Mahavidya - Names

Names

Shaktas believe, "the one Truth is sensed in ten different facets; the Divine Mother is adored and approached as ten cosmic personalities," the Dasa-Mahavidya ("ten-Mahavidyas"). The Mahavidyas are considered Tantric in nature, and are usually identified as:

  1. Kali: The ultimate form of Brahman, "Devourer of Time" (Supreme Deity of Kalikula systems)
  2. Tara: The Goddess as Guide and Protector, or Who Saves.Who offers the ultimate knowledge which gives salvation (also known as Neel Saraswati).
  3. Lalita-Tripurasundari (Shodashi): The Goddess Who is "Beautiful in the Three Worlds" (Supreme Deity of Srikula systems); the "Tantric Parvati" or the "Moksha Mukta".
  4. Bhuvaneshvari: The Goddess as World Mother, or Whose Body is the Cosmos
  5. Bhairavi: The Fierce Goddess
  6. Chhinnamasta: The Self-Decapitated Goddess
  7. Dhumavati: The Widow Goddess,or the Goddess of death.
  8. Bagalamukhi: The Goddess Who Paralyzes Enemies
  9. Matangi: the Prime Minister of Lalita (in Srikula systems); the "Tantric Saraswati"
  10. Kamala: The Lotus Goddess; the "Tantric Lakshmi"

The Mahabhagavata Purana and Brhaddharma Purana however, list Shodashi (Sodasi) as Tripura Sundari, her another name. The Guhyatiguyha-tantra associates the Mahavidyas with the ten Avatars of Vishnu, and states that the Mahavidyas are the source from which the avatars of Vishnu arose. All ten forms of the Goddess, whether gentle or terrifying, are worshiped as the universal Mother.

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