देवेषु विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

***The **Outcaste **Goddess ***

She is seated on a corpse. Her clothes and all her ornaments are red. She wears a garland of *gunja *seeds [a small forest seed]. She is sixteen years old and has full breasts. She holds a skull and a sword in her two hands. She should be offered leftovers *[uccista].1 *

She is blue in color and has the disc of the moon on her forehead. She has three eyes, is seated on a jeweled throne, and is adorned with jeweled ornaments. She has a very thin waist, and her breasts are round and firm. She has a smiling face and holds a noose, a sword, a goad, and a club in her four hands.2

She is seated on an altar and has a smiling face and a greenish complexion. She is worshiped by gods and demons. Around her neck is a garland *of kadamba *flowers. Her hair is long, and the disk of the moon adorns her forehead. She perspires slightly around her face, which makes her more beautiful and bright. Below her navel are three horizontal lines [from the folds of her skin] and a thin vertical line of fine hair. She wears a girdle of jeweled ornaments, as well as bracelets, armlets, and ear ornaments. Her eyes are intoxicated. She represents the sixty-four arts, and she is flanked by two parrots.3

Intimations of Mātangī in a Buddhist Tale

In the *Divyavadana, *a Buddhist collection of stories concerning previous lives of the Buddha that was probably written around 250-300 C.e., there is a tale of a hunter king named Matanga and his daughter. Certain details of the story bear such a striking similarity to later characteristics of the goddess Matarigi’s nature and mythology that it is relevant to mention it as a possible intimation, or very early version, of the Mahavidya goddess.

Once upon a time, the Buddha’s disciple Ananda went out begging for food. After getting some, he became thirsty. He saw a girl drawing water from a well, approached her, and asked for water. The girl answered: “My name is Prakrti [nature], and I am a Candala [a very low caste], the daughter of Matariga. Should I give you water?” Ananda replied: “I am not asking what your caste is, I am only asking for water.” He took water from her, and as he drank Prakrti admired his youthful body and became fascinated by him. Her desire for him grew, and she yearned to have him as her husband.

After Ananda had returned to the monastery, Prakrti asked her mother, Mahavidyadhari (she who is skilled in the great mantras), if she would attract Ananda to her by the appropriate rituals and mantras. Her mother hesitated: she feared trouble from the local king, who was a devotee of the Buddha, and she also doubted whether her magic could overcome the power of the Buddha to protect his disciples. At first she refused her daughter, but when Prakrti threatened suicide if she could not have Ananda, her mother agreed to try to capture him by magic. The mother cleaned an area near her house, built an altar, offered up flowers in the fire on the altar, and began to recite mantras to attract Ananda to her daughter. So adept was she, and so powerful the mantras, that she was able to harness the forces of the lightning and rain to help her.

By her magic, Ananda’s heart became agitated as he remembered Prakrti’s charm, and he left the monastery to seek her out. As he approached Prakrti’s home, her mother saw him coming and instructed Prakrti to beautify herself and prepare a bed for lovemaking, which she did. Arriving there, Ananda stood near the mother’s altar and began to weep. He prayed to the Buddha to rescue him, and the Buddha, aware of his predicament, nullified the power of the Candala woman’s mantras. Ananda became calm and returned to the monastery.

When Prakrti discovered that the Buddha had overcome her mother’s magic, she went herself to the Buddha, who asked what she wanted. She was frank and said that she desired Ananda for her husband. The Buddha told her that the only way she could share Ananda’s company was to become a nun herself. Prakrti, seeing the shortsightedness of her craving for Ananda, and impressed with the teachings of the Buddha, agreed to be initiated as a nun. Her hair was cut off, and she was given the simple garb of a Buddhist nun.

After Prakrti’s entrance into the Buddhist order, the Buddha told her a story that put the attraction between her and Ananda in perspective. Once in the past, Trisariku was king of elephant hunters (Matariga-raja). He had a son, Sardulakarna, for whom he wished to find a suitable bride. Trisariku heard of a Brahman’s daughter, named Prakrti, who he thought would be suitable for his son, so he set out to arrange a wedding. He traveled with an entourage of his ministers and his many dogs. When the Brahman saw that Trisariku was an elephant hunter of low caste, he was disdainful of him and rejected his proposal for a marriage. In a subsequent conversation, however, Trisariku impressed him with his vast knowledge of spiritual matters and the arts and sciences. The Brahman relented and allowed the marriage to take place.

