tantra)
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The number used to represent the totality of perfection is 16. In human beings sixteen years
represent the age of accomplished perfection, after which decline sets in — it is the age of the
fullness of vigour and libido. There are fifteen days (tithis) in the complete lunar cycle from the
new moon to the full moon. The 15 day is either the full moon or the new moon. 16 therefore
represents that which is full within time and yet beyond time. The Girl-of-Sixteen (Shodashi) rules
over all that is perfect, complete, beautiful.
After dawn, after the hour of the Star (Tārā), comes the hour of perfection. The young sun has risen
in its fullness; the sun is the source of all life on this planet and is numerologically connected with
the number 5 and with the five elements and is represented by the five-faced Śiva. Just after dawn
its fierceness has not yet appeared. It seems gentle, bright, auspicious (Śiva). In the morning sun
men worship the Progenitor, the principle that gives life to the three worlds and to all the mortals
and immortals.
The Girl-of-Sixteen, the power of Śiva as the ruler of the
three worlds, is. according to the Sodashi Tantra, identified
with the Beauty-of-the-Three-Cities (Tripura-sundari), said
to be the light radiating from the three eyes of Śiva to
illumine the worlds. Hence she is “the Girl-of-Sixteen in
whom the three forms of light unite.”
She is also known as Lalita. The wise say, “The word Lalita
has eight meanings, namely brilliance, manifestation,
sweetness, depth, fixity, energy, grace and generosity; are the
eight human qualities.” The Kama-Shastra says:— Lalita
means erotic actions and also tenderness; as she has all the
above- mentioned qualities she is called Lalita. It is said also,
“Thou art rightly called Lalita for thou hast nine divine
attendants [in the Sri cakra,] and your bow is made of sugar-
cane, your arrows are flowers, and everything connected with
you is lovely (commentary on Lalita sahasranama).
Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, is a solar aspect of Śiva,
hence he is sometimes identified with the Girl-of-Sixteen.
“Indra is Sodasi” (Satapatha Brahmana 4.2.5.14. )
As a form of the eternal night, Sodasi is the Divine-Night (Divya-rātrī), the night of perfection.

The 4th Mahā-vidya

Bhuvaneśvari — the Lady of the Spheres, Knowledge. The Night- of- Realisation
(Siddha-rātrī)
“With the moon as her diadem, with large breasts and three eyes, smiling, she shines like the risen sun.
Her hands grant boons, allay fears, and hold an elephant hook and a noose. I bow to the fear-inspiring lady
of the spheres.” (Bhuvanesvari Tantra.)
After the rising of the Sun after the gentle dawn period of the day and of projection of the universe,
the Girl-of-Sixteen (Shodashi) makes way for the resplendent Lady-of-the-spheres
(Bhuvaneshvari), consort of the Three-eyed Śiva (Tryambaka). Creation now becomes a powerful
flow, a constant evolving, over which rules the Sovereign Goddess. As the ruler of the universe she
is also known as the Queen-of-Queens (Raja-rajesvari).
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Bhuvaneśvari is also associated and identified with the earth
and the universe in general, and the underlying energy that
brings it into being and pervades it. She embodies the
characteristic dynamics and constituents that make up the
world and that lend creation its distinctive character. In this
sense she is identified with the mahā-bhutas (the basic physical
elements) and prakrti (primordial nature).
The lady of the spheres is represented with various attributes.
In the lower of her right hands she holds a vessel, in the upper
right hand a mace, in the upper left hand a shield, in the lower
left hand the bilva fruit, called the fruit-of-Fortune (Sri-phala).
On her head are a serpent, a linga, and a yoni. Preciously
coloured like molten gold, the all-powerful goddess wears a
divine garland and gold ornaments.
The fruit in her hand shows her as the giver of the fruit of actions.
Her club is the ‘power to act’ or ‘power of dispersion’ (viksepa śakti). The ‘power of knowing’ (Jñana
śakti) is her shield; the ‘tendency toward liberation, toward the Fourth stage’ (turiya vrtti), is the vessel
which contains the sap (rasa) of existence, that is, delight in the Self. The linga is the male principle
(purusa tattva), the yoni represents Nature (prakrti tattva). The serpent is ‘Time’ (kala tattva). (Karapatri,
Sri Bhagavati tattva.”)
As a form of the eternal night Bhuvanesvari is the Night-of-Realisation (Siddha-rātrī), the veil
made of knowledge which surrounds the universe.

