Chinnamasta

The One Who Fulfills All Wishes; The Decapitated

ALSO KNOWN AS:

Chinnamastika

ORIGIN:

India

Chinnamasta, Tantric wisdom goddess, is the subject of an unforgettable votive image: beautiful Chinnamasta stands headless atop a copulating man and woman who may be Kama and Rati. She holds her own severed head in one hand and a sword in her other. Three streams of blood spurt from her neck: one into her own mouth and the others into the mouths of two attending dakinis. In traditional iconography, they look exactly like her: they are her duplicates although usually smaller, visually emphasizing that she is the goddess and they are the attendants. They resemble identical triplets.

No known sacred myth or narrative is associated with the image, but it is considered to have tremendous spiritual significance; some say a lifetime may be spent meditating upon it. The image of decapitated, blood-drinking Chinnamasta expresses the eternal cosmic process of creation, preservation, and destruction: the interdependence of sex, love, life, and death. Her blood leaves her but simultaneously nourishes her. She is dead but alive, or vice versa. Her image is emblematic of self-sacrifice. Chinna-masta represents the paradox of the loving mother as killer.

Chinnamasta is a great yogini. She serves as a vehicle of transformation. Chinnamasta fulfills the desires of her devotees. She is also associated with a powerful yantra, a geometric figure for magical and spiritual use.

Consort:

Headless Shiva

ATTRIBUTES:

Sword, bowl of blood

COLOUR:

Red

ANIMAL:

Cobra

Flower:

Red jaba flower (red hibiscus)

SEE ALSO:

• Dakini;
• Kali;
• Kama;
• Rati;
• Shiva

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses– Written by :Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.