That Brahman’s daughter was the same Prakrti who in this life desired Ananda, the Buddha said. And Trisariku’s son, Sardulakarna, was Ananda in that life. This explained the mutual attraction of the pair in this life. And the elephant-hunter king, the Buddha said, was he himself.4

This story, which was made popular in recent times by Rabindranath Tagore’s story *Canddlika, *has several intriguing points that are relevant to our consideration of the Mahavidya goddess Matarigi. First, the heroine’s father is named Matariga, and in the story of her previous birth, her father-in-law is said to be king of the elephant hunters (Matariga-raja). In the context of the Mahavidyas, as we shall see, Matarigi is often said to be the daughter of Matariga, who is either a sage or a hunter. Second, the heroine is of low caste, a Candala. This is an important, if not central, feature of the goddess Matarigi. Third, the heroine’s name, Prakrti, which may be translated as “nature,” identifies her with the jungle, the forests, and hunting culture, again an important aspect of the later goddess. Fourth, rites aimed at attracting another person and forcing him to do one’s will are an important part of the story and remind us of Matarigi’s power to attract and control others. And, fifth, the name of Matarigi’s mother, Mahavidyadhari (she who is skilled in the great mantras), and her use of magical powers to infatuate Ananda, relate the story to the Mahavidyas.

We do not have the goddess Matarigi in this early Buddhist tale. What we probably have is a source that contributed to the eventual emergence of the goddess. The story contains early intimations of the later goddess.

Origin Myths

There are several myths concerning the origin or appearance of Matarigi, and taken together they tell us a good deal about the type of goddess she is. As will be apparent, some of the themes and details of the Buddhist tale of Prakrti, the daughter of Matariga, also show up in these myths.

The first myth dealing with Matarigi’s origin is found in the *Sakti**samgama-tantra *and concerns the appearance of Uccista-matarigini, one of Matarigl’s most common forms. Once upon a time, Visnu and Laksmi went to visit Siva and Parvati. Visnu and Laksmi gave Siva and Parvati fine foods, and some pieces dropped to the ground. From these remnants arose a maiden endowed with fair qualities. She asked for leftover food *(uccista). *The four deities offered her their leftovers *isprasada *(food made sacred by having been tasted by deities). Siva then said to the attractive maiden: “Those who repeat your mantra and worship you, their activities will be fruitful. They will be able to control their enemies and obtain the objects of their desires.” From then on this maiden became known as Uccista-matarigini. She is the bestower of all boons.5

The second version of Matarigi’s origin is found in the *Prdnatosini**tantra. *Once upon a time, Parvati was seated on Siva’s lap. She said to him that he always gave her anything she wanted and that now she had a desire to return to her father’s home for a visit. Would he consent to her visiting her father, Himalaya, she asked? Siva was not happy about granting her this wish but eventually complied, saying that if she did not come back in a few days, he would go there himself to ask for her return. Parvati’s mother sent a crane to carry Parvati back to her family home. When she did not return for some days, Siva disguised himself as an ornament maker and went to Himalaya’s house. He sold shell ornaments to Parvati and then, seeking to test her faithfulness, asked that she have sex with him as his payment. Parvati was outraged at the merchant’s request and was ready to curse him, but then she discerned with her yogic intuition that the ornament vendor was really her husband, Siva. Concealing her knowledge of his true identity, she replied: “Yes, fine, I agree. But not just now.”