The 5th Mahā-vidya

Chinnamasta — the Beheaded, the Power of the Sacrifice. The Night- of- Courage
(Vira-rātrī)
“Her left foot forward in battle, she holds her severed head and a knife. Naked, she drinks voluptuously
the stream of the blood-nectar flowing from her beheaded body. The jewel on her forehead is tied with a
serpent. She has three eyes. Her breasts are adorned with lotuses. Inclined toward lust, she sits erect above
the god of love, who shows signs of lustfulness. She looks like the red China rose. Her eyes are blue.”
(Chinnamasta Tantra).[Lord Śiva said] - “I shall describe Chinnamasta. During the Krta Yuga on the best
of mountains — Kailasa, I and Mahāmaya were engaged in Mahāvrata (sexual intercourse). When I
ejaculated, she appeared as Candika, of fearsome visage, and from her body two Śaktis emerged who
became her attendants — they were known as Dakini and Varnini. One day Candika with two attendants
went to the bank of the Puspabhadra River. At midday her hungry attendants said to Candika, “Please give
us food.” smiling and auspicious Candika heard their request, looked in all directions [finding no feed] she
severed her own head. With the left bloodstream, she gratified Dakini, with the right one, she gratified
Varnini and from the center one, she drank own blood. After exhibiting her pastime in this way, she
replaced her head on her torso and assumed her original form. At dusk, they returned home. When I saw
her anaemic appearance, I suspected that she had been abused by someone. This infuriated me. From this
anger a portion of me arose and became known Krodha Bhairava. (Pranatoshini Tantra)
Once the progress of the day or the process of world unfoldment has reached a state of stability, it
continues to exist, depending for its sustenance on destruction, on burning, on consuming. The
cosmic sacrifififice (yajna) expresses this process of universal metabolism, and the ritual sacrifices
(yajnas) are performed with the intention of harmonising and co-operating with the cosmic process.
Yajna is the exchanging of energies between differing levels.
The aspect of Śiva which presides over the cosmic sacrifififice is the Headless (Kabandha). The
Vedic ritual of sacrifice consists in beheading the victim — “The sacrifice is indeed beheaded.”
(Satapatha Brahmana). Hence the Shakti of the sacrifice is depicted as the “Beheaded-one
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(Chinnamasta). At the end of the ritual sacrifice there is a ceremony called the “joining of the head”
(siro-sandhana), in which the head is symbolically reattached to the body of the victim. This
represents the consummation of the cycle, the ultimate resurrection of all forms, without which the
meaning of the sacrifice would remain incomplete.
The beginning of life is the sex act in which an offering of semen is made into the uterus. The
womb is symbolic of the fire-pit and the offering of ghee is the semen. In the animal sacrifice the
full offering is the blood and the animal is consumed. When seen as a participation in a perpetual
cosmic process, the feeding upon life can become a means of great realisation, instead of being
merely an unconscious act of self-nourishment. The Tantras warn that the sādhaka should only
partake of meat from animals that have been duly consecrated and sacrificed, and the first fruits of
all produce should be offered to the deity.
Chinnamasta rules over the five Great-
Sacrifices (pancha-mahā-yajnas). Every
human born is liable to 5 debts (runas) and
our duty as conscious humans is to discharge
these 5 debts at every occasion for the entirety
of our lives on the planet. The five Great
Sacrifices are nothing but the continual
expressing of gratitude to all those who
facilitate our existence. They are:—
pitr yajna — to Ancestors - parental
responsibilities deva yajna — to gods, the
cosmic forces which maintain the harmony of
the universe. brahma yajna — to Supreme
through the study of the teachings of the
sages. manusya yajna — to fellow human
beings - societal responsibilities. bhuta yajna
— to the animals and elements -
environmental responsibilities.
The myth of beheading is also found
associated with Vishnu in the Shatapatha
Brahmana. Vishnu’s head is cut off and it
ascends into the sky to become the sun. The
solar radiation (pravargya) is also a constant
offering to the earth. The very life-essence of the sun, poured into the earth so that it and all beings
upon it may live. The solar energy is the essence of all food (anna). This
outpouring of solar radiation is compared to a perpetual beheading of the sun and as such the
Beheaded represents the life-giving and life-destroying power of the Sun.
In Buddhism Chinnamasta is called the Power-of-the-Thunderbolt (Vajra- yogini). Her
philosophical form is Prajna-paramita.
As a form of the eternal night Chinnamasta is the Night-of-Courage (Vira- rātrī) when the victim is
brought to the altar of sacrifice.
The 6th Mahā-vidya
Bhairavi, the Fearful Goddess, the Power of Death. The Night-of-Death (Kala-rātrī)
“Softly smiling, you shine with a crimson glow that may be compared to a thousand newly risen suns.
You wear a silken veil and a garland of skulls. Blood smears your breast. Three voluptuous eyes adorn
   55  
your lotus face; the moon is your diadem. Your lotus hands show the gestures of victory, of wisdom, the
granting of boons, and the allaying of fear.” (Tripura-Bhairavi Tantra.)
Chinnamasta represents the end of things, the spectacular moment when the victim is sacrificed,
beheaded; life, existence, comes to an abrupt end.
But this sudden end is only the culmination of a process that began long before. Destruction begins
from the very first moment of existence. Death is the ever present reality operating in everything.
This aspect of death is called the “perpetual-destruction” (nitya-pralaya).
The southern direction is dedicated to Yama, the God of death
the southern fire (dakshina agni) is the fire of destruction. The
north is dedicated to Soma, the “essence of life,” of love (sneha
tattva), the nourishing ambrosia of immortality. In Saiva
theology the Southern-Image (Daksina-murti) or the Time-of-
the-Fearful (Kala-Bhairava) is associated with the South.
The shakti of death and destruction is the Fearful-Goddess,
Bhairavi, also called the Fearful- Goddess-of-the-Three-Cities
(Tripura-Bhairavi). All that the lady-of- the-spheres
(Bhuvanesvari) preserves and nurtures, the Fearful Goddess
relentlessly destroys. She is the Tangible-Demoness (Apara-
Dakini), always our constant companion lurking nearby.
Bhairavi’s presence is found in self-destructive habits that we
possess — eating tamasic food, alcohol, smoking, drugs etc. She
is further strengthened by the destructive emotions like anger,
jealousy, hatred, resentment etc.

