Text courtesy : indianetzone.com
Image courtesy : exoticindiaart.com Goddess Matangi is one of the Ten Mahavidyas. She is a primary form of the all-powerful Goddess. The goddess is Siddha Vidya or Tantra personified, thus commanding occult power. According to Hindu Mythology she is believed to be the daughter of Sage Matanga. She is the goddess of beauty, marriage, happy married life, and son and material gains. The goddess has dark emerald complexion and has three eyes. In the mythic cycle of Daksa yajna she appears as a manifestation of Sati, wife of Lord Shiva and the daughter of Daksa. Goddess Matangi is associated with the full moon, the `night of intoxication.` Goddess Matangi resides in the throat chakra. She grants control over poetry and music in particular. It is believed that she was born outside the caste of the Hindus. According the Ramayana her father was a chandala who was raised as a Brahmin. This suggests that she was a non-Vedic deity. She is a complete Goddess in herself despite being portrayed as one of the ten Mahavidyas. Origin of Goddess Matangi :-- The first myth of Matangi associates her with Ucchista Matangini. Once Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi visited Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati where the former presented the later with food items. While eating few pieces dropped on the floor and from those leftovers a maiden arose who was endowed with good attributes. The maiden came to be known as Uccista Matangini. The second myth associated with the origin of Matangini has been derived from the Pranatosini- Tantra. When Parvati did not return from her fathers abode Shiva disguised himself as an ornament maker and went to her. To test her faithfulness he asked her for lovemaking. Parvati became furious but stopped upon realizing his identity. Later Parvati disguised herself as a huntress and approached Shiva. Lord Shiva was so impressed with her that he even made love with her. While making love Shiva was himself turned into Chandala and realized that the Chandala was his wife Parvati. The goddess requested to Shiva that as they made love in the form of a Chandalini, this form would last forever and will be named as Uccista- Chandalini. The third myth has been derived from the Svatantra- Tantra. According to legend once Matanga assumed austerities to achieve the power to suppress all creatures. He practiced his asceticism for thousands of years. Finally Goddess Tripura Sundari appeared and emitted rays from her eyes from which Goddess Kali emerged. Kali put on a greenish complexion and took the form of Raja-Matangini. With the help of the goddess Matanga fulfilled his desire to control all creatures. Goddess Matangi in Buddhism :-- Goddess Matangi has been associated in Buddhism and also finds mention in the Divyavadana which is a Buddhist collection of stories concerning previous lives of the Buddha that was probably written around 250-300 C.E. these texts relates Matangi as the daughter of elephant hunter king Matang. The Goddess Meenakshi at Madurai is worshipped as Mathangi. Mattangi is also the name of the recluse woman on whom the head of Renuka was placed by Parasurama when he could not find the body of his mother. Since then she has been worshipped as a tutelary deity under the name of Ellamma. Matangi is the adviser of Tripur Sundari. She is summoned to attain command over speech, creativity and knowledge. Matangi is considered as the first mortal being and gave birth to humankind. She is depicted in various forms. She is depicted as green or blue holding a Veena, Knife and a Skull. At times she is seen seated on a corpse, holding a skull and a bowl of blood, with untidy hair. She therefore also represents the transformative power of the Mantra. |