Sometime later, Parvati disguised herself as a huntress and went to Siva’s home, where he was preparing to do evening prayer. She danced there, near Manas Lake. She wore red clothes, and her body was lean, her eyes wide, and her breasts large. Admiring her, Siva asked: “Who are you?” She replied: “I am the daughter of a Candala. I’ve come here to do penance.” Then Siva said: “I am the one who gives fruits to those who do penance.” Saying this, he took her hand, kissed her, and prepared to make love to her. While they made love, Siva himself was changed into a Candala. At this point he recognized the Candala woman as his wife Parvatl. After they had made love, Parvatl asked Siva for a boon, which he granted. Her request was this: “As you [Siva] made love to me in the form of a Candalinl [Candala woman], this form will last forever and will be known as Uccista-candalini. Only after performing suitable worship to this form will you [Siva] be worshiped and your worship be made fruitful.“6

The third myth that deals with Matarigi’s origin is from the *Svatantra**tantra. *Once upon a time Matariga undertook austerities in order to gain the power to subdue all creatures. He persisted in his ascetic exercises for thousands of years until finally, in a burst of bright light, the goddess Tripura-sundari appeared before him. She emitted brilliant rays from her eyes, and the goddess Kali emerged. Kali then took on a greenish complexion and assumed the form of Raja-matarigini. With the help of this goddess, Matariga was able to realize his desire to control all creatures.7

A fourth story concerning the creation of Matarigl, told to me by an informant in Varanasi, is associated with a small temple dedicated to Kauri-bai, a form of Matarigi, located in a low-caste area of Varanasi. According to this myth, Kauri-bai (whose name associates her with the cowrie shell) was Siva’s sister. She was particularly fastidious and was preoccupied, in a high-caste Brahman sort of way, with purity and pollution. She was annoyed with Siva, who had many habits that she considered disgusting, such as spending time in the cremation ground, imbibing intoxicants, and associating with ghosts and goblins. He was completely inconsiderate of her attempts to keep their house pure and would often track ashes from the cremation ground into her freshly cleaned house. After Siva married Parvati, Parvati made polite overtures to Kauri-bai, inviting her to visit them. Kauri-bai, however, refused all these friendly gestures, complaining bitterly to Parvati about Siva’s disgusting habits. Finally, like a good wife, Parvati took umbrage at the abuses being leveled at her husband and cursed Siva’s sister to be reborn in an untouchable community and to spend her entire life there. And so she was reborn in the untouchable area of Varanasi and in such polluted circumstances found herself very unhappy. She went to Siva, the lord of Varanasi (Kasi Visvanatha), who gave her the boon that people on pilgrimage to Varanasi would have to worship at her shrine before their journey could be considered complete.8

The Goddess Who Prefers Pollution

In these otherwise dissimilar myths, several important themes are emphasized that seem central to Matarigi’s character. The first myth stresses Matarigi’s association with leftover food, which is normally considered highly polluting. Indeed, she herself actually arises or emerges from Siva and Parvati’s table scraps. And the first thing she asks for is sustenance in the form of leftover food *(uccista).9 *

Not only does Matangi request *uccista *in this story, but texts describing her worship specify that devotees should offer her *uccista *with their hands and mouths stained with *uccista; *that is, worshipers should be in a state of pollution, having eaten and not washed.10 This is a dramatic reversal of the usual protocols for the worship of Hindu deities. Normally, devotees are careful to offer particularly pure food or food that the deity especially likes. After the deity has eaten it (consumed its spiritual essence), the food is returned to the worshiper. This leftover food *(uccista, *although it is not called this) is referred to *asprasada *(grace). The ritual give-andtake in this case emphasizes the inferior position of the devotee, who serves the deity and accepts the deity’s leftover food as something to be cherished. In the case of Matarigi, worshipers present her with their own highly polluted leftover food and are themselves in a state of pollution while doing so. In one case, a devotee offers Uccista-matarigini a piece of clothing stained with menstrual blood in order to win the boon of being able to attract someone.11 Menstrual blood is regarded in almost all Hindu texts and contexts as extremely polluting, and menstruating women are forbidden to enter temples or otherwise serve the deities. In the case of Matarigi, these strict taboos are disregarded, indeed, are flaunted.

