Chhinnamasta - Legends and Textual References

Legends and Textual References

Chhinnamasta is often named as the fifth Mahavidya in the group, with hymns identifying her as a fierce aspect of the Goddess. Kinsley says three Mahavidyas – Kali, Tara and Chhinnamasta — are prominent among Mahavidya depictions and lists, though Chhinnamasta hardly has an independent existence outside the group. Guhyatiguhya-Tantra equates god Vishnu's ten avatars with the ten Mahavidyas; the man-lion incarnation Narasimha is described to have arisen from Chhinnamasta. A similar list in Mundamala equates Chhinnamasta with Parshurama.

In a story from the Shakta Maha-Bhagavata Purana, which narrates the creation of all Mahavidyas including Chhinnamasta, Sati, the daughter of Daksha and the first wife of the god Shiva, feels insulted that she and Shiva are not invited to Daksha's yagna ("fire sacrifice") and insists on going there, despite Shiva's protests. After futile attempts to convince Shiva, the enraged Sati assumes a fierce form, transforming into the Mahavidyas, who surround Shiva from the ten cardinal directions. Chhinnamasta stands to the right of Shiva in the west. Similar legends replace Sati with Parvati, the second wife of Shiva and reincarnation of Sati or Kali, the chief Mahavidya, as the wife of Shiva and origin of the other Mahavidyas. While Parvati uses the Mahavidyas to stop Shiva from leaving her father's house, Kali enlightens him and stops him, who was tired living with her, from leaving her. Devi Bhagavata Purana mentions the Mahavidyas as war-companions and forms of the goddess Shakambhari.

Pranotasani Tantra narrates two tales of Chhinnamasta's birth. One legend, attributed to Narada-pancharatra tells that once, while having a bath in Mandakini river, Parvati becomes sexually excited, turning her black. At the same time, her two female attendants Dakini and Varnini (also called Jaya and Vijaya) become extremely hungry and beg for food. Though Parvati initially promises to give them food once they return home, later the merciful goddess beheaded herself by her nails and gave her blood to satiate their hunger. Later, they returned home. The other variant from Pranotasani Tantra, attributed to Svatantra-tantra, is narrated by Shiva. He recounts that his consort Chandika (identified with Parvati) was engrossed in coitus with him in reverse posture, but became enraged at his seminal emission. Her attendants Dakini and Varnini rose from her body. The rest of the tale is similar to the earlier version, although the river is called Pushpabhadra and the day of Chhinnamasta's birth is called Viraratri. This version is also retold in Shaktisamgama-tantra.

An oral legend records the goddess Prachanda-Chandika appeared to aid the gods in the god-demon war, when the gods prayed to the Great Goddess Mahashakti. After slaying all demons, the enraged goddess cut off her own head too and drank her own blood. The name Prachanda-Chandika also appears as a synonym of Chhinnamasta in her hundred-name hymn in Shakta-pramoda. Another oral legend relates her to the Samudra manthan (Churning of Ocean) episode, where the gods and demons churned the milk ocean to acquire the amrita (the elixir of immortality). Chhinnamasta drank the demons' share of the elixir and then beheaded herself to prevent them from acquiring it.

The central themes of the mythology of Chhinnamasta are her self-sacrifice – with a maternal aspect (in the Pranotasani Tantra versions) or for the welfare of the world (in oral version 2) – her sexual dominance (second Pranotasani Tantra version) and her self-destructive fury (in oral legend 1).