Dhumavati
42.1. Dhumavati whose nature is smoke is again a Mahavidya who is not known outside the Mahavidya cult. There are no references to her in the earlier mythologies. She unlike most other Mahavidya is old, ugly and sulking. She is the only Mahavidya without a consort. She is a widow associated with strife, loneliness, unfulfilled desires and inauspicious things of life. Dhumavati shares some of her characteristics with three other ancient goddesses !irriti !irriti,, "yeshta "yeshta and #laksh #lakshmi mi $ who personi personified fied disorder disorder,, dec decay ay,, poverty poverty,, misfort misfortune une,, dissension, sickness, and the whole range of life%s ills, culminating in death. !irriti in &ig 'eda is the opposite of Rta the order, harmony and well(eing in nature. !irriti in contrast to Rta stands for anger, disorder, death, decay and destruction. "yeshta, the elder, is dark and ugly. She indulges indulges in )uarrels and is intolerant of anything anything that is auspicious. . She is instinctively drawn to households in which there is strife*where family mem(ers )uarrel or where the adults feed themselves and disregard the hunger of their children. #lakshmi is the dark $ reverse image of +akshmi. She is everything that +akshmi is not. #lakshmi sym(olies (ad temper, hunger, thirst, need, poverty and all the misfortunes of life. 42.2. -hile there are similarities (etween Dhumavati and the a(ove three goddesses, goddesses, there are also some differences. nlike those goddesses, Dhumavati is a widow/ she is ugly and
old. Dhumavati is also said to (e fierce, frightening and fond of (lood. She has , however, certain positive characteristics such as0 guiding the devotee along the spiritual path to help himher attain li(eration/ granting Siddihis and rescuing her devotees from trou(les. Tantra descri(es her as an old and ugly widow. She is thin, tall, 4.1. The Dhumavati Tantra unhealthy, and has a pale comple3ion. She is descri(ed as restless and wicked. nadorned with any ewel, she wears old, dirty clothes and has disheveled hair. 5er eyes are fearsome, her nose long and crooked, and some of her long fang$like teeth have fallen out, leaving her smile with gaps. 5er ears are ugly and rough/ her (reasts hang down. 6n one of her trem(ling hands, she holds a winnowing (asket, while the other makes a (oon$conferring gesture 7varada-mudra8 or knowledge$giving gesture 7 cinmudra8. She rides in a horseless chariot chariot (earing (earing an em(lem of a crow crow as her (anner (anner.. She is astute astute and crafty crafty.. #lways #lways hungry and thirsty, Dhumavati initiates )uarrels and invokes fear.
4.. The sym(olisms associated with Dhumavati e3plain that she points out to the negative aspects of life, asking us to develop a sense of detachment .The (owl of of fire she holds (urns ignorance and also indicates that all things are eventually destroyed. The winnowing (asket is viveka the power of discrimination that separates the grain 7real8 from the chaff 7unreal8. 9n an outer level , she seems like poverty, destitution, and suffering, the great misfortunes that we all fear in life. :ut in truth, she directs us look (eyond the small am(itions .
Prapancasarasara-samgraha a, Dhum 4.2 4.2.. 6n the the Prapancasarasara-samgrah Dhumav avat atii is desc descri ri(e (ed d as havi having ng a (lac (lack k comple3ion and wearing ornaments made of snakes. 5er dress is made of rags taken from cremation grounds. She holds a spear and a skull$cup 7 kapala8 in her two hands. The spear is sometimes replaced (y a sword. #nother description in the same te3t says Dhumavati is aged with a wrinkled, angry face and cloud$like comple3ion. 5er nose, eyes, and throat resem(le that of a crow;s. She holds a (room, a winnowing fan, a torch, and a clu(. She is cruel and frowning. 5er hair appears disheveled and she wears the simple clothes of a (eggar. 5er (reasts are dry. 5er hair is grey, her teeth crooked and missing, and her clothes old and worn.
4.4.. There are also unusual descriptions of Dhumavati where she is shown as a good$ looking young woman full of life with attractive features. She is not a widow. She is holding a winnowing (asket while riding a huge crow. She is adorned with ornaments, (racelets, arm$(ands, necklaces, and pendants. She is elegantly dressed. 5er appearance here is in total contrast to the descriptions of her as ugly and old wearing soiled rags.
4.<. Dhumavati is worshipped (y the Tantrics for attainment of Siddhis 7magical powers8. Though Dhumavati;s worship is considered ideal for (achelors, widows, Sanyasins and Tantrics, the householder too flock to her seeking (lessings and fulfillment of their desires .
44.1. 6f Sodasi and :huvanesvari represent the sparkling vivacious stage in woman%s life, Dhumavati proects the end and the misera(le part of woman%s life. She is an old and a sulking widow who has nowhere to go. She is lonely, a social outcast / (ut, free from its o(ligati o(ligations ons and constrai constraints. nts. She lives lives in a cre cremati mation on ground ground surrou surrounded nded (y (ur (urning ning funeral pyres. She is often hungry and thirsty/ and, is rankled (y unsatisfied desires and the memory memory of many things things she missed missed in her life. life. The crow crow which is her em(lem and and on which she is shown riding is a scavenger (ird feeding on half$(urnt corpse/ it is a sym(ol of death and inauspiciousness. 44.2. 44.2. Smoke Smoke (illow (illowing ing out out of a )ue )uenc nche hed d fire fire is her natur naturee .Dhum .Dhumav avati ati%s %s youth youth and and freshness are (urnt out/ and what remains is the smoke of her spent life. #nd like smoke she is restless and wandering. wandering. 5er nature nature is not (rightness. The smoke usually usually is dark, polluting and concealing. #nother interpretation is that Dhumavati is a good teacher. :y o(scuring or covering all that is known, Dhumavati reveals the depth of the unknown. Dhumavati o(scures what is evident in order to reveal the hidden and the profound.
44.. She favors the unmarried, the single and the widowed. She instills a desire to (e alone and and an aver aversio sion n to worldl worldly y thin things. gs. Sh Shee enc encou ourag rages es a cer certa tain in kind kind of aloof aloofne ness ss and and independence/ and sets one on the spiritual path. Dhumavati represents a typical old widow of the orthodo3 society. #lthough a widow was considered unfortunate or inauspicious, she was free to undertake spiritual pursuits such as pilgrimages and vratas that were not easily possi(le in her younger days while she had to shoulder family responsi(ilities. =or some of those women who found their married life oppressive, widowhood might come as a sort of relief. +ike the traditional sanyasin, a pious widow is outside the society free from its constraints and o(ligations. 44.4. 44.4. Dhumav Dhumavati ati sym(olic sym(olically ally portray portrayss the disappoi disappointme ntments, nts, frustra frustration tions, s, humiliat humiliation ion,, defeat, loss, sorrow and loneliness that a woman endures. She is the knowledge that comes thro hrough ugh hard ard e3p e3perie rience nces, after ter the youthf thful des desires and fan fantasie sies are are put (ehind.Dhumavati thus represents a stage of woman%s life that is (eyond worldly desires, (eyond the conventional ta(oos of what is polluting or inauspicious. She desires to (e free and at the same time she likes to (e useful to the family and to the society. 44.<. 6n her temples near 'aranasi, Dhumavati despite her aloofness is regarded as a guardian deity who looks after the village folk and (lesses with worldly happiness. She is no longer the inauspicious and dangerous goddess approached only (y the Tantrics.
Devim Koteshwarim Suddhampapaghnim Kamaroopinim Namami Muktikamaya Dehi Muktim Harapriye
Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Swaha
