Matrikas
Encyclopedia
Matrikas also called Matara (Sanskrit: ) and Matris , are a group of Hindu
goddesses
who are always depicted together. Since they are usually depicted as a heptad, they are called Saptamatrikas (Sanskrit: , , "seven mothers"): Brahmani
, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi
and Chamunda
or Narasimhi. However, they may sometimes be eight (Ashtamatrikas: , , "eight mothers"). Whereas in South India Saptamatrika worship is prevalent, the Ashtamatrika are venerated in Nepal
.
The Matrikas assume paramount significance in the goddess-oriented sect of Hinduism
, Tantrism
. In Shaktism
, they are "described as assisting the great Shakta Devi
(goddess) in her fight with demons." Some scholars consider them Shaiva goddesses. They are also connected with the worship of warrior god Skanda
.
In most early references, the Matrikas are described as having inauspicious qualities and often described as dangerous. They come to play a protective role in later mythology, although some of their inauspicious and wild characteristics still persist in these accounts. Thus, "they represent the prodigiously fecund aspect of nature as well as its destructive force aspect".
The 6th century encyclopedia Brihat-Samhita, Varahamihira
says that “Mothers are to be made with cognizance of [different major Hindu] gods corresponding to their names.” They are associated with these gods as their spouses or their energies (Shakti
s). Originally believed to be a personification of the seven stars of the star cluster the Pleiades
, they became quite popular by the seventh century and a standard feature of goddess temples from the ninth century onwards.
(IX 102.4) speaks of a group of seven Mothers who control the preparation of Soma
, but the earliest clear description appears in some layers of during the epic Mahabharata
(dated to 1st century AD). Wangu believes that Matrika description in Mahabharata, is rooted in the group of seven females depicted on Indus valley seals. It was assumed that the people locally worshipped these goddesses, such an example is also described in Zimmer Heinrich book The Art Of Indian Asia, about the seven shrines of seven Mother Goddesses worshipped locally. By the fifth century, all these goddesses were incorporated in mainstream orthodox Hinduism as Tantric deities. David Kinsley proposes that the Matrikas may be non-Aryan
or at least non-Brahmanical (orthodox Hinduism), local village goddesses, who were being assimilated in the mainstream. He cites two reasons for his assertion: their description in Mahabharata as dark in colour, speaking foreign languages and living in "peripheral areas" and their association with non-Brahmanical god Skanda and his father, Shiva, who though Vedic has non-Brahmanical attributes. Sara L. Schastok suggests that Matrikas maybe inspired by the concept of Yaksha
s, who are associated with Skanda
and Kubera
- both are often portrayed with the Matrikas.
In contrast to Indus valley origins theory, Bhattacharyya notes:
The Sapta-Matrikas were earlier connected with Skanda (Kumara) and in later times, associated with the sect of Shiva himself.
During the Kushana period (1st to 3rd century), the sculptural images of the matrikas first appear in stone. The Kushana images merged from the belief in Balagraha (lit "destroyers of children") worship related to conception, birth, diseases and protection of children. The Balagraha tradition included the worship of the infant Skanda with the Matrikas. The goddesses were considered as personifications of perils, related to children and thus, were pacified by worship. The Kushana images emphasize the maternal as well as destructive characteristics of the Matrikas through their emblems and weapons. They appear to be an undifferentiated sculptural group but develop in standard and complex iconographic representation during the following Gupta period.
In the Gupta
period (3rd to 6th century A.D.), folk images of Matrikas became important in villages. The diverse folk goddesses of the soldiers like Matrikas were acknowledged by the Gupta rulers and their images were carved on royal monuments in order to strengthen the loyalty and adherence of the armed forces. The Gupta kings Skandagupta
and Kumaragupta I (c. second half of fifth century) made Skanda (Kumara) their model and elevated the position of Skanda's foster mothers, the Matrikas from a cluster of folk goddesses to court goddesses. Since the fourth century; Parhari, Madhya Pradesh
had a rock-cut shrine been solely devoted to the Sapta Matrika.
The Western Ganga Dynasty (350-1000 CE) kings of Karnataka
built many Hindu temples along with saptamatrika carvings and memorials, containing sculptural details of saptamatrikas. The evidence of Matrika sculptures is further pronounced in the Gurjara–Patiharas
(8th to 10th century A.D.) and Chandella period (8th to 12th century A.D.). The Chalukyas claimed to have been nursed by the Sapta Matrikas. It was a popular practice to link South Indian royal family lineage to a Northern kingdom in ancient times. During the Chalukya period (11th to 13th century), all Matrikas continued to figure among the deity sculptures of this period.
The Kadambas
and Early Chalukyas from the fifth century praise the Matrikas in their preambles, as giver of powers to defeat enemies.
In most of the relevant texts, their exact number has not been specified, but gradually their number and names became increasingly crystallized and seven goddesses were identified as matrikas, albeit some references indicate eight or even sixteen Matrikas.
Laura Kristine Chamberlain (now Laura K. Amazzone) cites:
The iconographical features of the Matrikas have been described in Hindu scriptures such as Puranas and Agamas
and the epic Mahabharata
. Puranas like Varaha Purana
, Agni Purana
, Matsya Purana
, Vishnudharmottara Purana
and Devi Mahatmya
, a part of Markandeya Purana
as well as Agamas such as Amsumadbhedagama, Surabhedagama, Purvakarnagama and Rupamandana describe the Matrikas.
The Ashta-Matrika or Ashta-Matara as described in Devi Mahatmya
is given below.
Though the first six are unanimously accepted by texts, the name and features of the seventh and eighth Matrika are disputed. In Devi-Mahatmya, Chamunda is omitted after the Saptamatrika list, while in sculpture in shrines or caves and the Mahabharata, Narasimhi is omitted. The Varaha Purana names Yami - the Shakti of Yama, as the seventh and Yogishwari as the eighth Matrika, created by flames emerging from Shiva's mouth. In Nepal, the eighth Matrika is called Maha-Lakshmi or Lakshmi is added omitting Narasimhi. In lists of nine Matrikas, Devi-Purana mentions Gananayika or Vinayaki - the Shakti of Ganesha
, characterized by her elephant head and ability to remove obstacles like Ganesha and Mahabharavi omitting Narasimhi.
There are several Puranic texts related to the origin of Matrikas. Matsya Purana
, Vamana Purana
, Varaha Purana
, Kurma Purana
and the Suprabhedagama contain references to Matrikas, and this asserts their antiquity.
According to the Shumbha-Nishumbha
story of Devi Mahatmya
, Matrikas appear as Shakti
s from the bodies of the gods - Brahma, Shiva, Skanda, Vishnu, Indra; having form of each, approached Chandi
ka (identified with Ambika and Devi) with whatever form, ornaments and vehicle the god possessed. In that form, they slaughter the demon army. Thus, the Matrikas are goddesses of the battlefield. They are described as assistants of Durga having sinister as well as propitious characteristics. After the battle, the Matrikas dance drunk with their victim's blood. This description is repeated with little variation in Devi Bhagavata Purana. and Vamana Purana. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana
mentions three other goddesses, Shaktis of other gods in addition to Saptamatrikas making a group of 10 Matrikas.
According to latter episode of Devi Mahatmya, Durga created Matrikas from herself and with their help slaughtered the demon army. In this version, Kali
is described as a Matrika, who sucked all the blood of demon Raktabija. Kali is given the epithet Chamunda
in the text. When demon Shumbha challenges Durga to a single combat, she absorbs the Matrikas in herself and says that they are her different forms. In the Vamana Purana too, the Matrikas arise from different parts of Devi and not from male gods although they are described and named after the male deities.
In Matsya Purana, Shiva had created seven Matrikas to combat the demon Andhaka, who had the ability to duplicate from each drop of his blood that falls from him when he is wounded. The Matrikas drink up his blood and help Shiva defeat the demon. After the battle, the Matrikas begin a rampage of destruction by starting to devour other gods, demons and peoples of the world. Narasimha
, Vishnu's man-lion incarnation, creates a host of thirty-two benign goddesses who calm down the terrible, fire-breathing Matrikas. Narasimha commanded the Matrikas to protect the world, instead of destroying it and thus be worshipped by mankind. At the end of the episode, Shiva's terrible form Bhairava
is enshrined with the images of the Matrikas at the place where the battle took place. This story is retold in Vishnudharmottara Purana. Vishnudharmottara Purana further relates them with vices or inauspicious emotions like envy, pride, anger etc.
