(The following
article has been translated from the book ‘Baglamukhi-ek durlabha sadhana
paddhati” by Swami Divya Chetnananda.)
The Primordial Divine
Energy, who is The Cosmic Mother, known as Adishakti Bhagawati Jagadamba, is present everywhere in the form of
‘Knowledge’ as well as ‘Ignorance’.
Living beings are bound eternally because of ‘Ignorance’, whereas
‘Knowledge’ becomes their source of Liberation. While Bhagwati Jagadamba manifests herself as ‘Knowledge and Ignorance’,
Lord Shiva is reputed to be present as ‘Master of Knowledge’. At other places,
these Forms are also known and worshipped as Navadurga, Chaamunda and Vishnu
priya.
Why did the Mahavidyas appear and how did they take form? To
briefly describe the reason, we have to refer to the incident described in the Devi Purana that explains this topic.
Long time ago in the Vedic age, Prajapati Daksha, the son of Brahma the
Creator, organized a fire sacrifice, or Yagna,
and invited all the Gods, Demigods, and Sages to this grand event. Daksha had
feeling of animosity towards Lord Shiva, and therefore intentionally, he did
not invite to this Yagna, Lord Shiva and His own daughter who also happenend to be Shiva’s spouse known as Devi Sati.The great sage Devarishi Narada
met Devi Sati and told her that all her sisters will be attending the yagna therefore, it would be a good
reason for her to attend the yagna too. Devi Sati, even though uninvited in the
yagna, thought for a while, and then
decided to attend the event against Her husband, Lord Shiva’s wishes.
She tried taking permission from Him to attend the event,
but Lord Shiva explained to her that it would not be the right thing to do.
Devi Sati became adamant and said that she will definitely go to Daksha’s yagna and will take the offerings that
lawfully belonged to Shiva, and if this did not happen, then she will destroy
the yagna.
Saying this, Devi Sati’s anger reached its peak, Her eyes
became red, Her lips started fluttering, and Her complexion turned blue.
Alighted by the fire of anger, She became wrathful and terribly ferocious. Her
body emitted light like a red-hot fireball, and the heat of this fire deteriorated
Her body to appear like an old woman. Her hair was disheveled and She was ready
to fight with her four arms.
Like a fire, which could destroy the world, Devi appeared,
wearing a garland of human skulls and her tongue rolling out. A crescent moon
bedecked her forehead, and her entire form looked horrifying. She was making a
loud roaring sound of “hum hum”. Illuminated by the blazing anger, emitting
from her body that made her look scary and violent, the Great Devi laughed
loudly and stood in front of Lord Shiva. This horrifying and wrathful form of
Devi was unbearable to see, even by Lord Shiva.
Horrified, Lord Shiva lost his composure and not knowing
what to do, He started running helter-skelter. Seeing this, Devi said, “ Don’t
fear! Don’t fear!” Even this could not stop Shiva. Finally, to stop Her Husband
from going into a frenzy, Devi divided herself in to ten different forms and
She spread in all the ten directions. Whichever direction Lord Shiva would run,
Devi would appear in one of her ten forms, in that direction, and stop Him from
running further.
These ten forms of Devi are known as the Ten Mahavidyas.
Their names are Kali, Tara, Tripura
Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Tripura Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Baglamukhi,
Matangi and Kamala. On seeing them, Lord Shiva desired to know about these
newly manifested forms of Devi. Devi then gave the following description:
“The Form of Devi with
dark complexion and scary eyes, who is standing is in front of You (Shiva) is Bhagavati Kali, (literally meaning “The
Ignorance Remover”).
The Form of Devi with
bluish complexion, who is standing above you, is the direct expansion of ‘Mahakaal’,
or The Great Time, and She is known as Mahavidya Tara, (literally meaning “The
Giver of Liberation”).
O Most Honorable
Shiva! The Form of Devi, standing to your right side, who appears having her
head chopped off, is none other than Mahavidya Chinnamasta, (literally meaning “The Slayer of Ego ”).
O Benevolent Sambho!
The Form of Devi towards your left side, is known as Bhagavati Bhuvaneshwari, (literally meaning “The Supreme Mistress
of the World”).
O Lord of all Gods, Mahadeva!
The Form of Devi standing behind You is the slayer of enemies known as Baglamukhi (literally meaning “One who Paralyzes Enemies”).
The Form of Devi who
appears like a widow, who is standing in the southeast direction, is known as Dhumavati, (literally meaning “One who presides over Negativity”).
O Mahadeva Shiva! The
Form of Devi, who has manifested in the southwest direction, is known as “Tripura Sundari” (literally meaning “The
Most Beautiful in the three Worlds”).
The Form of Devi, who
has appeared in the northwest direction, is the daughter of Sage Matang, and
she is known as Matangi. (Literally meaning
“The Remover of Inauspiciousness”).
The Form of Devi
situated in the northeast direction is known as Maheshwari Kamala, (literally meaning “The Giver of Prosperity”).
And, I am the Most Fearsome
Tripura Bhairavi, (literally meaning
“The Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of
the Three Worlds”).
O Sambho! Please do
not fear. These divine forms of Devi are the most superior forms of The Cosmic
Feminine Energy. Those devotees who regularly worship these Devis with faith
and devotion, will get there desires fulfilled and above all, these Devis also
fulfill the four goals of human life called ‘Purusha artha’, namely,
Righteousness, Desires, Wealth and Liberation. “
