Mahavidya

The first of the ten Mahavidyas is Goddess Kali. She embodies Shakti in her most powerful form, which causes both creation and destruction. She challenges her followers to overcome their fears and ignorance while imparting a profound understanding of life. Kali is usually shown standing or dancing on Shiva’s laying beneath her. She is always depicted in a black or dark blue complexion with long unkempt hair, ornamented with severed arms on her waist and a garland of severed human heads or skulls, called mundamala. The Guhyati Guyha-tantra associates Kali with Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. (Read: Kali)

She is the goddess associated with “sound”. She is who guides, protects, and provides knowledge that gives salvation. Her iconography is very similar to Kali's. She has a blue complexion, unkempt hair, adorned with a crescent moon on her head and a garland of skulls, and wearing a cloth of tigers skin. She is depicted with three eyes, and four arms carrying a blue lotus, scimitar or sacrificial sword, skull cup, and scissors. Her left foot is shown on the chest of Shiva. The Guhyati Guyha-tantra associates Tara with Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu.

​

Tara is also linked with Neel Saraswati (Read: Saraswati) and the Buddhist goddess, Tara. She is invoked in various forms, both in Hinduism and Buddhism. Ugratara is a fierce and most common form of the goddess, worshipped in a different part of India. In some literature, Parvati in the form of Tara, breastfed Shiva, to help him ease the irritation caused by the toxin he consumed, hence the goddess is also depicted as the mother of infant Shiva in some iconography. Goddess Tara is depicted in the form of Shristi Tara, Sthithi Tara, and Sanghar Tara to represent the three gunas; sattva (purity), rajas (action), and tamas (destruction).

Tripura Sundari, also known as Sodashi, Rajarajeswari, Kamakshi, and Lalita, is a supreme manifestation of Shakti. Her name means “who is beautiful in the three states of consciousness”. As Sodashi, she is depicted as a 16-year-old girl in a gold or red complexion, three eyes, and a calm face. She has four hands, holding a goad, a noose, a bow, and an arrow, seated on a lotus that rests on the Shiva laying on a throne. The throne's legs are Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and Rudra, making her iconography a powerful depiction of the Supreme goddess. The Guhyati Guyha-tantra associates her with Kalki, the tenth avatar of Vishnu.

As Tripura Sundari, she is also the primary goddess of the Sri Vidya sect of Shaktisim and manifested the form of Adi Parashakti. She is depicted seated on Shiva, who is laying on a throne. She has a flower and sugarcane replacing the bow and arrow and the other two hands carrying a goad and noose. 

She is depicted as the Queen of the physical world and the one who shapes all the creations. She is depicted with a golden complexion, three eyes, and a calm face, seated on a throne. She has four hands, holding a goad and noose while her other two hands are in Abhaya and Varada mudras. The Guhyati Guyha-tantra associates her with Varaha, the third avatar of Vishnu.

​

Some notable forms of the goddess are Māyā Bhuvaneśvarī, Sūryātmaka Bhuvaneśvarī, Sṛṣṭi Bhuvaneśvarī, Sthiti Bhuvaneśvarī, Saṃhāra Bhuvaneśvarī, Śuddhaśakti Bhuvaneśvarī, Anyadhyānokta Bhuvaneśvarī, Stambhinī Bhuvaneśvarī, Śrī Bhuvaneśvarī, Aṣṭabhujā Bhuvaneśvarī, and Triguṇātīta Bhuvaneśvarī.

​

​

She is a fierce form of Shakti and a female equivalent of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva. She is depicted in a red complexion, with three eyes and unkempt hair. She has four hands, holding a rosary and book, and two hands in Abhaya and Varada mudras. She is adorned with a garland of skulls around her neck and a crescent moon on her head. In some depictions, she carries a sword and a cup containing blood. The Guhyati Guyha-tantra associates her with Narasimha, the fourth avatar of Vishnu.