In Varaha Purana, they are created from the distracted mind of goddess Vaishnavi, who loses her concentration while doing asceticism. They are described as lovely and act as the goddesses' attendants on the battlefield. In Bhagavata Purana
, when beings created by Vishnu are enlisted; the Matrikas are listed with rakshasas (demons), bhutas (ghosts), pretas, dakini
s and other dangerous beings. In the same text, milkmaids offer a prayer for protection of the infant-god Krishna
from the Matrikas.
The Devi Purana(6th - 10th century) mentions a group of sixteen matrikas and six other types of Matrikas mentioned, apart from the Saptamatrikas. It introduces the Loka-matara (mothers of the world), a term used in the Mahabharata, in the very first chapter. Kind to all creatures, the Matrikas are said to reside in various places for the benefit of children. The text paradoxically describes the Matrikas as being created by various gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra as well as being their mothers. Devi Purana describe a pentad of Matrikas, who help Ganesha
to kill demons. Further, sage Mandavya is described as worshipping the (the five mothers) named Ambika (Kaumari), Rudrani, Chamunda, Brahmi and Vaishnavi and who have been established by Brahma
; for saving king Harishchandra
from calamities. The Matrikas direct the sage to perform worship of (interpreted as a Yantra
or Mandala
or a circular shrine to the Matrikas), established by Vishnu
on the Vindhya mountains, by meat and ritual sacrifice.
(the son of Shiva and Parvati
) and his association with the Matrikas - his adopted mothers.
In one version, Indra
(king of demi-gods) sends the goddesses called "mothers of the world" to kill him. However, upon seeing Skanda, instead they follow their maternal instincts and raise him. In the chapter Vana-parva version, the Saptamatrikas are mentioned. Later in the Mahabharata; when absorption of these indigenous goddesses in the Brahmanic pantheon was initiated, a standardized group of seven goddesses - the Saptamatrikas, Shaktis or powers of Brahmanic gods are mentioned as Brahmi, Maheshvari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda.
In other accounts of Skanda's birth in Mahabharata, eight ferocious goddesses emerge from Skanda, when struck by Indra's Vajra
(thunderbolt). These are Kāki, Halimā, Mālinī, , Āryā, Palālā and Vaimitrā, which Skanda accepted as his mothers, who stole other children - a characteristic of the Matrikas.
Another account mentions the Maha-matrikas (the great mothers), a group of the wives of six of the Saptarishis (7 great sages), who were accused of being Skanda's real mothers and thus abandoned by their husbands. They request Skanda to adopt them as his mothers. Skanda agrees and grants them two boons: to be worshipped as great goddesses and permission to torment children til they are younger than 16 years and then act as their protectors. These six goddesses as well as the Saptamatrikas are identified or associated with Vedic
Krittika
s, the constellation Pleiades
.
The Shalya Parva of the Mahabharata mentions characteristics of a host of Matrikas, who serve Skanda. Ninety-two of them are named but the text says there exist more. The Shalya Parva describes them as young, cheerful, most of them fair but having dangerous features like long nails and large teeth. They are said to fight like Indra in battles, invoking terror in minds of enemies; speak different foreign tongues and lives in inaccessible places away from human settlements like crossroads, caves, mountains, springs, forests, riverbanks and cremation grounds. Notable among these lists of Matrikas is Putana
, a demoness who tried to kill the infant Krishna
(an incarnation of Vishnu) by suckling him with poisoned breast milk and consequently killed by Krishna.
The textual description of Matrikas is generally awesome, frightening and ferocious. In the Mahabharata
, all the seven mothers are described as fatal or serve as threats to foetuses or infants. They are described as living in trees, crossroads, caves and funeral grounds and they are terrible as well as beautiful. But, in the sculptural portrayal, they are depicted quite differently as protectors and benevolent mothers. They are armed with the same weapons, wear the same ornaments, and ride the same vahanas and carry the same banners as their corresponding male deities.
The Saptamatrkas are generally carved in relief on a rectangular stone slab in the sequential order of Brahmani, Maheshvari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda, being flanked
by two male figures - a terrible form of Shiva
(Virabhadra
) and his son Ganesha
in both sides (first - on their right and last - on their left). Thus, the Matrikas are considered Saivite goddesses. They are often depicted on the lintel slabs of the main door of a Shiva temple - mainly in Jaunsar-Bawar region, with their respective mounts forming the pedestal. Sometimes, they are occupied by the couple Uma-Maheshvara (Parvati
and Shiva). The earliest instance of their portrayal with Uma-Maheshvara is at Desha Bhattarika, Nepal although now the Matrika images have withered away. The 12th century Sanskrit author Kalhana
mentions worship of Matrikas with Shiva in Kashmir
, his work Rajatarangini
.
Three panels of Saptamatrikas appear near the Shiva cave at Udayagiri, Bhopal. They are also depicted in the Shaiva caves of Elephanta
and Ellora (Caves 21, 14, 16 and 22). In sixth century Rameshvara cave (Cave 21) at Ellora, "With the terrific aspect repressed entirely, the matrikas are depicted as benign and are worshipped in adulation. Sensuous, elegant, tender, beautiful adolescents, they are yet haughty and grand, quintessentially the creatrix." Karrtikkeyi (Kumari) is depicted with a child on her lap and even Varahi is depicted with a human head, rather than the usual boar one. In Ravana-ka-kai cave (Cave 14), each of the matrikas is with a child. In eighth century Kailash Temple (cave 16) - dedicated to Shiva
- of Rashtrakuta
period, the Matrikas appear on the southern boundary of the temple. As the influence of Tantra
rose, the fertility area and upper parts of body in the Matrika sculptures were stressed.
In each of the four depictions at Ellora, the matrikas are accompanied by Virabhadra, Ganesha and also on their left (besides Ganesha) by Kala (Time personified or Death). The presence of Kala in form of a skeleton, seems to indicate the darker aspect of the matrikas' nature. At Osian, the Matrikas is flanked by Ganesha and Kubera
(the treasurer of the gods and a devotee of Shiva) while Virabhadra sits in the middle of the group. In Gupta and post-Gupta art, like in 6th Century caves of Shamalaji, the Matrikas are accompanied by Shiva's son Skanda
.
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Often the Matrikas are confused with the Yogini
s, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses. In Sanskrit literature the Yoginis have been represented as the attendants or various manifestations of goddess Durga
engaged in fighting with the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha, and the principal Yoginis are identified with the Matrikas. Other Yoginis are described as born from one or more Matrikas. The derivation of sixty-four Yoginis from eight Matrikas became a common tradition, by mid- 11th century. The Mandala
(circle) and chakra
of Yoginis were used alternatively. The eighty-one Yoginis evolve from a group of nine Matrikas, instead of seven or eight. The Saptamatrika (Brahmi, Maheshvari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda) joined by Chandi
ka and Mahalakshmi form the nine Matrika cluster. Each Matrika is considered to be a Yogini and is associated with eight other Yoginis resulting in the troupe of eighty-one (nine times nine). Thus, Yoginis are considered as manifestations or daughters of the Matrikas. The yoginis also occupy an important place in Tantra
, one of their chief temples in India are in 'Ranipur-Jharial' and the 'Chaushathi Jogini' (the 64 yoginis) temple near Bhubaneswar
, Orissa
.
The rise of Yogini cult is also analogous to the rise of the Matrikas' cult. Bhattacharyya sums it this way:
alphabet. First is the (A) group which contains the vowel
s, then the (Ka), (Cha), (Ta), (ta), (Pa), (Ya) and (Ksha) groups. The seven mother goddesses (Saptamatrikas) correspond to the seven consonant
groups; when the vocalic (A) group is added, the eight mother goddesses (Ashtamatrikas) are obtained.
The Shaktas hold that the Mothers preside over impurities (mala) and over sounds of the language. The Mothers were identified with fourteen vowels plus the anusarva and visarga - making their number sixteen.
In Tantra
, the fifty or fifty-one letters including vowels as well as consonants from A to Ksha, of the Devanagari
alphabet itself, the Varnamala of bija
, have been described as being the Matrikas themselves. It is believed that they are infused with the power of the Divine Mother herself. The Matrikas are considered to be the subtle form of the letters (varna). These letters combined make up syllables (pada) which are combined to make sentences (vakya) and it is of these elements that mantra
is composed. It is believed that the power of mantra derives from the fact that the letters of the alphabet are in fact forms of the goddess.
Sometimes, the Matrikas represent a diagram written in the letter, believed to possess magical powers.