Worship manuals also specify that no fasting is required before worshiping Matarigi, although it is often desirable in the case of other deities; that vows of any type are not necessary in seeking her blessing (devotees typically agree to perform some pious deed, such as fasting or making a pilgrimage, in return for a deity’s favor); and that worshipers need not observe any rituals of purification prior to her worship. Similarly, anyone may recite her mantra, even those who are not initiated or who would not be considered qualified to undertake any other goddess’s worship.12

In a society such as that of high-caste Hindus, who are probably the authors of most of the texts concerning Matarigi, preoccupation, indeed obsession, with purity and pollution dominates almost every facet of daily life. Keeping track of what is clean and what is unclean, who is clean and who is not and under what circumstances, and how clean one is oneself at any given time and in any given circumstance, becomes oppressive at times. For such purity-minded individuals, furthermore, polluted persons and objects may be regarded with fear bordering on awe, as having the power to completely devastate one and make one unfit for normal social life. For some Hindus, it is exhilarating, if not spiritually liberating, to intensely embrace the forbidden, to come to terms with it once and for all and in so doing to overcome its hold over them. Uccistamatarigini, as the embodiment of the polluted, is the goddess by means of whom one can come directly to terms with pollution. As such, she is both powerful and liberating.”

The Outcaste/Low-Caste Goddess

The second myth concerning the origin of Matarigl also touches on the theme of the polluted or forbidden by associating the goddess with Candalas and with hunting culture, as in the Buddhist tale of Prakrti. By disguising herself as a Candalinl, Parvati assumes the identity of a very low-caste person, and by being attracted to her, Siva allows himself to be intensely polluted. Both deities self-consciously and willingly associate themselves with the periphery of Hindu society and culture. The Candala identity is sacralized, as it were, in the establishment of the goddess Uccista-candalinl. This goddess, a form of Matarigl, sums up in her name the polluted and the forbidden: *uccista *and Candala, polluted, dangerous food and polluted, dangerous people.

In this story, Matarigl is born when Parvati adopts a Candala identity. The story makes the point that Parvati has a facet that is outside normal society; in her character is an “other” identity that transgresses propriety and caste-bound society. This affirmation of Parvati’s “forest” or “hunter” or “Candalini” identity can actually be traced to the *Mahabharata *(3.40.1-5), where Arjuna encounters Siva and Parvati in the guise of hunters in the Himalayas. Given Siva’s strong identity as an outsider in many texts, this is not surprising. Traditionally, Siva and Parvati’s home lies somewhere outside normal society—in the forest, in the mountains, among tribal, low-caste, or outcaste people. This myth reasserts this aspect of their marital history.

The fourth version of Matarigi’s origin, in which she is said to have been Siva’s purity-minded sister, cursed by Parvati to be reborn in an untouchable community, also emphasizes Matarigi’s association with pollution and low castes. Indeed, a central message of the myth is that an undue obsession with purity can be dangerous and destructive. The myth also emphasizes that it can be transformative, indeed, even necessary, to associate with that which is polluted or to worship a deity who is closely identified with those who are of low caste. Siva and Parvati, by implication, are not as preoccupied with pollution as Kauri-bai; Siva is even said to make contact purposely with polluting things and people. As Kauribai, then, Matarigl is clearly identified with a goddess who lives among low castes in a polluted environment and who earned this dubious distinction by being overly preoccupied with avoiding pollution.

Matarigi’s association with low castes and pollution is also clear in the ways in which polluted substances are handled among certain communities in Nepal. The lowest group of castes in Nepal, the Pore, includes sweepers, cleaners of latrines, and fishermen. These castes have the important job of collecting and accumulating the polluted and polluting detritus of other castes and getting rid of it. They not only collect physically impure things, such as human waste, but are also thought to accumulate pollution associated with death and bad luck. They are required to live outside the village and in this sense define the boundaries of “pure” society. That society cannot, in fact, function without them: they provide the valve through which it rids itself of its own pollution. This role of low castes is a common theme in Hindu ideas of caste and pollution. What is particularly interesting for our purposes is that members of this group of castes are also known by the caste name Matarigi.14

In the Nepalese context, polluted substances and items are also associated with special rocks called *chwasas *that are set up at crossroads (a very common location for getting rid of dangerous things). Remains of sacrificial animal heads offered to deities, clothes worn by people just before they died, and other such things are disposed of at the *chwasas. *According to some people, the deity associated with these *chwasas *“is the dangerous goddess, Matarigl,” who is believed to consume these dangerous materials.15 Like the untouchables among whom she is found, that is, she gets rid of pollution by accepting it as an offering and in so doing lives up to her name Uccista-matariginl.

