The feminine divinity is a powerful entity. From mother nurturers to the destroyers, from knowledge to wealth, they encompass every aspect of the physical and spiritual realm. A part of such powerful entity is the Mahavidyas.

A Das Mahavidya is one of 10 wisdom goddesses in Hinduism. The term comes from the Sanskrit, Dasa, meaning “ten,” maha, meaning “great” and Vidya, meaning “knowledge.” Each Mahavidya is a form of the Divine Mother. In Hindu religious scripts, the Dasa Mahavidyas were created after a disagreement between Lord Shiva and Sati (a form of Shakti).

Sati, the consort of Shiva was the daughter of Daksha Prajapati, a descendant of Brahma. Sati had married Shiva against the wishes of her father. The vain Daksha performed a great yagna (with the sole aim of insulting Shiva), to which he invited all of the gods and goddesses except his son-in-law, Lord Shiva.

Heard about the yajna from Narad Muni, she asked for Shiva’s permission saying that a daughter did not need an invitation from her father. Shiva said that Daksha was trying to insult him, and so even if Sati attended the yajna, the fruit of the sacrifice would not be auspicious. Therefore he attempted to dissuade Sati from attending the yajna.

Sati was furious because Shiva was treating her like an ignorant lady and not as the mother of Universe. So to show Shiva who she really was, she assumed a different form – the one of the Divine Mother. The oceans raged, the mountains shook, and the atmosphere was filled with the wonder of her form.

It is said that Shiva began to shake and tried to flee. But every direction that he tried to flee, the Divine mother stopped him. The Divine Mother had multiplied herself into ten different forms, guarding each of the ten directions, and try as Shiva might, he could not escape from her, as she had blocked every escape route.

These ten forms of Divine Mother are known as the Dasa Mahavidyas. Each form has her own name, story, quality, and mantras.

Kali is said to represent unfettered absolute reality; Tara an expanded state but yet bound by the physical; Bagalamukhi the fierce concentration; Kamala and Bhairavi with the satisfaction of physical well being and worldly wealth; while the other Mahavidyas symbolize the worldly needs and desires that eventually draws into Kali. Also, Kali, Chinnamasta, Bagalamukhi, and Dhumavati are characterized by their power and force – active and dormant. Tara has certain characteristics of Kali and certain others of Sundari. And she is also related to Bhairavi, Bagalamukhi and Matangi in aspects of sound-force (sabda) express or implied. Whereas Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Matangi, and Kamalatmika have qualities of light, delight, and beauty. The Tantras speak of Kali as dark, Tara as the white; and Sundari as red.

Each form of the Divine Mother Kali is a Mahavidya. The Das Mahavidyas are:

Kālī (Sanskrit: काली) ,Bagalāmukhī (Sanskrit: बगलामुखी), Chinnamastā (Sanskrit: छिन्नमस्ता) ,Bhuvaneśvarī (Sanskrit: भुवनेश्वरी), Mātaṃgī (Sanskrit: मातंगी), Ṣodaśī (Sanskrit: षोडशी), Dhūmāvatī (Sanskrit: धूमावती), Tripurasundarī (Sanskrit: रिपुरसुन्दरी), Tārā (Sanskrit: तारा), Bhairavī (Sanskrit: भैरवी)

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