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5*.1. !ome wonder how Kamala who is derived from auspicious
aspects of +akshmi theestower of wealth and good luck could e
included in the group of tantric goddesses.owever, the Mahavidya
te"ts e"plain that Kamala as Mahavidya is not the same as !hri
or +akshmi. !he differs from them in many aspects' and she
indeed is a Mahavidya in herown right. Kamala Mahavidya is not the
spouse or the eloved of -ishnu. !he is an
independent goddess and does not play the role of a spouse.
Kamala is associated with the!hiva%cult ust as the other
Mahavidyas. !he is, at times, addressed as audri, !ati, Kapaliand
0auri. lthough enign and auspicious 2ualities are prominent in her
character, thereare many fearsome and dangerous aspects to her
nature. Kamala is a destroyer of demons.!imilar to some other
Mahavidya3 Kamala wears garlands of skulls ) runda-mala 4' her
formis awful ) ghora 4, terri le ) bhima) and of a negative nature
) tamasi 4 . ne of her manynames refers to her as Kalaratri, a
fearsome aspect of kali. Kamala is also said to sharesome of the
characteristics of Matangi, 6humavati, and 7hairavi who are noted
for theirscary aspects.
55.8. Kamala as Mahavidya is said to e a reflection of !hri the
-edic deity as also of
+akshmi the goddess of wealth and eauty. Mahalakshmi is cele
rated in the 6eviMahatmya as the !upreme 0oddess manifesting
herself as Maha%!arasvathi ) Sattva 4,Mahalakshmi ) Rajas 4 and as
Maha%Kali ) Tamas 4' and as one who presides over everyaspect of
the 9niverse. nd, Kamala in the !ri -idya tradition represents the
!upremeMother herself. !ri Muthuswami 6ikshitar in his most
magnificent set of Kamalamba
Navavarana kritis cele rated the glory of !ri Kamalam a .
ll these deities are widely worshipped. 7ut , Mahavidya Kamala
is different from all of them. Kamala here is not endowed with the
powers of Mahalakshmi' she en oys neither theprestige of
Mahalakshmi in the (antra tradition, nor the wide acceptance of
+akshmi in theorthodo" tradition. Kamala as Mahavidya is a tantric
deity who is invoked mainly in
rituals seeking wealth, power and hidden treasures.
5*.8. (he formulators of the Mahavidya cult, it appears,
modified or downplayed theessential enign aspects of !hri and
+akshmi in order to render Kamala more suita le to
e included in the Mahavidya group. (hey stressed her
independence ) svatantrya 4,minimi:ed her role as a spouse and gave
her terri le forms that are associated with thedeities of the !hiva
cult. (hus, Kamala retains the character of +akshmi' and definitely
islinked to +akshmi' yet, she is different from +akshmi. Kamala#s
portrait has een drawnselectively. Kamala, the (antric form of
+akshmi, com ines in herself many auspiciousvirtues and attri utes
along with a few terri le aspects. +ike Kali, the (antric Kamalaem
races the light and the darkness, for she is the totality.!he can e
propitiated oth forworldly goals and for spiritual attainments.
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