According to Leslie C. Orr, the Saptamatrika, who first appeared in South India in the eighth century, had once temples dedicated exclusively to them, but the ninth century onwards, they were demoted to status of "deities of the entourage" (parivara devata) of Shiva. Their images moved from the sanctums to corners of temple complexes and now they are as guardian deities in small village shrines. The Saptamatrikas are worshipped as Saptakanyakas (the celestial nymphs) in most South Indian Shiva temples. But the Selliyamman temple at Alambakkam in Tiruchirapalli district (In 1909 called Trichonopoly district) is important in worship of the Matrikas. Here once stood a temple dedicated to the Saptamatrika, which was replaced by the present temple.
In India, shrines of the Saptamatrikas are located in "the wilderness", usually near lakes or rivers, and are made of seven vermilion smeared stones. It is believed that the Matrikas kill fetuses and newborns unless pacified with bridal finery and prayers by women. Devdutt Pattanaik says: "The cult of the Seven Mothers is found all over India. ... Pregnant women and nursing mothers worship them. When these goddesses are angry, they make women barren and strike newborns with fatal fevers. When they are appeased, they ensure the health and happiness of children." A prominent Saptamatrika temple
is located near Baitarani River
,in Jajpur.
The Saptamatrika images are worshipped by women on Pithori - new moon day, with the 64 yoginis represented by rice flour images or supari nuts. The goddesses are worshipped by ceremonial offerings of fruit and flower and mantras.
. The Astha matrika are considered as Ajima
s (grandmother goddesses, who are feared as bringer of disease and misfortune as well act as protectresses) in the Newar
pantheon. Temples (pithas i.e. seats) of the ashta matrika built in and around Kathmandu are considered powerful places of worship.
The pithas are usually open-air shrines, but may be closed structures too. In these pithas, the Matrikas are worshipped with their followers (gana
s) in form of stone statues or natural stones, while in dyochems (god-houses) in towns and villages, they are represented in brass images. The brass images (utsav-murtis) are paraded around town and placed at their respective pithas once every year. Like Vishnudharmottara Purana (discussed in Legends), the Matrikas are considered as representing a vice and are worshipped by pithapuja (a pilgrimage around the pithas) to free oneself from them. Though each pitha is primarily dedicated to a Matrika, the other Matrikas are also worshipped as subordinate deities. The pithas, which are "theoretically located at the outer boundaries of the city" are said to form a protective mandala
around the city and assisted to a certain compass point. In other temples like the ones dedicated to Pacali Bhairava, the Asthamatrikas are worshipped as a circle of stones. In Bhaktapur
, the Ashtamatrikas are believed to the preserver goddesses of the city guarding the eight geometrical directions. Mary Sluser says "Not only do the guard the compass points but they are also regarded as regents of the sky." Sometimes, they are paired with the Ashtabhairava ("Eight Bhairava
s) and sculpted on temple roofs or terraces. Nepali Buddhists worship the Matrikas as described in Dharanisamgrahas.
The Malla
king of Nepal Srinivasa Malla built the Patan durbar (court) in 1667 AD and is believed to have seen the Matrikas dance in the durbar one night. The king ordered that the Ashta-matrika be worshipped during the Ashwin Navaratri and cost is defrayed by the durbar. The custom continues til this day. Another festival Ghorajatra is celebrated in Patan with animal sacrifices to the Matrikas.
In the Kathmandu valley of Nepal, the Ashta-matrikas with a central village goddess are worshipped as protectors of the city or town. They are identified with the guardians of directions (digpala), places (lokapala) or lands (kshatrapala), satiated by blood sacrifice. Newar Buddhists associate the Matrikas with 24 human qualities, which can mastered by visiting three sets of eight Matrika pithas.
_in_panchalingeshvara_temple_at_govindanahalli.jpg)
The 7th century Sanskrit
author Banabhatta
mentions the propitiation of Matrikas by a Tantric ascetic in his Harshacharita. The text mentions use of (mandala
of the Matrikas) or Yantra
along with a special anusthana (ritual) to cure the ailing king. The text describes "young nobles [..](of the king) burning themselves with lamps to propitiate the Matrikas in a temple dedicated to the Matrikas (). Banabhatta's Kadambari
, Bhasa
's Cārudatta, Shudraka
's Mrichakatika mention the ritual offerings of food and shrines of Matrikas at crossroads
. Other offerings include flowers and clothes and meat and wine for some Matrikas. Tantric works like Tantrarāja-Tantra (unknown date, author) and discuss the worship of Matrikas as Shaktis or letters of the alphabet. A process of this worship, Matrika-nyasa (lit. "installation of the Mothers"), is described in Devi Gita, part of Devi Bhagavata Purana. It involves installation of powers of Matrikas - as letters of the alphabet - in one's body, by "feeling the deity worshipped in different parts of the body" like head, face, anus and legs and reciting mantra
s. The Hrillekha-matrika-nyasa, a more specialized form of Matrika-nyasa, combines the installation of "most powerful set of all letters (Matrikas)" with the seed syllable of Goddess Bhuvaneshvari.
Stone inscriptions of Tantric worship of The Matrikas are found in Gangadhar, Rajasthan
(by king Vishvavarman- 423 C.E., identified as the first epigraphic evidence of Tantra worship); in Bihar
(by Guptas - fifth century) and in Deogarh
, Uttar Pradesh
(by - sixth century). The Gangadhar inscripture deals with a construction to a shrine to Chamunda and the other Matrikas, "who are attended by Dakini
s (female demons)" and rituals of daily Tantric worship (Tantrobhuta) like the ritual of Bali (offering of grain).
The eight Matrikas are said to reside the second line of bhupura in Sri Chakra
. They are frequently aligned with the Eight Bhairava
s, as in . The (1.33) explains that the primary function of Matrikas is to preside eight groups (vargas) of letters of Devanagari alphabet, while Brahmayāmala states they issue originate from the vowels.
(13.66) recommends worship to Matrikas before setting up the stage and before dance performances. Indra declares in chapter 90 of Devi Purana that the Matrikas are the best among all deities and should be worshipped in cities, villages, towns and shields. Matrikas are generally to be worshipped on all occasions with Navagraha
(the nine planets) and the Dikpala (Guardians of the directions
) and at night with the Goddess.
The Matsya Purana and Devi Purana prescribe that Matrika shrines should be north-facing and be placed in northern part of a temple-complex. The temples of the Matrikas are found earliest dating to the fourth century and from textual evidence, it is predicated that "there must be impressive shrines all over the [Indian] subcontinent". Although circular Mandalas and Chakras are mentioned in religious texts, most existing shrines are rectangular in nature. Pal speculates that earlier circular shrines, which open to the sky or under trees of less durable material were replaced by the Guptas in stone as rectangular shrines.
The Devi Purana mentions the Matrikas or Deva Shaktis (powers of the gods) as group of seven or more, who should be worshipped for Mukti (liberation) by all, but particularly kings for powers of domination. The Saptamatrika are worshipped for "personal and spiritual renewal" with Mukti as the ultimate goal as well as for powers to control and rule and earthly desires (Bhukti). Also important are the banners of the Saptamatrikas, which are carved outside the Udayagiri caves. These banners are called "Indra's sisters" in the Devi Purana. The Purana lists them as: swan, bull, peacock, conch, discus, elephant and skleton - attributes of the Matrikas. A king installing these banners is believed to get mukti and bhukti. As per the Nitisara, Matrikas acted as the king's tangible Shaktis and conferred the power to conquer and rule.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
goddesses
Hindu deities
Within Hinduism a large number of personal gods are worshipped as murtis. These beings are either aspects of the supreme Brahman, Avatars of the supreme being, or significantly powerful entities known as devas. The exact nature of belief in regards to each deity varies between differing Hindu...
who are always depicted together. Since they are usually depicted as a heptad, they are called Saptamatrikas (Sanskrit: , , "seven mothers"): Brahmani
Brahmani
In Hinduism, Brahmani is a kind and benevolent aspect of Devi, the Divine mother. Brahmani is associated with the Hindu creator god, Brahma as His consort or Shakti . She is one of the seven Mother Goddesses called Matrikas.-As Kuldevi:Many Kshatriya clans consider Her to be their Kuldevi...
, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi
Varahi
Varahi is one of the Matrikas, a group of seven or eight mother goddesses in the Hindu religion. With the head of a sow, Varahi is the shakti of Varaha, the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu...
and Chamunda
Chamunda
Chamunda , also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas . She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga...
or Narasimhi. However, they may sometimes be eight (Ashtamatrikas: , , "eight mothers"). Whereas in South India Saptamatrika worship is prevalent, the Ashtamatrika are venerated in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
.
