The goddess who is the synonym of knowledge – Devi Saraswati. Since, Saraswati Puja is round the corner and Bengal is going crazy with puja shoppings, quintessentially holud saree and holud panjabi (yellow coloured saree and kurta) for the ladies and men of all age, I have decided to explore another side of the goddess. Let’s get esoteric and explore a very tiny part of Tantrism and Shaktism.
This is a wide subject, liked by few and mostly feared by many (from what I see around me). I cannot say that I do have a very deep understanding on it but mysticism or the whole concept of the existence of unknown powers around us or a super deity has always pricked a cord in me. Particularly, I am interested in how our ancestors kept on exploring and discovering new ways to connect with these powers or God one might say, in one way or the other. Whether it is in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity – the concept was always to strengthen the invisible powers within a being by connecting with the primordial cosmic energy of this universe. Within Hinduism, some chose to indulge in the rituals and some renouncing everything only concentrated to attain the supreme enlightenment through a practice of meditation or ‘sadhana’. This meditation was done to relive the seven most powerful ‘shaktipunja’ (energy stores) inside our body and if once done the person is said to have met the God. Modern day Noetic science would define it as the empowerment of our very powerful brain cells. Yes, you heard that right. Our brain cells have power, our thoughts have power. As said in Gita, God resides within us. But then, that is a whole different subject altogether.
In my understanding, Tantrism or Mahavidya is another path discovered by humans to connect with god. There is a lot of misconception around it and is said to associated with black magic and occult but what I understood is that with time everything gets associated with distorted facts and that has been done with Mahavidyas, too. It is an ancient knowledge and there is no harm in knowing of what kind or what way our ancestors acquired and perceived knowledge. As it is always said again and again – ‘it is always about perception’.
But a tantric form of Devi Saraswati?? I was intrigued. How I gained the knowledge is interesting. Since, I am explicitly interested in the history of art forms, I was reading through the birth of Mandala paintings where I found that it has evolved from the trait of Buddhist Tantrism, under the name of Vajrayana. I started digging out. Then, I found out that Vajrayana has some of its roots into Hindu Tantrism. Some of Vajraya paintings are mandalas and have goddesses like Tara, Kali and Matangi as the central devi. These paintings were actually part of the rituals of Vajrayana tantrism. Tara, Kali, Matangi are actually the tantric forms of Shakti or Creatrix – Adi Shakti or Adi Para Shakti as popularly known as. A Wiki tells me –
“The Mahavidya (Sanskrit: महाविद्या, IAST: Mahāvidyā, lit. Great Wisdoms) are a group of ten aspects of Adi Parashakti in Hinduism. The 10 Mahavidyas are Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari (Shodoshi), Bhuvaneshvari, Tripura Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala.” – Wikipedia
According to a story from the Shakta Maha-Bhagvata Purana, when goddess Sati insisted on attending Daksha’s yagna and Shiva refused as they were uninvited, out of anger Sati turned into these Mahavidyas. Kali is the chief Mahavidya. These Mahavidyas are said to encircle Shiva from ten primary directions. Matangi stands in the direction of north-west. Now, Matangi is considered to be the tantric form of Sarawati. Like Saraswati, Matangi is the goddess of wisdom, arts and speech with the addition of supernatural powers. People, who want to gain supreme knowledge, excellence in arts and speech, and supernatural powers worship this goddess. Her description is quite eccentric for a goddess but then she was born when Sati was not exactly in a good mood.
“Though both govern learning and speech, Saraswati represents the orthodox knowledge of the Brahmins while Matangi—the wild and ecstatic outcast—embodies the “extraordinary” beyond the boundaries of mainstream society, especially inner knowledge. Matangi is also associated with Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of knowledge and obstacle removal. Both are related to the elephant and learning. Matangi is also sometimes regarded as his consort.” – Wikipedia
There are quite a lot of tales about her mentioned in Mangalkavyas, Devi Bhagavata Purana and other religious scriptures. What attracted me is the concept of Uchchhista Matangi. A very popular form of Matangi is Uchchhista Matangi. She is said to be offered leftovers.
“Matangi is herself described as the leftover or residue, symbolizing the Divine Self that is left over after all things perish. As the patron of left-over food offerings, she embodies inauspiciousness and the forbidden transgression of social norms.” –Wikipedia
Another point that caught my attention is that Matangi’s green complexion is often associated with unfathomable knowledge. Green is also said to be the colour of Budha, the deity who in Puranic Hindu legends is the presiding lord of the planet Mercury. It is this planet which governs intelligence.
“A list contained within the prose of the Mundamala equates Vishnu’s ten avatars with the ten Mahavidyas. The Buddha is equated to Matangi.”- Wikipedia
On an ending note, what I learnt is that as there are different aspects of human forms, layers and layers of being, there are varied ways of representing the cosmic powers. All these avatars and Mahavidyas somehow represent the complex human innovation of associating with the primordial super power and in a way of discovering the inner truth of one’s own existence. Saraswati or Matangai, from time immemorial learning in any form has always been the primary motive of human advancements and till apocalypse let the Devis enjoy their fair share of reverence.
Curious Ipsita 
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