The 7th Mahā-vidya

Dhūmavati — the Smoky One, the Power of Poverty. The Night- of-Frustration
(Daruna-rātrī)
“She appears as a woman of unhealthy complexion, restless, wicked, tall, with a dirty robe and
dishevelled hair. With gaps in her teeth, she looks like a widow, and holds in her hand a winnowing
basket. Her eyes seem cruel, her hands tremble, her nose is long. She behaves deceitfully and is sly in
her looks. Insatiably hungry and thirsty, she inspires fear and is the instigator of quarrels.” (Dhumavati
Tantra.)
After death the body is consigned to the funeral pyre, our entire
subjective, assumptive universe ends in smoke; hence the power
of ultimate destruction is called the Smoky-One (Dhumavati).
She is the shakti that destroys the structure of all things,
(structure is ruled over by the male principle whereas process is
the feminine energy), hence she is called a widow (vidhava).
Nothing is left for her to own, hence she is utterly destitute. She
is the goddess-of-poverty (Daridra), of frustration, of despair,
identified with Mis-fortune (A-laksmi) and with the goddess-of-
disease- and misery (Nirrti).
Her presence can be seen in the destitute, the beggars, the
lepers, the diseased. She dwells in the wounds-of-the-earth
(ksata-viksata-prthivi), in deserts, ruined houses, tatters, hunger,
thirst, widowhood, quarrels, the mourning of children, the battle
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field etc..
Dhumavati rules over the rainy season which lasts for four months, during which the life-giving
solar light is hidden by the evil water-spirit (asura- apya-prana). This corresponds in the cosmic
cycle to the night of the gods when the spirits of darkness rule. The night of Dhumavati is the
Night-of- Death (Kala-rātrī) — during the 4 months of the monsoon no public ritual can be
performed, there are no pilgrimages, no festivals, no marriages, no initiation. At the end of the rainy
period the rule of light returns and the festival of lights (dipavali) takes place.