The Matrikas assume paramount significance in the goddess-oriented sect of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Tantrism
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
. In Shaktism
Shaktism
Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that focuses worship upon Shakti or Devi – the Hindu Divine Mother – as the absolute, ultimate Godhead...
, they are "described as assisting the great Shakta Devi
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
(goddess) in her fight with demons." Some scholars consider them Shaiva goddesses. They are also connected with the worship of warrior god Skanda
Murugan
Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
.
In most early references, the Matrikas are described as having inauspicious qualities and often described as dangerous. They come to play a protective role in later mythology, although some of their inauspicious and wild characteristics still persist in these accounts. Thus, "they represent the prodigiously fecund aspect of nature as well as its destructive force aspect".
The 6th century encyclopedia Brihat-Samhita, Varahamihira
Varahamihira
Varāhamihira , also called Varaha or Mihira, was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain...
says that “Mothers are to be made with cognizance of [different major Hindu] gods corresponding to their names.” They are associated with these gods as their spouses or their energies (Shakti
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
s). Originally believed to be a personification of the seven stars of the star cluster the Pleiades
Pleiades (star cluster)
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...
, they became quite popular by the seventh century and a standard feature of goddess temples from the ninth century onwards.
Origins and development
According to Jagdish Narain Tiwari and Dilip Chakravati, the Matrikas were existent as early as the Vedic period and the Indus Valley civilization. Coins with rows of seven feminine deities or priestesses are cited as evidence for the theory. A Hindu text known as the RigvedaRigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
(IX 102.4) speaks of a group of seven Mothers who control the preparation of Soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
, but the earliest clear description appears in some layers of during the epic Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
(dated to 1st century AD). Wangu believes that Matrika description in Mahabharata, is rooted in the group of seven females depicted on Indus valley seals. It was assumed that the people locally worshipped these goddesses, such an example is also described in Zimmer Heinrich book The Art Of Indian Asia, about the seven shrines of seven Mother Goddesses worshipped locally. By the fifth century, all these goddesses were incorporated in mainstream orthodox Hinduism as Tantric deities. David Kinsley proposes that the Matrikas may be non-Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
or at least non-Brahmanical (orthodox Hinduism), local village goddesses, who were being assimilated in the mainstream. He cites two reasons for his assertion: their description in Mahabharata as dark in colour, speaking foreign languages and living in "peripheral areas" and their association with non-Brahmanical god Skanda and his father, Shiva, who though Vedic has non-Brahmanical attributes. Sara L. Schastok suggests that Matrikas maybe inspired by the concept of Yaksha
Yaksha
Yaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is ' or Yakshini .In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology,...
s, who are associated with Skanda
Murugan
Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
and Kubera
Kubera
Kubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...
- both are often portrayed with the Matrikas.
In contrast to Indus valley origins theory, Bhattacharyya notes:
[The] cult of the Female Principle was a major aspect of Dravidian religion, The concept of Shakti was an integral part of their religion [...] The cult of the Sapta Matrika, or Seven Divine Mothers, which is an integral part of the Shakta religion, may be of Dravidian inspiration.
The Sapta-Matrikas were earlier connected with Skanda (Kumara) and in later times, associated with the sect of Shiva himself.
During the Kushana period (1st to 3rd century), the sculptural images of the matrikas first appear in stone. The Kushana images merged from the belief in Balagraha (lit "destroyers of children") worship related to conception, birth, diseases and protection of children. The Balagraha tradition included the worship of the infant Skanda with the Matrikas. The goddesses were considered as personifications of perils, related to children and thus, were pacified by worship. The Kushana images emphasize the maternal as well as destructive characteristics of the Matrikas through their emblems and weapons. They appear to be an undifferentiated sculptural group but develop in standard and complex iconographic representation during the following Gupta period.
In the Gupta
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
period (3rd to 6th century A.D.), folk images of Matrikas became important in villages. The diverse folk goddesses of the soldiers like Matrikas were acknowledged by the Gupta rulers and their images were carved on royal monuments in order to strengthen the loyalty and adherence of the armed forces. The Gupta kings Skandagupta
Skandagupta
Skandagupta was a Gupta Emperor of northern India. He is generally considered the last of the great Gupta Emperors.-Rule:Skandagupta's antecedents remain unclear. Later official genealogies omit his name, and even the inscriptions of his own age omit the name of his mother...
and Kumaragupta I (c. second half of fifth century) made Skanda (Kumara) their model and elevated the position of Skanda's foster mothers, the Matrikas from a cluster of folk goddesses to court goddesses. Since the fourth century; Parhari, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
had a rock-cut shrine been solely devoted to the Sapta Matrika.
The Western Ganga Dynasty (350-1000 CE) kings of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
built many Hindu temples along with saptamatrika carvings and memorials, containing sculptural details of saptamatrikas. The evidence of Matrika sculptures is further pronounced in the Gurjara–Patiharas
Pratihara
The Gurjara Pratihara , often simply called Pratihara Empire, was an imperial Indian dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the 6th to the 11th centuries. At its peak of prosperity and power , the Gurajara-Pratihara Empire rivaled or even exceeded the Gupta Empire in the extent of its...
(8th to 10th century A.D.) and Chandella period (8th to 12th century A.D.). The Chalukyas claimed to have been nursed by the Sapta Matrikas. It was a popular practice to link South Indian royal family lineage to a Northern kingdom in ancient times. During the Chalukya period (11th to 13th century), all Matrikas continued to figure among the deity sculptures of this period.
The Kadambas
Kadambas
The Kadamba Dynasty was an ancient royal family of Karnataka that ruled from Banavasi in present day Uttara Kannada district. The dynasty later continued to rule as a feudatory of larger Kannada empires, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta empires for over five hundred years during which time they...
and Early Chalukyas from the fifth century praise the Matrikas in their preambles, as giver of powers to defeat enemies.
In most of the relevant texts, their exact number has not been specified, but gradually their number and names became increasingly crystallized and seven goddesses were identified as matrikas, albeit some references indicate eight or even sixteen Matrikas.
Laura Kristine Chamberlain (now Laura K. Amazzone) cites:
The inconsistency in the number of Matrikas found in the valley [Indus] today (seven, eight, or nine) possibly reflects the localization of goddesses [.] Although the Matrikas are mostly grouped as seven goddesses over the rest of the Indian Subcontinent, an eighth Matrikas has sometimes been added in Nepal to represent the eight cardinal directions. In BhaktapurBhaktapurBhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...
, a city in the Kathmandu Valley, a ninth Matrika is added to the set to represent the center.
Iconography
Āgama (Hinduism)
Agama means, in the Hindu context, "a traditional doctrine, or system which commands faith".In Hinduism, the Agamas are a collection of Sanskrit scriptures which are revered and followed by millions of Hindus.-Significance:...
and the epic Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. Puranas like Varaha Purana
Varaha Purana
The Varaha Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It describes in detail about the Varaha incarnation of Vishnu, and narrates about the rescue of the Prithvi.-Contents:...
, Agni Purana
Agni Purana
The Agni Purana, one of the 18 Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, contains descriptions and details of various incarnations of Vishnu. It also has details account about Rama, Krishna, Prithvi, and the stars...
, Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
, Vishnudharmottara Purana
Vishnudharmottara Purana
The Vishnudharmottara Purana is a Hindu text, encyclopedic in nature. Along with the narratives, it also deals with cosmology, cosmogony, geography, astronomy, astrology, division of time, pacification of unfavourbale planets and stars, genealogies , manners and customs, penances, duties of...
and Devi Mahatmya
Devi Mahatmya
The Devi Mahatmyam or Devi Mahatmya , or "Glory of the Goddess") is a Hindu text describing the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. As part of the Markandeya Purana, it is one of the Puranas or secondary Hindu scriptures, and was composed in Sanskrit around c...
, a part of Markandeya Purana
Markandeya Purana
The Markandeya Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It is written in the style of a dialogue between the ancient sage Markandeya and Jaimini, a disciple of Vyasa.-Contents:...
as well as Agamas such as Amsumadbhedagama, Surabhedagama, Purvakarnagama and Rupamandana describe the Matrikas.
The Ashta-Matrika or Ashta-Matara as described in Devi Mahatmya
Devi Mahatmya
The Devi Mahatmyam or Devi Mahatmya , or "Glory of the Goddess") is a Hindu text describing the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. As part of the Markandeya Purana, it is one of the Puranas or secondary Hindu scriptures, and was composed in Sanskrit around c...
is given below.