The second version of Matarigi’s origin also emphasizes sexual tension between husband and wife. It contains the familiar theme (in stories of the Mahavidyas) of Parvati (or Sati) asking Siva for permission to return to her paternal home and Siva’s reluctance to grant it. Siva, in disguise, seeks to test and seduce his own wife, while she in turn does the same thing to him. They present themselves to each other as “the forbidden” and, perhaps inadvertently (it is not clear), make themselves more sexually appealing to each other. Parvati agrees to have sex with the ornament merchant, and Siva lusts after the Candala huntress. One of the central tensions in the story is the lure and attractiveness of illicit sex. In the *panca **tattva *ritual, the woman with whom *maithuna *(sexual intercourse) is performed is not one’s wife and can be from a low caste. In both the story and *the **pafica **tattva *ritual, the power of illicit sex is transformative in one way or another. Siva is actually transformed into a Candala in the act of sex, while the *sadhaka *who performs *maithuna *with a low-caste woman seeks spiritual transformation. The name Matarigi reinforces this aspect of the goddess as erotically powerful. Her name literally means “she whose limbs are intoxicated (with passion)” and most commonly refers to an impassioned female elephant.

Matarigi is closely identified with a goddess named Savaresvari (mistress of the Savaras). The Savaras are a tribal people often mentioned in Sanskrit literature, and they typify forest culture, life beyond the boundaries of civilized society.16 Savaresvari is described as sixteen and short in stature. She is entirely clothed in leaves and wears a garland *oigunja *seeds and earrings of creepers. She holds a basket made of vines, is collecting fruit with her right hand, and is smiling and singing.17 This goddess, or this form of Matarigi, puts into sharp focus one aspect of Matarigi, her association with the forest. In her thousand-name hymn from the *Nandydvarta-tantra, *Matarigi bears several epithets that associate her with Savaresvari. She is called She Who Lives in the Forest, Who Walks in the Forest, Who Knows the Forest, Who Enjoys the Forest (v. 4), and Savari (v. 103).18 In her hundred-name hymn from the *Rudraydmala, *she is said, like Savaresvarl, to love music (v. 13).19 In her *dhydna *mantra in the *Sdradd-tilaka-tantra, *Raja-matarigl is said to listen to the chattering of green parrots, to play a *wind, *to have paintings of leaves on her forehead, and to wear flower garlands in her hair and conch shells as earrings.20 She is also said to control all wild animals.21 This association with Savaresvari affirms and reinforces Matarigi’s identity with the forest and with tribal culture, both of which are strongly “other” from the point of view of high-caste Brahman society.22

The Goddess of Magical Powers

The third story points to another aspect of Matarigl, namely, her association with magical powers, particularly the power to exert control over others. The sage Matariga subjects himself to austerities to gain this power, and Matarigi appears as a manifestation of Kali in order to enable Matariga to realize his wish. Like other goddesses among the Mahavidyas, particularly Bagalamukhl, Matarigi is worshiped in order to gain certain magical or psychic powers. In a prayer in the *Mahabhdgavata-purdna, *the Mahavidyas are typified according to their peculiar natures and powers. The *sadhaka *asks to be like Chinnamasta in showing generosity to others, like Bagalamukhi in battle, like Dhumavati when angry, in kingly functions like Tripura-sundari, in times of peace like Bhuvaneśvarī, and in controlling enemies like Matarigi.23 The *Tantrasdra *at several points says that by meditating upon, reciting the mantra of, or worshiping Matarigi one gains power over others, the power of having everything one says come true, and the power of attracting people.24

Texts devoted to the Mahavidyas often contain a section called *prayog **vidhi, *“concerning the acquisition of desires.” It is here that the different “recipes” are given for achieving specific benefits in return for worshiping the goddess in question. While Matarigi is not at all unique in terms of being approached for certain desires, she is definitely associated with acquiring magical powers and granting favors. It is useful in getting a more complete picture of Mahavidya worship to discuss in some detail this aspect of her cult.

