2021-07-11 19:11:50
Dasa Mahavidya - The 10 aspects of Adi Parashakti
In Tantra, the worship of Devi or Shakti is called Vidya (lit. Knowledge - Wisdom). Among the countless tantric practices, the cult of the ten major Shakti is called Dasa Mahavidya. These ten aspects of Shakti are the personification of the whole creation.
The Mahavidyas are considered Tantric in nature and are usually identified as:
Kali: The ultimate form of Brahman, "Devourer of Time".
Tara: The Goddess as Guide and Protector, or Who Saves. Who offers the ultimate knowledge which gives salvation (also known as Neel Saraswati).
Shodashi or Lalita Tripurasundari: The Goddess Who is "Beautiful in the Three Worlds"; the "Tantric Parvati" or the "Moksha Mukta".
Bhuvaneshvari: The Goddess as World Mother, or whose body is the cosmos.
Bhairavi: The Fierce Goddess.
Chinnamasta: The self-decapitated Goddess.
Dhumavati: The Widow Goddess, or the Goddess of death.
Bagalamukhi: The Goddess who paralyzes enemies.
Matangi: The Prime Minister of Lalita; the "Tantric Saraswati".
Kamala: The Lotus Goddess; the "Tantric Lakshmi".
History of the origins of the Ten Mahavidyas
Sati, the consort of Shiva was the daughter of Daksha Prajapati, a descendant of Brahma. Sati had married Shiva against the wishes of his father who considered him low-ranking and not civilized. Daksha then performed a great Yajña with the sole purpose of insulting Shiva, invited all the gods and goddesses, except her son-in-law, Sadashiva.
Sati learned of the Yajña of his father Daksha from Narada Muni. He asked permission to Shiva to attend the Yajña, saying that a daughter did not need an invitation from her father. Shiva said that Daksha was trying to insult him, and so even if Sati was present in the Yajña, the fruit of the sacrifice would not have been a good omen. So he ordered Sati not to go to the Yajña.
Sati was furious and annoyed by this refusal and showed Shiva her form of Adi Parashakti, the Divine Mother. The oceans raged, the mountains trembled and the atmosphere filled with the wonder of its shape.
Shiva began to tremble and tried to escape. But in every direction he tried to escape, the Divine Mother stopped him. The Divine Mother had multiplied in ten different forms, guarding each of the ten directions by blocking every escape route to Shiva.
After seeing so powerful Shaktis around him, Shiva asked, "Who are you? Where is my Sati? " The answer was: "I am your Sati, the furious forms all around you are my ten different incarnations, do not be afraid of them. At this point, Shiva had no other way but to allow Sati to go and see the Yajña.
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