- Brahmi or BrahmaniBrahmaniIn Hinduism, Brahmani is a kind and benevolent aspect of Devi, the Divine mother. Brahmani is associated with the Hindu creator god, Brahma as His consort or Shakti . She is one of the seven Mother Goddesses called Matrikas.-As Kuldevi:Many Kshatriya clans consider Her to be their Kuldevi...
is the ShaktiShaktiShakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
(power) of the creator god BrahmaBrahmaBrahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
. She is depicted yellow in colour and with four heads. She may be depicted with four or six arms. Like Brahma, she holds a rosary or noose and kamandaluKamandaluKamandalu or Kamandal or Kamandalam is an oblong water pot made of a dry gourd or coconut shell or metal or wood of Kamandalataru tree or from clay, usually with a handle and sometimes with a spout. Hindu ascetics or yogis often use it for storing drinking water...
(water pot) or lotus stalk or a book or bell and is seated on a HamsaHamsa birdThe Hamsa is an aquatic bird, often considered to be a goose or sometimes a swan. It is used in Indian and Southeast Asian culture as a symbol and a decorative element.-Identification :...
(identified with a swan or goose) as her vahanaVahanaVāhana denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular deva is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vāhana is often called the deity's mount. Upon the partnership between the deva and his vāhana is woven much iconography and mythology...
(mount or vehicle). She is also shown seated on a lotus with the hamsa on her banner. She wears various ornaments and is distinguished by her basket-shaped crown called . - Vaishnavi , the power of the preserver-god VishnuVishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, is described as seated on the GarudaGarudaThe Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
(eagle-man) and having four or six arms. She holds ShankhaShankhaShankha bhasam , also spelled and pronounced as Shankh and Sankha, is a conch shell of ritual and religious importance in Hinduism and Buddhism. It is the shell of a large predatory sea snail,Turbinella pyrum found in the Indian Ocean....
(conch), chakraChakramThe chakram , sometimes called a war quoit, is a throwing weapon from India. Its shape is of a flat metal hoop with a sharp outer edge from in diameter...
(Discus), mace and lotus and bow and sword or her two arms are in varada mudraMudraA mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
(Blessing hand gesture) and abhaya mudra ("No-fear" hand gesture). Like Vishnu, she is heavily adorned with ornaments like necklaces, anklets, earrings, bangles etc. and a cylindrical crown called . - Maheshvari is the power of god ShivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, also known as Maheshvara. Maheshvari is also known by the names Raudri, Rudrani and Maheshi, derived from Shiva's names Rudra and Mahesh. Maheshvari is depicted seated on Nandi (the bull) and has four or six hands. The white complexioned, TrinetraThird eyeThe third eye is a mystical and esoteric concept referring in part to the ajna chakra in certain spiritual traditions. It is also spoken of as the gate that leads within to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness...
(three eyed) goddess holds a TrishulaTrishulaA trishula is a type of Indian trident but also found in Southeast Asia. It is commonly used as a Hindu-Buddhist religious symbol. The word means "three spear" in Sanskrit and Pali....
(trident), DamaruDamaruA damaru or damru is a small two-headed drum shaped like an hourglass. The drum is typically made of wood, with leather drum heads at both ends; the damaru might also be made entirely out of human skulls...
(drum), AkshamalaAkshamalaAkshamala, is a garland of beads, made of pearls, bones, shalagram shila, dried seeds, berries, or sometimes of skulls. It is the attribute of many gods and deities in Hinduism. In general, an Akshamala is composed of fifty beads, corresponding to the characters of Sanskrit alphabet, the 'garland...
(A garland of beads), Panapatra (drinking vessel) or axe or an antelope or a kapalaKapalaA kapala or skullcup is a cup made from a human skull used as a ritual implement in both Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra...
(skull-bowl) or a serpent and is adorned with serpent bracelets, the crescent moon and the (A headdress formed of piled, matted hair). - Aindri, also known as Indrani , Mahendri, Shakri and Vajri, is the power of the IndraIndra' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
, the Lord of the heaven. Seated on a charging elephant, Aindri, is depicted dark-skinned, with two or four or six arms. She is depicted as having two or three or like Indra, a thousand eyes. She is armed with the VajraVajraVajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond...
(thunderbolt), goadGoadThe goad is a traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide lifestock, usually oxen, which are pulling a plough or a cart; used also to round up cattle. It is a type of a long stick with a pointed end, also known as the cattle prod. Though many people are unfamiliar with them today, goads...
, noose and lotus stalk. Adorned with variety of ornaments, she wears the . - Kaumari , also known as Kumari, Karttikeyani and Ambika is the power of Kumara (Kartikeya or Skanda)MuruganMurugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
, the god of war. Kaumari rides a peacock and has four or twelve arms. She holds a spear, axe, a Shakti (power) or Tanka (silver coins) and bow. She is sometimes depicted six-headed like Kumara and wears the cylindrical crown. - VarahiVarahiVarahi is one of the Matrikas, a group of seven or eight mother goddesses in the Hindu religion. With the head of a sow, Varahi is the shakti of Varaha, the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu...
or Vairali is described as the power of VarahaVarahaVaraha is the third Avatar of the Hindu Godhead Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to...
- the boar-headed form of Vishnu or YamaYamaYama , also known as Yamarāja in India and Nepal, Shinje in Tibet, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, Yeomla Daewang in South Korea and Enma Dai-Ō in Japan, is the lord of death, in Hinduism and then adopted into Buddhism and then further into Chinese mythology and Japanese mythology. First...
- the god of death, has a boar head on a human body and rides a ram or a buffalo. She holds a DandaDandaIn the Devanāgarī script, the danda is a punctuation character. The glyph consists of a single vertical stroke. The character can be found at code point U+0964 in Unicode. The "double danda" is at U+0965 . ISCII encodes danda at 0xEA....
(rod of punishment) or plough, goad, a Vajra or a sword, and a Panapatra. Sometimes, she carries a bell, chakra, chamaraFly-whiskA fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures.In Indonesian art, a fly-whisk is one of the items associated with Shiva. The fly-whisk is frequently seen as an attribute of both Hindu, Daoist, and Buddhist deities...
(a yak's tail) and a bow. She wears a crown called with other ornaments. - ChamundaChamundaChamunda , also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas . She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga...
, also known as Chamundi and Charchika is the power of DeviDeviDevī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
(ChandiChandiChandi or Chandika is the supreme Goddess of Devi Mahatmya also known as Chandi or Durga Sapthashati. Chandi is described as the Supreme reality who is a combination of Mahakali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati...
). She is very often identified with KaliKali' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
and is similar in her appearance and habit. The identification with Kali is explicit in Devi Mahatmya. The black coloured Chamunda is described as wearing a garland of severed heads or skulls (Mundamala) and holding a Damaru, trishula, sword and panapatra. Riding a jackal or standing on a corpse of a man (shava or preta), she is described as having three eyes, a terrifying face and a sunken belly. - Narasimhi , power of NarasimhaNarasimhaNarasimha or Nrusimha , also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism...
(lion-man form of Vishnu), is a woman-lion and throws the stars into disarray by shaking her lion mane.
Though the first six are unanimously accepted by texts, the name and features of the seventh and eighth Matrika are disputed. In Devi-Mahatmya, Chamunda is omitted after the Saptamatrika list, while in sculpture in shrines or caves and the Mahabharata, Narasimhi is omitted. The Varaha Purana names Yami - the Shakti of Yama, as the seventh and Yogishwari as the eighth Matrika, created by flames emerging from Shiva's mouth. In Nepal, the eighth Matrika is called Maha-Lakshmi or Lakshmi is added omitting Narasimhi. In lists of nine Matrikas, Devi-Purana mentions Gananayika or Vinayaki - the Shakti of Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
, characterized by her elephant head and ability to remove obstacles like Ganesha and Mahabharavi omitting Narasimhi.
Legends
Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
, Vamana Purana
Vamana Purana
The Vamana Purana, , one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, is devoted to the Vamana Avatar of Vishnu. It has a eulogy praising both Vishnu and Shiva....
, Varaha Purana
Varaha Purana
The Varaha Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It describes in detail about the Varaha incarnation of Vishnu, and narrates about the rescue of the Prithvi.-Contents:...