Certain preliminary rites are necessary before making the specific offerings to obtain what one wants. First, and of essential importance, is the empowerment of the goddess’s mantra *(purascania), *in this case Matarigi’s mantra, which will be an indispensable part of subsequent rituals. The *sadhaka *empowers the mantra by performing the following rituals: (1) reciting the mantra itself ten thousand times, (2) offering flowers mixed with honey and ghee in a fire while saying the mantra one thousand times, (3) pouring purified water *(tarpana, *often done for spirits of the ancestors) one hundred times while reciting the mantra, (4) sprinkling water ten times while saying the mantra, and finally (5) offering food to ten Brahmans. The mantra is now empowered and is referred to as a *siddha *mantra.25

The initial empowering of the mantra need not be done every time it is used. On subsequent occasions, the *sadhaka *need only recite the mantra ten thousand or one thousand times in order to “recharge” it, as it were, restoring it to its full power. Next is performed the worship of the *pftba, *or place, within which the offerings will be made for the desired boons. After the *pitha *has been made pure by banishing inimical spirits and summoning protective deities (the guardians of the ten directions), the goddess’s yantra is duly constructed (either physically or mentally). On this yantra altar the *sadhaka *kindles a fire. Depending upon what it is the *sadhaka *wishes, different elements or combinations of elements are offered up in the fire, accompanied by the recitation of Matarigi’s mantra. Sometimes certain times of day or night, and sometimes also special places, such as cremation grounds, river banks, forests, or crossroads, are specified as the most effective for the performance of the ritual. The following twelve “recipes” are prescribed:

If *homa *(fire sacrifice) is done with *mallika *flowers (a small, white, fragrant flower—not jasmine), the *sadhaka *will acquire success in yoga.
If offerings of *bel *flowers are made, the *sadhaka *will acquire the power to rule over others, kingship.
If offerings *oipalas *flowers or leaves are made, the *sadhaka *will acquire control over others.
If another type of plant is used, diseases will be destroyed.
*If nim *twigs with rice are offered up in the fire, the worshiper will obtain great wealth.
If *mm *oil and salt are offered, the *sadhaka *will be able to destroy enemies, and his or her store of grain will increase.
If salt alone is offered, the *sadhaka *will gain the power to control others.
If turmeric powder (which is bright yellow and hence favored by Bagalamukhl) is offered, the worshiper will acquire the power to paralyze others (Bagalamukhi’s special power, *stambhana). *
If eight different fragrant items, including red and white sandal paste, saffron, and camphor, are offered, the *sadhaka *will be attractive to people. If the mantra is recited an additional one hundred times and sandal paste put on the worshiper’s forehead, he or she will become attractive to the whole world.
If salt mixed with honey is offered up in the fire and the mantra is recited 108 times at night, the *sadhaka *will acquire the power to attract others.
If the *sadhaka *makes rice powder and with this makes bread and then eats it while reciting the Matarigl mantra, he will control women. In this case there is no *homa *offering.
Finally, any person can be made the *sadhaka’s *servant if the following rites are performed: In the dark of night put a conch in a (presumably dead) crow’s stomach, wrap the crow in blue thread, and then burn it on a cremation fire. Meditate on the ashes of the burned crow while invoking Matarigi’s mantra one thousand times. Anyone to whom the ashes are given will become the worshiper’s servant. No *homa *accompanies this recipe, although the burning of the crow on the cremation fire might be thought of as a fire offering to Matarigl.26

In the *Tantrasdra *we are told that at night, in a cremation ground or at a crossroads, the *sadhaka *should offer fish, meat, cooked rice, milk, and incense to Matarigi to acquire poetic talent and victory over enemies and to become a second Brhaspati (the gods’ priest-guru). We are also told in the same text that to achieve the highest knowledge of the scriptures, Matarigi should be offered *uccista, *cat meat, and goat meat.27 In the *Purascarydrnava, *Karna-matarigi is invoked in the hope that she will whisper in the *sadhaka’s *ear the truth about some question posed by the *sadhaka.28 *We are told elsewhere that those who recite Matarigi’s mantra one hundred thousand times, offer ten thousand flowers in the sacrificial fire, and worship her yantra will get great wealth, will be able to control an angry king and his children, will be immune to the troubles caused by evil spirits, and will themselves become like deities. In this case, to insure the success of their *sadhand, *worshipers are cautioned to refrain at all times from criticizing women and to treat them like goddesses.29