The Assertion of Femininity in Indian Thought (3)

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4. BHUVANESHVARI, THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD

 

A modern text gives the legend of origin of Bhuvaneshvari as follows:

 

"Before anything existed it was the sun which appeared in the heavens.

The rishis (sages) offered soma the sacred plant to it so that the

world may be created. At that time Shodashi was the main power, or the

Shakti through whom the Sun created the three worlds. After the world

was created the goddess assumed a form appropriate to the manifested

world."

 

In this form she came to be known as Bhuvaneshvari, literally

"Mistress of the World."

 

Bhuvaneshvari thus remains un-manifest until the world is created.

Hence she is primarily related with the visible and material aspect of

the created world.

 

More than any other Mahavidya with the exception of Kamala (mentioned

later), Bhuvaneshvari is associated and identified with the energy

underlying creation. She embodies the characteristic dynamics and

constituents that make up the world and that lend creation its

distinctive character. She is both a part of creation and also

pervades it's aftermath.

 

Bhuvaneshvari's beauty is mentioned often. She is described as having

a radiant complexion and a beautiful face, framed with flowing hair

the color of black bees. Her eyes are broad, her lips full and red,

her nose delicate. Her firm breasts are smeared with sandal paste and

saffron. Her waist is thin, and her thighs, buttocks, and navel are

lovely. Her beautiful throat is decorated with ornaments, and her arms

are made for embracing. Indeed Shiva is said to have produced a third

eye to view her more thoroughly.

 

This beauty and attractiveness may be understood as an affirmation of

the physical world. Tantric thought does not denigrate the world or

consider it illusory or delusory, as do some other abstract aspects of

Indian thought. This is made amply clear in the belief that the

physical world, the rhythms of creation, maintenance and destruction,

even the hankerings and sufferings of the human condition is nothing

but Bhuvaneshvari's play, her exhilarating, joyous sport.

 

5. CHINNAMASTA, THE GODDESS WHO CUTS OFF HER OWN HEAD

 

One day Parvati went to bathe in the Mandakini River with her two

attendants, Jaya and Vijaya. After bathing, the great goddess's color

became black because she was sexually aroused. After some time, her

two attendants asked her, "Give us some food. We are hungry." She

replied, "I shall give you food but please wait." After awhile, again

they asked her. She replied, "Please wait, I am thinking about some

matters." Waiting awhile, they implored her, "You are the mother of

the universe. A child asks everything from her mother. The mother

gives her children not only food but also coverings for the body. So

that is why we are praying to you for food. You are known for your

mercy; please give us food." Hearing this, the consort of Shiva told

them that she would give anything when they reached home. But again

her two attendants begged her, "We are overpowered with hunger, O

Mother of the Universe. Give us food so we may be satisfied, O

Merciful One, Bestower of Boons and Fulfiller of Desires."

 

Hearing this true statement, the merciful goddess smiled and severed

her own head. As soon as she severed her head, it fell on the palm of

her left hand. Three bloodstreams emerged from her throat; the left

and right fell respectively into the mouths of her flanking attendants

and the center one fell into her mouth.

 

After performing this, all were satisfied and later returned home.

(From this act) Parvati became known as Chinnamasta.

 

In visual imagery, Chinnamasta is shown standing on the copulating

couple of Kamadeva and Rati, with Rati on the top. They are shown

lying on a lotus.

 

There are two different interpretations of this aspect of

Chinnamasta's iconography. One understands it as a symbol of control

of sexual desire, the other as a symbol of the goddess's embodiment of

sexual energy.

 

The most common interpretation is one where she is believed to be

defeating what Kamadeva and Rati represent, namely sexual desire and

energy. In this school of thought she signifies self-control, believed

to be the hallmark of a successful yogi.

 

The other, quite different interpretation states that the presence of

the copulating couple is a symbol of the goddess being charged by

their sexual energy. Just as a lotus seat is believed to confer upon

the deity seated atop it's qualities of auspiciousness and purity,

Kamadeva and Rati impart to the Goddess standing over them the power

and energy generated by their lovemaking. Gushing up through her body,

this energy spouts out of her headless torso to feed her devotees and

also replenish herself. Significantly here the mating couple is not

opposed to the goddess, but an integral part of the rhythmic flow of

energy making up the Chinnamasta icon.

 

The image of Chinnamasta is a composite one, conveying reality as an

amalgamation of sex, death, creation, destruction and regeneration. It

is stunning representation of the fact that life, sex, and death are

an intrinsic part of the grand unified scheme that makes up the

manifested universe. The stark contrasts in this iconographic

scenario-the gruesome decapitation, the copulating couple, the

drinking of fresh blood, all arranged in a delicate, harmonious

pattern - jolt the viewer into an awareness of the truths that life

feeds on death, is nourished by death, and necessitates death and that

the ultimate destiny of sex is to perpetuate more life, which in turn

will decay and die in order to feed more life. As arranged in most

renditions of the icon, the lotus and the pairing couple appear to

channel a powerful life force into the goddess. The couple enjoying

sex convey an insistent, vital urge to the goddess; they seem to pump

her with energy. And at the top, like an overflowing fountain, her

blood spurts from her severed neck, the life force leaving her, but

streaming into the mouths of her devotes (and into her own mouth as

well) to nourish and sustain them. The cycle is starkly portrayed:

life (the couple making love), death (the decapitated goddess), and

nourishment (the flanking yoginis drinking her blood).

 

6. BHAIRAVI, THE GODDESS OF DECAY

 

Creation and Destruction are two essential aspects of the universe,

which is continually subject to their alternating rhythms. The two are

equally dominant in the world and indeed depend upon each other in

symbiotic fashion. Bhairavi embodies the principle of destruction and

arises or becomes present when the body declines and decays. She is

also evident in self-destructive habits, such as eating tamsic food

(food having a quality associated with ignorance and lust) and

drinking liquor, which wear down the body and mind. She is present, it

is said, in the loss of semen, which weakens males. Anger, jealousy,

and other selfish emotions and actions strengthen Bhairavi's presence

in the world. Righteous behavior, conversely, makes her weaker. In

short, she is an ever-present goddess who manifests herself in, and

embodies, the destructive aspects of the world. Destruction, however,

is not always negative, creation cannot continue without it. This is

most clear in the process of nourishment and metabolism, in which life

feeds on death; creation proceeds by means of transformed energy given

up in destruction.

 

Bhairavi is also identified with Kalaratri, a name often associated

with Kali that means "black night (of destruction)" and refers to a

particularly destructive aspect of Kali.

 

She is also identified with Mahapralaya, the great dissolution at the

end of a cosmic cycle, during which all things, having been consumed

with fire, are dissolved in the formless waters of procreation. She is

the force that tends toward dissolution. This force, furthermore,

which is actually Bhairavi herself, is present in each person as one

gradually ages, weakens and finally dies. Destruction is apparent

everywhere, and therefore Bhairavi is present everywhere.

 

A commentary on the Parashurama-kalpasutra says that the name Bhairavi

is derived from the words bharana (to create), ramana (to protect),

and vamana (to emit or disgorge). The commentator, that is, seeks to

discern the inner meaning of Bhairavi's name by identifying her with

the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction.

 

(Continued ...)