, Kurma Purana
Kurma Purana
-Contents:The printed editions of this text are divided into two s , the and the . The has 53 chapters and the has 46 chapters.According to the tradition, the originally consisted of four s : the , the , the and the . The extant text would correspond to the .The gives a brief overview of...
and the Suprabhedagama contain references to Matrikas, and this asserts their antiquity.
According to the Shumbha-Nishumbha
Sumbha and Nisumbha
In the Hindu text the Devi Mahatmyam, Sumbha and Nisumbha, also spelled as Shumbha and Nishumbha, were two Asuras that confronted, and were ultimately slain by, Devi...
story of Devi Mahatmya
Devi Mahatmya
The Devi Mahatmyam or Devi Mahatmya , or "Glory of the Goddess") is a Hindu text describing the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. As part of the Markandeya Purana, it is one of the Puranas or secondary Hindu scriptures, and was composed in Sanskrit around c...
, Matrikas appear as Shakti
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
s from the bodies of the gods - Brahma, Shiva, Skanda, Vishnu, Indra; having form of each, approached Chandi
Chandi
Chandi or Chandika is the supreme Goddess of Devi Mahatmya also known as Chandi or Durga Sapthashati. Chandi is described as the Supreme reality who is a combination of Mahakali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati...
ka (identified with Ambika and Devi) with whatever form, ornaments and vehicle the god possessed. In that form, they slaughter the demon army. Thus, the Matrikas are goddesses of the battlefield. They are described as assistants of Durga having sinister as well as propitious characteristics. After the battle, the Matrikas dance drunk with their victim's blood. This description is repeated with little variation in Devi Bhagavata Purana. and Vamana Purana. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana
Devi-Bhagavata Purana
Devi-Bhagavata Purana , also known as Shrimad Devi Bhagvatam or Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the most important work in Shaktism, the veneration in Hinduism of the divine feminine, next to Devi Mahatmya...
mentions three other goddesses, Shaktis of other gods in addition to Saptamatrikas making a group of 10 Matrikas.
According to latter episode of Devi Mahatmya, Durga created Matrikas from herself and with their help slaughtered the demon army. In this version, Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
is described as a Matrika, who sucked all the blood of demon Raktabija. Kali is given the epithet Chamunda
Chamunda
Chamunda , also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas . She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga...
in the text. When demon Shumbha challenges Durga to a single combat, she absorbs the Matrikas in herself and says that they are her different forms. In the Vamana Purana too, the Matrikas arise from different parts of Devi and not from male gods although they are described and named after the male deities.
In Matsya Purana, Shiva had created seven Matrikas to combat the demon Andhaka, who had the ability to duplicate from each drop of his blood that falls from him when he is wounded. The Matrikas drink up his blood and help Shiva defeat the demon. After the battle, the Matrikas begin a rampage of destruction by starting to devour other gods, demons and peoples of the world. Narasimha
Narasimha
Narasimha or Nrusimha , also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism...
, Vishnu's man-lion incarnation, creates a host of thirty-two benign goddesses who calm down the terrible, fire-breathing Matrikas. Narasimha commanded the Matrikas to protect the world, instead of destroying it and thus be worshipped by mankind. At the end of the episode, Shiva's terrible form Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
is enshrined with the images of the Matrikas at the place where the battle took place. This story is retold in Vishnudharmottara Purana. Vishnudharmottara Purana further relates them with vices or inauspicious emotions like envy, pride, anger etc.
In Varaha Purana, they are created from the distracted mind of goddess Vaishnavi, who loses her concentration while doing asceticism. They are described as lovely and act as the goddesses' attendants on the battlefield. In Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
, when beings created by Vishnu are enlisted; the Matrikas are listed with rakshasas (demons), bhutas (ghosts), pretas, dakini
Dakini
A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...
s and other dangerous beings. In the same text, milkmaids offer a prayer for protection of the infant-god Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
from the Matrikas.
The Devi Purana(6th - 10th century) mentions a group of sixteen matrikas and six other types of Matrikas mentioned, apart from the Saptamatrikas. It introduces the Loka-matara (mothers of the world), a term used in the Mahabharata, in the very first chapter. Kind to all creatures, the Matrikas are said to reside in various places for the benefit of children. The text paradoxically describes the Matrikas as being created by various gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra as well as being their mothers. Devi Purana describe a pentad of Matrikas, who help Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
to kill demons. Further, sage Mandavya is described as worshipping the (the five mothers) named Ambika (Kaumari), Rudrani, Chamunda, Brahmi and Vaishnavi and who have been established by Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
; for saving king Harishchandra
Harishchandra
Harishchandra, in Hindu religious texts is the 36th king of the Solar Dynasty, Surya Maharishi Gothram . His legend is very popular and often told as a benchmark for an ideal life. He was renowned for his piety and justice. His name is Sanskrit for "having golden splendour".Harishchandra had two...
from calamities. The Matrikas direct the sage to perform worship of (interpreted as a Yantra
Yantra
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....
or Mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
or a circular shrine to the Matrikas), established by Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
on the Vindhya mountains, by meat and ritual sacrifice.
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata narrates in different chapters the birth of warrior-god SkandaMurugan
Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
(the son of Shiva and Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
) and his association with the Matrikas - his adopted mothers.
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
(king of demi-gods) sends the goddesses called "mothers of the world" to kill him. However, upon seeing Skanda, instead they follow their maternal instincts and raise him. In the chapter Vana-parva version, the Saptamatrikas are mentioned. Later in the Mahabharata; when absorption of these indigenous goddesses in the Brahmanic pantheon was initiated, a standardized group of seven goddesses - the Saptamatrikas, Shaktis or powers of Brahmanic gods are mentioned as Brahmi, Maheshvari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda.
In other accounts of Skanda's birth in Mahabharata, eight ferocious goddesses emerge from Skanda, when struck by Indra's Vajra
Vajra
Vajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond...
(thunderbolt). These are Kāki, Halimā, Mālinī, , Āryā, Palālā and Vaimitrā, which Skanda accepted as his mothers, who stole other children - a characteristic of the Matrikas.
Another account mentions the Maha-matrikas (the great mothers), a group of the wives of six of the Saptarishis (7 great sages), who were accused of being Skanda's real mothers and thus abandoned by their husbands. They request Skanda to adopt them as his mothers. Skanda agrees and grants them two boons: to be worshipped as great goddesses and permission to torment children til they are younger than 16 years and then act as their protectors. These six goddesses as well as the Saptamatrikas are identified or associated with Vedic
Vedic
Vedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...
Krittika
Krittika
The star cluster ', sometimes known as Kārtikā, corresponds to the open star cluster Pleiades in Indian astronomy and...
s, the constellation Pleiades
Pleiades (star cluster)
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...
.
The Shalya Parva of the Mahabharata mentions characteristics of a host of Matrikas, who serve Skanda. Ninety-two of them are named but the text says there exist more. The Shalya Parva describes them as young, cheerful, most of them fair but having dangerous features like long nails and large teeth. They are said to fight like Indra in battles, invoking terror in minds of enemies; speak different foreign tongues and lives in inaccessible places away from human settlements like crossroads, caves, mountains, springs, forests, riverbanks and cremation grounds. Notable among these lists of Matrikas is Putana
Putana
In Hindu mythology, Putana is a Rakshasi , who is killed by the infant-god Krishna. Putana is also considered as a foster-mother of Krishna as she breast-fed him, though it was with the motive of killing Krishna by poisoned milk...
, a demoness who tried to kill the infant Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
(an incarnation of Vishnu) by suckling him with poisoned breast milk and consequently killed by Krishna.
Depictions
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, all the seven mothers are described as fatal or serve as threats to foetuses or infants. They are described as living in trees, crossroads, caves and funeral grounds and they are terrible as well as beautiful. But, in the sculptural portrayal, they are depicted quite differently as protectors and benevolent mothers. They are armed with the same weapons, wear the same ornaments, and ride the same vahanas and carry the same banners as their corresponding male deities.
The Saptamatrkas are generally carved in relief on a rectangular stone slab in the sequential order of Brahmani, Maheshvari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda, being flanked
by two male figures - a terrible form of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
(Virabhadra
Virabhadra
According to Hindu mythology, Virabhadra or Veerabhadra was a super being created by the wrath of Rudra , when he stepped in to destroy the Yagna of Daksha, after his daughter Dakshayani - consort of Shiva, self-immolated in yagna fire...
