Chinnamasta Maa Sadhana

8/9/2019 Chinnamasta Maa Sadhana

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Chinnamasta

32.1. Chinnamasta or Chinnamastika or Prachanda Chandika or Chandika the goddess

with a severed head is perhaps the most ghastly and disturbing depiction of a Mahavidya.

Chinnamasta, standing naked having chopped off her own head with her own sword, holds

her decapitated head in one of her hands. hree !ets of blood spurt out of her bleeding

neck, and one streams into the mouth of her severed head, while two others streams fall

into the mouths of her two female associates."et Chinnamasta#s face is happy and smiling.

32.2. he origin of Chinnamasta is lost in anti$uity. here are many myths associated with

her, but are mostly disputed. %hatever be the myths, she came into prominence mainly as

Mahavidya with a gory iconography, and as one of the ferocious and frightening aspects

of &ali. 'he has no significant presence outside the Mahavidya cult. (owever, the antric

)uddhism has a corresponding deity named *a!rayoni +the power of thunderbolt a form

of ara, closely related to the goddess with a severed -head Chinnamunda. he ibetan


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eyes wide open in !oy and a lovely face lit up with a beatific smile. he hair on the head is

disheveled and adorned with fragrant flowers. he head is decorated with a well crafted

diadem, as also ear and nose rings. he more ama5ing sight is that headless naked trunk of

Chinnamasta is standing upon a handsome couple engaged in se in the viparita-maithuna

posture +the female on top of her male partner stretched over a lotus flower. he scene of

the activity is a cremation ground set against the background of hills, river, flowers amidstthunder and lightning. he loving couple in each other#s arms, engrossed in se and

blissfully unaware of anything outside their act, are identified &ama or Manamatha the

god of desire +like 6ros and his companion 7ati the very act of se. couple of !ackals

watch the scene with little interest.here are also depictions where Chinnamasta is riding

over a supine 'hiva.

33.3. Chinnamasta is described as a goddess red as hibiscus flower, bright as the rising sun.

'he is usually pictured in red and sometimes in blue. . here are also depictions of her with

four arms and without the couple engaged in se. 'he is shown riding a lion holding her

severed head .


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33.8. /t is said Chinnamasta in her classic form is depicted nude +Digambari as she is

unfettered by illusions and other limitations. (er hibiscus blood red compleion symboli5es

life in its incessant flow.'he wears a garland of severed human heads symboli5ing wisdom

and power. 9ne of the three !ets of blood that spurt from her neck streams back into the

mouth of her own severed head, and other two, into those of the yoginis - 4akini and

*arnini, suggesting that death nourishes life and thus the process of recycle continues.he

copulating couple under the feet of the goddess personifies seual desire and its

eperience. he lotus on which the couple lies symboli5es creation and life. Chinnamasta

selfdestructs to sustain and promote life in its various forms: the life that the lovemaking

couple represents, the death which reveals in decapitating herself and the nourishment

which manifests in feeding the flanking yoginis are all integral aspects of life.

38.1. Chinnamasta, in a single frame, makes a stunning presentation of varying and

conflicting aspects of life and death of self destruction while nourishing others of

death by violence and en!oyable se of gory violence spilling blood and smiling blissful

face death and destruction placed net to creation of the !oy of transcending the body and

not the pain of losing it and of giving up the ego to attain wisdom. /t combines in itself the

elements of heroism +vira, terror +bhayanaka and eroticism +srungara and portrays, in its


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own manner, a composite picture of life where all lifeevents become intrinsic parts of a

unified scheme. /t enfolds the entire multiplicity of life. Chinnamasta in her energetic form

shows the power of transformation in action.

%orship

3;.1. Chinnamasta belongs to &alikula the family of &ali. 'he is visuali5ed as residing in a

red sun orb +Surya Mandala in all her glory. .he worship is carried out in the dead of the night in the cremation

grounds. )ecause of her ferocious nature and the dangers following improper worship, it is

said, only the brave ones +vira should dare venture her worship through vama-marga.

antrics aspiring for 'iddhis +magical powers or victory over rivals by casting spells or by

causing harm usually take up these etreme rituals. /t is said, in the olden times the soldiers

were initialed into the Chinnamasta cult to enable them gain selfcontrol and to imbibe in

them the spirit of selfsacrifice and the courage to face death without fear. Chinnamasta inthis contet is invoked asRanjaitri+victorious in war and celebrated as for her prowess in

battles.

3;.2. s regards the householders, they are cautioned and advised to contemplate on

Chinnamasta only in her abstract esoteric form without being distracted by her fierce

iconography. (er worship through softer methods is said to yield: health wealth freedom

from fear ability to influence family, friends, women, enemies, and rulers and liberation.

3;.3. )ecause of her fierce nature and the dangers involved in her worship, it is said very

few temples are dedicated to Chinnamasta. 9ne such few is in the templecomple of 4urga

at 7amnagar near *aranasi.

'ymbolisms and eplanations

3?.1. he eplanations of the symbolisms associated with the horrific image of

Chinnamasta abound there are too many to be countered here. Most of the eplanations

regard Chinnamasta as the classic imagery of the tantric symbolism. /t is said symbols do

not speak directly and they are not what they appear to be at the outset. heir inner

meaning eludes the eye and is beyond what is ordinarily seen. antric imagery cannot be

understood by analy5ing its artstyle, composition etc. (owever enigmatic they might

appear, they bridge mundane and the transcendent. heir real significance lies in their total

perception and its association with ones consciousness and /ntuitional eperience.

3?.2. 'ome say Chinnamasta#s act of parting with her head - her identity is one of

etreme sacrifice for the good of all, so that the others might live and thrive. /f the act of

her decapitation is viewed as an act of selfsacrifice, then that selfless acts will not hurt us.

Chinnamasta too does not feel the pain she does not die and she lives on. Chinnamasta is

beyond pain as her decapitated head smiles blissfully.


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3?.3. he antra outlook is based on dualism. /t presents alternate phases of creation and

destruction giving and taking of life. Chinnamasta represents both the aspects in her own

shocking way. 'he takes life and vigor from the copulating pair and then gives it by cutting

off her own head to feed her followers.

Chinnamasta, in her creative and destructive aspects, signifies apparent dissolution andreturn to the elements.

'he also represents the integral nature of life where living, nourishing se, violence, death

and regeneration are all essential aspects and are intertwined.

[email protected]. Chinnamasta is the thunder goddess. %ith a flash of lightning and thunder she

destroys ignorance, severs identity with the physical body.'he is about direct perception

and regaining freedom. .

[email protected]. 'he is also seen as symbol of selfcontrol, fearlessness and embodiment of seual

energy. %hile another eplanation mentions : as she steps on and stands on top of thecouple in the act of se she overcomes seual desire and untamed nature. Chinnamasta is

in control of the creative urge. /f she wishes to give epression to that she does

spontaneously else she could suppress all urges. 'he is the 'upreme "ogi.

[email protected]. nother eplanation based in yoga says that the tantric tradition uses body in ritual

eercises. he figure of Chinnamasta suggest that the practitioner must remove his or her

analytical head, give away the concerns with physical life, and divert his energy to move up

from muladhara to a higher state . Chinnamasta is a representation of the awakening of the

kundalini.

he choppedoff head may also represent nonmind +unmana or the state freed from

limitations of mind. Chinnamasta awakens consciousness.

Guptadurge Mahabhage GuptapaapapranashiniSaptajanmaarjitat Paapaat Traahi Maam Saranagatam

Om Shrim Hreem Hreem Aim Vajra Vairochaniye Shrim Hreem Hreem Phat Svaha

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Chinnamasta Maa Sadhana