The 8th Mahā-vidya

Bagala mukhi — The Deceitful, Crane-headed, the Power of Cruelty. The Second
Night-of-Courage (Vira- rātrī)
In the middle of the ocean is a pavilion of jewels with an altar inside it. On the altar is a lion throne on
which the goddess Bagala-mukhi is seated. Her complexion is completely yellow, perfectly yellow, and
she wears a yellow dress, yellow ornaments, and a yellow garland. I call to mind she who holds the tongue
of the enemy in her left hand and a raised club in her right hand.
She has assumed a serious mood and is maddened with intoxication. Her brilliance reflects the golden hue
of her body. She has four arms and three eyes and is seated on a lotus. On her forehead is the crescent
moon, which is yellow in colour. She wears yellow clothes, has high, firm breasts, and wears golden
earrings. (Brhat Tantrasara)
An aspect of our human psychology that we very quickly
learn to repress is a subtle desire to kill other living beings –
a desire to destroy all others but ourselves; the forbidden
pleasure that we feel when hurting another — something we
don’t like to admit to. This desire to kill, to torture, is
present to some degree in the psyche of everyone. This
repressed destructive desire unconsciously motivates many
of our actions in day to day life. In the iconography of
Tantra this aspect of mind-force is represented as a woman
with the head of a crane, the placid, graceful crane being
considered the most deceitful of all creatures.
Bagalamukhi is also known as Pitambara-devi (The
goddess garbed in yellow) she presides over all the subtle
forms of killing. She is more than any of the other Mahā-
vidyas the presiding goddess of the supernormal yogic
powers known as “siddhis” which can either be used for
universal good (“white-magic”) or subjective self-
agrandisement (“black-magic”). She is the cosmic force
which incites men to kill and to torture one another.

A demon named Madan undertook austerities won the boon of vak siddhi, according to which
anything he said about. He abused this siddhi by killing people. Enraged by his mischief the gods
worshiped Bagalamukhi. She stopped the demon’s rampage by taking hold of his tongue and
stilling his speech. Before she could kill him, however, he asked to be worshiped with her, and she
relented. That is why he is depicted with her.
“I bow to the two-armed goddess who with the right hand grasps the tongue of her enemy and with her left
hand tortures him. She holds a mace and is clad in yellow.” (Bagalamukhi Tantra.)
Bagala-mukhi is also strongly associated with sexual desire and pleasure — particularly that of the
sado-masochistic type. Several of her epithets in her thousand-name hymn associate her directly
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with kama, “sexual desire,” or the god of sexual desire, Kama-deva. She is called, for example: She
Who Dwells Where There Is Sexual Desire, Who Likes Sexual Desire, Whose Form Is Sexual
Desire, Whose Eyes Are Full of Desire, Who Promotes Sexual Desire, and Who Takes Pleasure in
Sexual Play.”
Another string of epithets associates and identifies her with the female sexual organ: She Whose
Form is the Yoni, Who dwells in the Yoni, Whose form is the Lingam and Yoni, Who Has a
Garland of Yonis, Who is adorned with Yonis, Who Enjoys the Union of the Lingam and Yoni,
Who Is Worshiped with the Lingam and Yoni, and Who is Absorbed with the Lingam and Yoni.
Her consort is the One-faced (Ekavaktra) Rudra.
The night of Bagala-mukhi is identical to that of Chinnamasta. It is the Night-of-Courage (Vira-
rātrī), the time of suffering.