) and his son Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
in both sides (first - on their right and last - on their left). Thus, the Matrikas are considered Saivite goddesses. They are often depicted on the lintel slabs of the main door of a Shiva temple - mainly in Jaunsar-Bawar region, with their respective mounts forming the pedestal. Sometimes, they are occupied by the couple Uma-Maheshvara (Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
and Shiva). The earliest instance of their portrayal with Uma-Maheshvara is at Desha Bhattarika, Nepal although now the Matrika images have withered away. The 12th century Sanskrit author Kalhana
Kalhana
Kalhana , a Kashmiri, was the author of Rajatarangini , an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be deduced from his own writing, a major scholar of which is Mark Aurel Stein...
mentions worship of Matrikas with Shiva in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, his work Rajatarangini
Rajatarangini
The Rājatarangiṇī is a metrical chronicle of North west of the Indian subcontinent particularly the kings of Kashmir from earliest time written in Sanskrit by Kalhaṇa. The Rājatarangiṇī often has been erroneously referred to as the River of the Kings. In reality what Kalhana means by Rājatarangiṇī...
.
Elephanta Island
Elephanta Island is one of a number of islands in Mumbai Harbour, east of Mumbai, India...
and Ellora (Caves 21, 14, 16 and 22). In sixth century Rameshvara cave (Cave 21) at Ellora, "With the terrific aspect repressed entirely, the matrikas are depicted as benign and are worshipped in adulation. Sensuous, elegant, tender, beautiful adolescents, they are yet haughty and grand, quintessentially the creatrix." Karrtikkeyi (Kumari) is depicted with a child on her lap and even Varahi is depicted with a human head, rather than the usual boar one. In Ravana-ka-kai cave (Cave 14), each of the matrikas is with a child. In eighth century Kailash Temple (cave 16) - dedicated to Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
- of Rashtrakuta
Rashtrakuta
The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans. Rastrakutas in inscriptions represented as descendants of Satyaki, a Yadava well known...
period, the Matrikas appear on the southern boundary of the temple. As the influence of Tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
rose, the fertility area and upper parts of body in the Matrika sculptures were stressed.
In each of the four depictions at Ellora, the matrikas are accompanied by Virabhadra, Ganesha and also on their left (besides Ganesha) by Kala (Time personified or Death). The presence of Kala in form of a skeleton, seems to indicate the darker aspect of the matrikas' nature. At Osian, the Matrikas is flanked by Ganesha and Kubera
Kubera
Kubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...
(the treasurer of the gods and a devotee of Shiva) while Virabhadra sits in the middle of the group. In Gupta and post-Gupta art, like in 6th Century caves of Shamalaji, the Matrikas are accompanied by Shiva's son Skanda
Murugan
Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
.
Yoginis
Yogini
Yogini is the complete form source word of the masculine yogi- and neutral/plural "yogin." Far from being merely a gender tag to the all things yogi, "Yogini" represents both a female master practitioner of Yoga, and a formal term of respect for a category of modern female spiritual teachers in...
s, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses. In Sanskrit literature the Yoginis have been represented as the attendants or various manifestations of goddess Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
engaged in fighting with the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha, and the principal Yoginis are identified with the Matrikas. Other Yoginis are described as born from one or more Matrikas. The derivation of sixty-four Yoginis from eight Matrikas became a common tradition, by mid- 11th century. The Mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
(circle) and chakra
Chakra
Chakra is a concept originating in Hindu texts, featured in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning" .Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices...
of Yoginis were used alternatively. The eighty-one Yoginis evolve from a group of nine Matrikas, instead of seven or eight. The Saptamatrika (Brahmi, Maheshvari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda) joined by Chandi
Chandi
Chandi or Chandika is the supreme Goddess of Devi Mahatmya also known as Chandi or Durga Sapthashati. Chandi is described as the Supreme reality who is a combination of Mahakali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati...
ka and Mahalakshmi form the nine Matrika cluster. Each Matrika is considered to be a Yogini and is associated with eight other Yoginis resulting in the troupe of eighty-one (nine times nine). Thus, Yoginis are considered as manifestations or daughters of the Matrikas. The yoginis also occupy an important place in Tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
, one of their chief temples in India are in 'Ranipur-Jharial' and the 'Chaushathi Jogini' (the 64 yoginis) temple near Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
.
The rise of Yogini cult is also analogous to the rise of the Matrikas' cult. Bhattacharyya sums it this way:
The growing importance of Shaktism [of the matrikas and yoginis in the first millennium CE] brought them into greater prominence and distributed their cult far and wide. [...] The primitive Yogini cult was also revived on account of the increasing influenced of the cult of the Seven Mothers.
Devanagari Alphabet
According to K.C. Aryan, the number of Matrikas is determined in the structure of the DevanagariDevanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
alphabet. First is the (A) group which contains the vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s, then the (Ka), (Cha), (Ta), (ta), (Pa), (Ya) and (Ksha) groups. The seven mother goddesses (Saptamatrikas) correspond to the seven consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
groups; when the vocalic (A) group is added, the eight mother goddesses (Ashtamatrikas) are obtained.
The Shaktas hold that the Mothers preside over impurities (mala) and over sounds of the language. The Mothers were identified with fourteen vowels plus the anusarva and visarga - making their number sixteen.
In Tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
, the fifty or fifty-one letters including vowels as well as consonants from A to Ksha, of the Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
alphabet itself, the Varnamala of bija
Bija
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit term बीज bīja , literally seed, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu....
, have been described as being the Matrikas themselves. It is believed that they are infused with the power of the Divine Mother herself. The Matrikas are considered to be the subtle form of the letters (varna). These letters combined make up syllables (pada) which are combined to make sentences (vakya) and it is of these elements that mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
is composed. It is believed that the power of mantra derives from the fact that the letters of the alphabet are in fact forms of the goddess.
- The 50 Matrika Kalas are given in the same account as follows: Nivritti, Pratishtha, Vidya, Shanti, Indhika, Dipika, Mochika, Para, Sukshma, Sukshmamrita, Jnanamrita, Apypayani, Vyapini, Vyomarupa, Ananta, Srishti, Riddhi, Smriti, Medha, Kanti, LakshmiLakshmiLakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
, Dyuti, Sthira, Sthiti, SiddhiSiddhiis a Sanskrit noun that can be translated as "perfection", "accomplishment", "attainment", or "success". The term is first attested in the Mahabharata. In the Pancatantra, a siddhi may be any unusual skill or faculty or capability...
, Jada, Palini, Shanti, Aishvarya, RatiRatiRati is the Hindu goddess of love, carnal desire, lust, passion and sexual pleasure. Usually described as the daughter of Prajapati Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, the chief consort and the assistant of Kama , the god of love. A constant companion of Kama, she is often depicted with him in...
, Kamika, Varada, Ahladini, Pritih, Dirgha, Tikshna, Raudri, Bhaya, Nidra, Tadra, Kshudha, Krodhini, Kriya, Utkari, Mrityurupa, Pita, Shveta, Asita, Ananta.
Sometimes, the Matrikas represent a diagram written in the letter, believed to possess magical powers.
In India
In India, shrines of the Saptamatrikas are located in "the wilderness", usually near lakes or rivers, and are made of seven vermilion smeared stones. It is believed that the Matrikas kill fetuses and newborns unless pacified with bridal finery and prayers by women. Devdutt Pattanaik says: "The cult of the Seven Mothers is found all over India. ... Pregnant women and nursing mothers worship them. When these goddesses are angry, they make women barren and strike newborns with fatal fevers. When they are appeased, they ensure the health and happiness of children." A prominent Saptamatrika temple
Saptamatruka Temple
Saptamaruka Temple is dedicated to Hindu Tantric and Puranic goddesses Saptamatrikas namely, Brahmani, Vaishnavi,Shivaduti or Indrani,Narasimhi, Chamunda,Kaumari and Varahi.Legend says that these goddesse emanated from the body of devi Durga while killing Nishumbha and Shumbha.The matrikas...
is located near Baitarani River
Baitarani River
The Baitarani River or River Vaitarani is one of six major rivers of Orissa, India. Venerated in popular epics and legends, the Baitarani River is a source of water for agricultural irrigation. Most of the potentially arable land in the area is not under cultivation. The coastal plain of Orissa...
,in Jajpur.
The Saptamatrika images are worshipped by women on Pithori - new moon day, with the 64 yoginis represented by rice flour images or supari nuts. The goddesses are worshipped by ceremonial offerings of fruit and flower and mantras.
