Maa Bhairavi - All Embracing Fire
"Bhairavi", the name itself means “horrifying”, “terrible”, “fearful” and “formidable”. Bhairavi goddess is someone whose name only brings fear in all the three worlds.
NewsBharati 21-Oct-2023 18:09:48 PM
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Fire, the feeder and also destroyer of this entire universe. Fire not just made everything to ashes but also cooks the foods which nourishes the entire universe.
Bhairavi Ma, the personification of this nurturing and fearsome universal fire. She is one of the most important Mahavidyas, she is the goddess of creation, sustenance and destruction.
'Bhairavi', the name itself means “horrifying”, “terrible”, “fearful” and “formidable”. Bhairavi goddess is someone whose name only brings fear in all the three worlds.
So in essence, Bhairavi is responsible for creation after destruction. She is also known as “Tripura Bhairavi”, as she is responsible for creation and destruction of all three Lokas or three worlds.
She is the bearer of Agni which is eternal fire, Vidyut which is lightening force of life, and Surya, the light which nourishes the entire world, by this she encompasses gods like Indra, Surya and Agni.
In the Hindu tradition, She is the goddess of Kundalini, the perpetual divine energy which is situated in the base of the spine as a guarding and nurturing source of life. This is why worshiping Devi Bhairavi almost always consists of meditation which will help to awaken Kundalini.
Bhairavi is goddess of destruction as she is the consort of Kala Bhairava, the violent and aggressive form of Shiva, so that she is also named as ‘Kala Bhairavi’.
Goddess Parvati and her destructive form, Kali are the most primal forms of energy i.e. Adi Shakti or Adi Parashakti. Parvati/ Kali are worshiped in the ten different forms which are ‘Mahavidyas’ in which Bhairavi is the fifth incarnation of Parvati. That is also the reason she shares so many characteristics with Goddess Kali.
Bhairavi is also the Goddess of Speech, she glorifies the supreme power of speech, which is qualifies by the fierceness of the burning fire i.e. Tejas.
Bhairavi is often associated and portrayed in the cremation grounds. In her portraits, she is shown as sitting in the cremation ground and doing different sadhanas. Unlike other goddesses, her hairs are always untidy and unknotted, which are sprawling all across her head. She is adorned with red cloths and garlands of Skulls, just like kali.
She always has one hand which was raised in the Ashirwad, and tells us not to fear anything. On the other hand she carries the sword, which is for the protection and nurturing. On the other hand, she hold body less head, which is her triumph over evil and she is smeared in the blood of her enemies. Sometimes she also carries trident and thunderbolt.
Goddess Bhairavi is often portrayed sitting on a headless body referred to as Savasadhana, which is also a form of meditation. Her two hands are in Abhaya and Varada mudras. Her Vahana is a lion which shows her power on a battlefield. She is pictured either in an ecstatic or a ferocious mood with fangs.
She is the form of contained energy, which will release if sometime evil erupts. She lives in Patal loka, the land beneath prithvilok, where she meditates on the beheaded corpses, but when she is in the battlefield, she is riding her loin, covered in tiger skin and drinking the blood of her enemies.
No one can stand in front of her wrath. She is the form of uncontained female energy of the universe, that much fierce and that much destructive.
Her appearance only makes demons on their knees. The presence of bhairavi is symbolic even in today’s world. She is said to be present in all of our destructive habits, in lust, and our selfishness, and she helps us fight them. She also symbolizes the power of consciousness.
She is the ultimate cosmic consciousness, she is the most powerful tantric Goddess. In the tantra, she is the raw and untethered form of power. She is the center deity of many tantric kriyas like Bhairavi Kriya. Bhairavi Kriya means focusing all forms of energy like light, fire and earth, into one form. As per tantric tradition, she is the controlling deity of reincarnations and one’s movement into three different worlds, she is the paramount form of motherly love as she is the one who could go through any huddle to protect her children.
She is also associated with the wheel with 64 spokes, which are in the nutshell the 64 yoginis. She is worshiped in the form of a wheel with 64 spokes.
It is said that the Bhairavi Sadhak can achieve all Ashtasiddhis, resulting in spiritual progression to master all supernatural powers and techniques. She protects us from all harmful and bad influences.
She is a feared goddess by all doers of evil as well as good. Though fearsome, she is there for the continuation of the cycle of destruction and creation in this world. She is a mother who has unconditional love for all her children. A famous deity in Tantra Vidhya, goddess bhairavi holds a special position in all forms of worship.
Unlike the Tridevas, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who control one form of life and world, creation, maintenance, and destruction, goddess bhairavi has control over all three aspects of life.
Bhairavi is the supreme mother goddess, she is the untethered form of energy but she is content for her children. She is the one who eradicates evil and creates good and well being.
Bhairavi is the one who shows us that mothers’ love can be soothing for her children but burning for everyone who harms her child.
So my all mother Bhairavis, she resides in you!! She is the core form of energy in you, she is boundless….. As you are…..!!!
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Sharayu Bapat
Having master's in political science and Indology, Sharayu is prominently working in the academic field. She worked as visiting faculty in various colleges. She worked as a research associate at MIT-SOG. Right now, Sharayu is associated with MIT-SOG and MIT- Institutional Relation dept.