The 9th Mahā-vidya

Mātangi — the Elephant Power, the Power of Domination, the Outcaste Goddess.
The Night-of-Delusion (Moha-rātrī)
She is seated on a corpse. Her clothes and all her ornaments
are red. She wears a garland of ganja seeds. She is sixteen
years old and has full breasts. She holds a skull and a sword
in her two hands. She should be offered leftovers [uccista].’
She is blue in colour and has the disc of the moon on her
forehead. She has three eyes, is seated on a jewelled throne,
and is adorned with jewelled ornaments. She has a very thin
waist, and her breasts are round and firm. She has a smiling
face and holds a noose, a sword, a goad, and a club in her four
hands.’
One version of Mātaṅgī’s origin is found in the
Pranatoshni-tantra, Once upon a time, Parvati was
seated on Śiva`s lap. She said to him that he always
granted her wishes and that now she had a desire to
return to her father’s home for a visit. Would he consent
to her visiting her father, Himalaya, she asked? Śiva was
not happy about granting her this wish but eventually
complied, saying that if she did not come back in a few
days, he would, go there himself to ask for her return.
Parvati’s mother sent a crane to carry Parvati back
to her family home. When she did not return for some days, Śiva disguised himself as an ornament
maker and went to Himalaya’s house. He sold shell ornaments to Parvati and then, seeking to test
her faithfulness, asked that she have sex with him as his payment. Parvati was outraged at the
merchant’s request and was ready to curse him, but then she discerned with her yogic intuition that
the ornament vendor was really her husband, Śiva. Concealing her knowledge of his true identity,
she replied: “Yes, fine, I agree. But not just now.”
Sometime later, Parvati disguised herself as a huntress and went to Śiva’s home, where he was
preparing to do evening meditation. She danced there, near Manasa Lake. She wore red clothes, and
her body was lean, her eyes wide, and her breasts large. Admiring her, Śiva asked: “Who are you? “
She replied: “I am the daughter of a Caṇḍāla. I’ve come here to do penance.” Then Śiva said:— “I
am the one who rewards those who do penance.” Saying this, he took her hand, kissed her, and
   55  
prepared to make love to her. While they made love, Śiva himself was changed into a Caṇḍāla. At
this point he recognized the Caṇḍāla woman as his wife Parvati. After they had made love, Parvati
asked Śiva for a boon, which he granted. Her request was this:— “As you [Śiva] made love to me in
the form of a Caṇḍālinī [Caṇḍāla woman], this form will last forever and will be known as Uccista-
Caṇḍālinī.
The regal elephant is the mount of Indra, king of the gods as well as of temporal kings. It is the
symbol of the power of domination. After the terror of the night appears the reassuring sunlight.
The demons are defeated; Mātaṅgī, the Elephant power, establishes the rule of peace, of calm, of
prosperity. The day is, however, a dream, a mirage that appears in the eternal night. As a form of
night, Mātaṅgī is therefore the Night-of-Delusion (Moha-rātrī).
Mātaṅgī is associated with “left-overs” and indeed prefers pollution. Those who perform sādhana of
Mātaṅgī must offer her left-over food and worship her after eating without washing. Even the
highly “polluting” menstrual state is said to please this goddess. Ucchista Mātaṅgī as the
embodiment of the ritually polluted is the goddess by means of whom one can directly come to
terms with pollution. As such she is very empowering and liberating. She also has a strong
association with forests and jungles.

The 10th Mahā-vidya

Kamalā — The Lotus-Goddess, the Power of Wealth. The Night-of-Splendour
(Mahā-rātrī)
“With a golden complexion, bathed in the stream of ambrosia flowing from golden vessels held by the
trunks of four white elephants, she looks like the abode of snow, the Himalaya. Her hands grant boons,
allay fear, and hold two lotuses. She has a brilliant diadem. Her hips, like ripe fruits, are loosely draped in
a silken garment. We bow to her who stands upon a lotus.” (Kamala Tantra)

When Everlasting-Siva (Sada-siva) takes over the function of

Vishnu and sustains the world then .Kamala becomes his consort.
She is the embodiment of all that is materially and spiritually
desirable, the exact counterpart of the Smoky-One (Dhumavati). The
signs of the zodiac associated with these 2 goddesses are in
opposition. Kamala rules over the auspicious nakshatra Rohini in
Taurus, giver of wealth, while Dhumavati rules over the nakshatra
Jyestha in the sign Scorpio which brings poverty.
Kamala is the power inherent in prosperity. As the energy of
preservation she represents the potential for universal well-being that
can only be accomplished through the correct utilisation of wealth.
She is the only one of the goddesses who is totally benevolent and
compassionate. In fact coming last in the list of Maha-vidyas she
represents the “normative” state of what most people are comfortable;

with Kali is that which is least comforting. She represents material well-being, comfort, the familiar.
As the preserving energy she bestows stability and security — she represents the very state of mind
which contributes to further continuity in Samsara whereas Kali represents the Liberating force.
Kamala consciousness is what one seeks to restrain, overcome and finally transcend.
The aspect of the eternal night corresponding to Kamala bears the same name, Maha-ratri, as the
night of Kali but is interpreted to mean the Night of Splendour.