MAHAVIDYAS
The story behind their birth is equally interesting
and paradoxically of a romantic origin:
Once during their numerous love games, things got
out of hand between Shiva and Parvati. What had
started in jest turned into a serious matter with an
incensed Shiva threatening to walk out on Parvati.
No amount of coaxing or cajoling by Parvati could
reverse matters. Left with no choice, Parvati
multiplied herself into ten different forms for each
of the ten directions. Thus however hard Shiva
might try to escape from his beloved Parvati, he
would find her standing as a guardian, guarding all
escape routes.
Each of the Devi's manifested forms made Shiva
realize essential truths, made him aware of the
eternal nature of their mutual love and most
significantly established for always in the cannons
of Indian thought the Goddess's superiority over
her male counterpart. Not that Shiva in any way
felt belittled by this awareness, only spiritually
awakened. This is true as much for this Great Lord as for us ordinary mortals. Befittingly thus
they are referred to as the Great Goddess's of Wisdom, known in Sanskrit as the Mahavidyas
(Maha - great; vidya - knowledge). Indeed in the process of spiritual learning the Goddess is the
muse who guides and inspires us. She is the high priestess who unfolds the inner truths.
The spectrum of these ten goddesses covers the whole range of feminine divinity, encompassing
horrific goddess's at one end, to the ravishingly beautiful at the other. These Goddesses are:
1) Kali the Eternal Night
2) Tara the Compassionate Goddess
3) Shodashi the Goddess who is Sixteen Years Old
4) Bhuvaneshvari the Creator of the World
5) Chinnamasta the Goddess who cuts off her Own Head
6) Bhairavi the Goddess of Decay
7) Dhumawati the Goddess who widows Herself
8) Bagalamukhi the Goddess who seizes the Tongue
9) Matangi the Goddess who Loves Pollution
10) Kamala the Last but Not the Least
It is striking how female imagery and women are
central to the conception of the Mahavidyas.
Iconographically, they are individually shown
dominating male deities. Kali and Tara are shown
astride Shiva, while others like Shodashi sit on the
body of Shiva which in turn rests upon a couch
whose legs are four male deities! Most significantly
none of the Mahavidyas is shown as the traditional
wife or consort. Even Lakshmi, who is widely
known for her position as Vishnu's loyal wife is
shown alone. It is also noteworthy that the severed
heads that decorate the goddess's bodies are male,
as are the corpses that lie beneath them.
Moreover, related Tantric texts often mention the
importance of revering women. The Kaulavali
Tantra says that all women should be looked upon
as manifestations of Mahadevi (the Great Goddess).
The Nila-tantra says that one should desert one's
parents, guru, and even the deities before insulting a
woman.
Finally the question remains: Why would one wish to worship a goddess such as Kali,
Chinnamasta, Dhumawati, Bhairavi, or a Matangi, each of whom dramatically embodies marginal,
polluting, or socially subversive qualities? These goddesses are both frightening and dangerous.
They often threaten social order. In their strong associations with death, violence, pollution, and
despised marginal social roles, they call into question such normative social "goods" as worldly
comfort, security, respect, and honor. The worship of these goddesses suggests that the devotee
experiences a refreshing and liberating spirituality in all that is forbidden by established social
orders.
The central aim here according to Tantric belief is to stretch one's consciousness beyond the
conventional, to break away from approved social norms, roles, and expectations. By subverting,
mocking, or rejecting conventional social norms, the adept seeks to liberate his or her
consciousness from the inherited, imposed, and probably inhibiting categories of proper and
improper, good and bad, polluted and pure.
Living one's life according to rules of purity and pollution and caste and class that dictate how,
where, and exactly in what manner every bodily function may be exercised, and which people one
may, or may not, interact with socially, can create a sense of imprisonment from which one might
long to escape. Perhaps the more marginal, bizarre, "outsider" goddesses among the Mahavidyas
facilitate this escape. By identifying with the forbidden or the marginalized, an adept may acquire
a new and refreshing perspective on the cage of respectability and predictability. Indeed a mystical
adventure, without the experience of which, any spiritual quest would remain incomplete.
References and Further Reading
Danielou, Alain. The Myths and Gods of India: Vermont, 1991.
Frawley, David. Tantric Yoga and The Wisdom Goddesses: Delhi, 1999.
Jansen, Eva Rudy. The Book of Hindu Imagery, The Gods and their Symbols: Holland, 1998.
Kinsley, David. Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: New Delhi,1997.
Walker, Benjamin. Encyclopedia of Esoteric Man: London, 1977
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