In Nepal
The Matrikas function both as city protectors and individual protectors in both Hinduism and BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. The Astha matrika are considered as Ajima
Ajima
Ajima is a group of goddess of Newar pantheon. The Goddess represents the female ancestors of a Newar. These goddess are respected by all sects and castes of Newars irrespective of religion.-Etymology:...
s (grandmother goddesses, who are feared as bringer of disease and misfortune as well act as protectresses) in the Newar
Newar
The Newa , Newār or Newāl) are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.Newas have lived in the Kathmandu...
pantheon. Temples (pithas i.e. seats) of the ashta matrika built in and around Kathmandu are considered powerful places of worship.
The pithas are usually open-air shrines, but may be closed structures too. In these pithas, the Matrikas are worshipped with their followers (gana
Gana
The word ' , in Sanskrit, means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series, class" . It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims".In Hinduism, the s are attendants of Shiva...
s) in form of stone statues or natural stones, while in dyochems (god-houses) in towns and villages, they are represented in brass images. The brass images (utsav-murtis) are paraded around town and placed at their respective pithas once every year. Like Vishnudharmottara Purana (discussed in Legends), the Matrikas are considered as representing a vice and are worshipped by pithapuja (a pilgrimage around the pithas) to free oneself from them. Though each pitha is primarily dedicated to a Matrika, the other Matrikas are also worshipped as subordinate deities. The pithas, which are "theoretically located at the outer boundaries of the city" are said to form a protective mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
around the city and assisted to a certain compass point. In other temples like the ones dedicated to Pacali Bhairava, the Asthamatrikas are worshipped as a circle of stones. In Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...
, the Ashtamatrikas are believed to the preserver goddesses of the city guarding the eight geometrical directions. Mary Sluser says "Not only do the guard the compass points but they are also regarded as regents of the sky." Sometimes, they are paired with the Ashtabhairava ("Eight Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
s) and sculpted on temple roofs or terraces. Nepali Buddhists worship the Matrikas as described in Dharanisamgrahas.
The Malla
Malla (India)
Malla was one of the solasa mahajanapadas of ancient India mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya. It was named after the ruling clan of the same name. The Mahabharata mentions the territory as the Mallarashtra . The Malla mahajanapada was situated north of Magadha. It was a small mahajanapada...
king of Nepal Srinivasa Malla built the Patan durbar (court) in 1667 AD and is believed to have seen the Matrikas dance in the durbar one night. The king ordered that the Ashta-matrika be worshipped during the Ashwin Navaratri and cost is defrayed by the durbar. The custom continues til this day. Another festival Ghorajatra is celebrated in Patan with animal sacrifices to the Matrikas.
In the Kathmandu valley of Nepal, the Ashta-matrikas with a central village goddess are worshipped as protectors of the city or town. They are identified with the guardians of directions (digpala), places (lokapala) or lands (kshatrapala), satiated by blood sacrifice. Newar Buddhists associate the Matrikas with 24 human qualities, which can mastered by visiting three sets of eight Matrika pithas.
Tantric worship
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
author Banabhatta
Banabhatta
Bāṇabhaṭṭa , also known as Bāṇa, was a Sanskrit scholar and poet of India. He was the Asthana Kavi in the court of King Harshavardhana, who reigned in the years c. 606–647 CE in north India...
mentions the propitiation of Matrikas by a Tantric ascetic in his Harshacharita. The text mentions use of (mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
of the Matrikas) or Yantra
Yantra
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....
along with a special anusthana (ritual) to cure the ailing king. The text describes "young nobles [..](of the king) burning themselves with lamps to propitiate the Matrikas in a temple dedicated to the Matrikas (). Banabhatta's Kadambari
Kadambari
Kādambari is a romantic novel in Sanskrit. It was substantially composed by Bānabhatta in the first half of the 7th century, who did not survive to see it through completion. The novel was completed by Banabhatta's son Bhushanabhatta, according to the plan laid out by his late father...
, Bhasa
Bhasa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
's Cārudatta, Shudraka
Sudraka
' was an Indian King. Three Sanskrit plays are ascribed to him - Mricchakatika , Vinavasavadatta, and a bhana , Padmaprabhritaka.. He has been identified as Abhira King Indranigupta, who used the pen name Sudraka.- References :* Ryder, Arthur William. Translator...
's Mrichakatika mention the ritual offerings of food and shrines of Matrikas at crossroads
Crossroads (culture)
In folk magic and mythology, crossroads may represent a location "between the worlds" and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place...
. Other offerings include flowers and clothes and meat and wine for some Matrikas. Tantric works like Tantrarāja-Tantra (unknown date, author) and discuss the worship of Matrikas as Shaktis or letters of the alphabet. A process of this worship, Matrika-nyasa (lit. "installation of the Mothers"), is described in Devi Gita, part of Devi Bhagavata Purana. It involves installation of powers of Matrikas - as letters of the alphabet - in one's body, by "feeling the deity worshipped in different parts of the body" like head, face, anus and legs and reciting mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
s. The Hrillekha-matrika-nyasa, a more specialized form of Matrika-nyasa, combines the installation of "most powerful set of all letters (Matrikas)" with the seed syllable of Goddess Bhuvaneshvari.
Stone inscriptions of Tantric worship of The Matrikas are found in Gangadhar, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
(by king Vishvavarman- 423 C.E., identified as the first epigraphic evidence of Tantra worship); in Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
(by Guptas - fifth century) and in Deogarh
Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh
Deogarh is a small farming village near the town of Lalitpur in Lalitpur district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located at the border with the former princely state of Gwalior, which is now part of Madhya Pradesh, it is known for its Gupta monuments, located on and near the hill fort on...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
(by - sixth century). The Gangadhar inscripture deals with a construction to a shrine to Chamunda and the other Matrikas, "who are attended by Dakini
Dakini
A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...
s (female demons)" and rituals of daily Tantric worship (Tantrobhuta) like the ritual of Bali (offering of grain).
The eight Matrikas are said to reside the second line of bhupura in Sri Chakra
Sri Chakra
The Sri Chakra or Shri Yantra is a yantra formed by nine interlocking triangles that surround and radiate out from the central point, the junction point between the physical universe and its unmanifest source. It represents the goddess in her form of Shri Lalitha Or Tripura Sundari, "the beauty...
. They are frequently aligned with the Eight Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
s, as in . The (1.33) explains that the primary function of Matrikas is to preside eight groups (vargas) of letters of Devanagari alphabet, while Brahmayāmala states they issue originate from the vowels.
Rituals and goals of worship
The Natya ShastraNatya Shastra
The Natya Shastra is an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, encompassing theatre, dance and music. It was written during the period between 200 BC and 200 AD in classical India and is traditionally attributed to the Sage Bharata.The Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope...
(13.66) recommends worship to Matrikas before setting up the stage and before dance performances. Indra declares in chapter 90 of Devi Purana that the Matrikas are the best among all deities and should be worshipped in cities, villages, towns and shields. Matrikas are generally to be worshipped on all occasions with Navagraha
Navagraha
Graha is a 'cosmic influencer' on the living beings of mother Bhumidevi . In Hindu astrology, the Navagraha are some of these major influencers.All the navagraha have relative movement with respect to the background of fixed stars in the zodiac...
(the nine planets) and the Dikpala (Guardians of the directions
Guardians of the directions
The Guardians of the Directions are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism and Buddhism—especially...
) and at night with the Goddess.
The Matsya Purana and Devi Purana prescribe that Matrika shrines should be north-facing and be placed in northern part of a temple-complex. The temples of the Matrikas are found earliest dating to the fourth century and from textual evidence, it is predicated that "there must be impressive shrines all over the [Indian] subcontinent". Although circular Mandalas and Chakras are mentioned in religious texts, most existing shrines are rectangular in nature. Pal speculates that earlier circular shrines, which open to the sky or under trees of less durable material were replaced by the Guptas in stone as rectangular shrines.
The Devi Purana mentions the Matrikas or Deva Shaktis (powers of the gods) as group of seven or more, who should be worshipped for Mukti (liberation) by all, but particularly kings for powers of domination. The Saptamatrika are worshipped for "personal and spiritual renewal" with Mukti as the ultimate goal as well as for powers to control and rule and earthly desires (Bhukti). Also important are the banners of the Saptamatrikas, which are carved outside the Udayagiri caves. These banners are called "Indra's sisters" in the Devi Purana. The Purana lists them as: swan, bull, peacock, conch, discus, elephant and skleton - attributes of the Matrikas. A king installing these banners is believed to get mukti and bhukti. As per the Nitisara, Matrikas acted as the king's tangible Shaktis and conferred the power to conquer and rule.