The goddess is also worshipped as Tripura Bhairavi, associating her with three states, i.e.; desire, knowledge, and action. In Kalika Purana, Tripura Bhairavi is described as naked and seated on a preta or Sadasiva, closely resembling Tripura Sundari.

​

The 12 forms of Bhairavi are described in the Tantrasar. They are Sampatprada Bhairavi, Sakalasiddhi Bhairavi, Bhayavinashini Bhairavi, Chaitanya Bhairavi, Bhuvaneshwari Bhairavi, Kameshwari Bhairavi, Annapurneshwari Bhairavi, Nitya Bhairavi, Rudra Bhairavi, Bhadra Bhairavi, Subhamkari Bhairavi and Smashana Bhairavi.

She is a self-decapitated form of Shakti and is associated with sexual self-control, self-sacrifice, and transcendence of ego. She is commonly depicted in a red complexion, with three eyes and two hands, holding a sword, and her own severed head. She is adorned with skull garland and mounted on Rati and Kamdev engaged in copulation. Jets of blood spurt out of her neck and are drunk by her own severed head and two attendants, Jaya and Vijaya.

​

Chhinnamasta is predominantly a Hindu goddess, yet her images and symbolism are similar to the Vajrayana Buddhist deity Vajrayogini. Vajrayogini is frequently represented in a similar way, clutching her own severed head and symbolising the transcending of dualistic views and the achievement of enlightened understanding. The transformation of desire and attachment into spiritual insight and freedom is emphasised by both the goddesses but they are nonetheless unique deities within their respective theological settings.

She is a widow goddess associated with misfortune and cosmic dissolution. She represents the cyclical nature of life's unavoidable changes.  She is depicted as an old widow with a smoky complexion, wrinkled skin, and long, untidy hair. She has two hands, one carrying a winnowing basket and the other in Varada mudra. The winnowing basket symbolises the need to separate the outer imaginary form from the inner truth. She is depicted sitting in a horseless chariot or on a crow, indicating her connection to both the mortal and the supernatural worlds.

​

Dhumavati has little independence outside of the Mahavidya group. There is no historical record of her before her inclusion among the Mahavidyas. The Pranatosini-Tantra conveys a story of Parvati to explain Dhumavati's widowhood. Parvati consumes Shiva out of hunger. She repeats him at his request, but he rejects her and curses her to become a widow.

She associated with concentration and stillness. She has a gold complexion with three eyes, and two hands, holding a mace and Mandansur, a demon, by his tongue. She is shown seated on a golden throne. Sometimes the goddess is said to have the head of a crane and other times she is seen riding a crane. Her name is also considered is a derivation of Valgamukhi, where Valga is the word for "bridle", which is used for guiding a horse, and in this context she is described as the goddess whose appearance has the power to control. 

​

A story states that a demon by the name of Madan got possession of the ability known as Vak-siddhi, which allowed him to make his words come true. He then began to abuse this power. The demon's tongue was grasped by Bagalamukhi, who rendered him helpless. 

She is an unorthodox form of Saraswati (Read: Saraswati) in the tantric sect, associated with knowledge and wisdom. She is called Ucchista Chandalini, associated with an untouchable caste called Chandala who deals with the disposal of corpses, hence describing her as an outcast goddess who rules all that is leftover and polluted. She is also known as Shyamala, because of her dark complexion. She is depicted with a green complexion, three eyes and a calm face. She has four hands, carrying a noose, sword, goad, and a club.

She is considered as the Tantric form of Lakshmi. Her iconography is very similar to Lakhmi, Kamalatmika is of a gold complexion with lush black hair, three bright, placid eyes, and a benevolent expression. She wears a bright moon disc on her brow and is seated on a lotus, and being bathed by four large elephants. She has three eyes and four hands, holding two lotuses and her other two hands in Abhaya and Varada mudras and four hands, holding two lotuses and her other two hands in Abhaya and Varada mudra.