The Goddess Vārāhī (Introduction)

The Goddess Vārāhī is well known in the Śākta as well as in the Bauddha Tāntrik literatures, where she is worshipped both as the main Goddess and also as part of a group of goddesses, usually numbering seven or eight, called the Mātṛkās.^[1]

In the Durgāsaptaśatī, the primary text of the Śākta tradition, Vārāhī is considered to be a manifestation (vibhūti) of Durgā, who emerged from Viṣṇu Yajñavarāha (the Boar of the Sacrifice) as one of the Eight Mothers; it is says that, to kill the demon Raktabīja, seven Śaktis sprang forth from the bodies of Brahmā, Śiva, Skanda, Viṣṇu and Indra. Mirroring the forms of their counterparts,^[2] they became known as Brāhmī, Māheśvarī, Kaumārī, Vaiṣṇavī, Vārāhī, Nārasiṃhī and Aindrī; then from the Devī’s body issued forth Śivadūtī, the Goddess’ own terrifying Śakti.^[3] In the Durgāsaptaśatī the Eight Mothers (Aṣṭamātṛkās) are thus formed by the seven gods’ embodied powers together with the Goddess’ own projection; even so they are all considered to be manifestations of the Goddess Herself.

This is clarified in the tenth chapter, when the Goddess replies to the demon Śumbha, who laments about the presence of so many Śaktis helping Her in the battle:

"I am alone in the world. Who else is there beside Me? O vile one, see these Goddesses, who are but the manifestations of My own power (vibhūti), entering into My own self."^[4]

In the Kaulajñānanirṇaya of Matsyendranātha, the founder of the Yoginīkaula Tradition, the Eight Mothers are known as Sahajā Mātarā (the "Mothers of the Innate State"); they are Brāhmī, Māheśvarī, Kaumārī, Vaiṣṇavī, Vārāhī, Vajrahastā, Yogeśvarī and Aghoreśī. They are described as very powerful, fierce and beautiful.^[5] It is said that each of the Mothers emanated eight Śaktis, creating in this way the Sixty-four Yoginīs,^[6] among whom the Aṣṭamātṛkās are considered to be the main Yoginīs.

In the Ādivārāhīsahasranāmastotra, a "hymn on the one thousand names of the Primordial Vārāhī" (which is said to belong to the Uḍḍāmara Tantra^[7]) She is worshipped as the Supreme Deity, an embodiment of the Vedic sacrifice as well as of the Tāntrik ritual.

In the Śrīkula system, as it is revealed in such texts as the Paraśurāmakalpasūtra, Tantrarājatantra, Bhāvanopāniṣad and Lalitāmahātmyā, Vārahī is worshipped as one of the Eight Mothers^[8] and also as the attendant of Lalitātripurasundarī together with Kālī: in this aspect, She is known as Daṇḍinī, having the same attributes of Yama, Vārttālī and Pañcamī (the spouse of Sadāśiva)^[9] while Kālī is variously called Mantriṇī, Śyāmā and Kurukullā. These two Goddesses represent respectively the power and the wisdom of Lalitā.

Within the Lalitāmahātmyā^[10] (or the Lalitopākhyāna), an apocryphic text of the Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa, is found the narration of the battle between Lalitā and the demon Bhaṇḍa; in this conflict, Daṇḍanātha-Vārāhī acts as the Chief of the Army of Lalitā, driving the Kiricakra (a chariot pulled by wild boars) against the demon Viśanga, while Māntrinātha-Kālī is the Counselor of Lalitā and is mounted on the Geyacakra against the demon Viśukra.

In the Paraśurāmakalpasūtra, the worship of Tripurasundarī consists of five 'limbs', which are the Mahāgaṇapatikrama, the Śrīkrama, the Śyāmākrama, the Vārāhīkrama and the Parākrama; here it is said that, after praying Gaṇeśa to remove any obstacles, the practitioner should worship Śyāmā, the Counselor of Lalitā, and Vārāhī, the Personification of the Sacred Oath (Samayāsaṅkeṭa) who punishes sinners and bestows grace to disciplined practitioners. Only after receiving the permission of these two attendents of the Goddess can one worship Tripurasundarī.

In the Tantrarājatantra,^[11] Kurukullā and Vārāhī are the balidevatās (receivers of the offerings) of the sixteen Nityās, the "Eternal" Goddesses identified with the fifteen phases of the moon together with Lalitā.

In the Bhāvanopaniṣad,^[12] Vārāhī is said to be in the form of the father and Kurukullā of the mother. In his commentary to the Bhāvanopaniṣad, Bhaskararāya explains that–though Vārāhī be female–She is yet pitṛrūpā, as Her boar’s face is male. Vārāhī represents fatherhood, because She is the deity of the bone (asthi) which a child gets from their father, while Kurukullā stands for motherhood, being the deity of the flesh (māṃsa), which a child receives from their mother.

In this way, the Purāṇas and Tantras describe Vārāhī mainly as an attendant or aspect of the Supreme Goddess, relating her to the multiform manifestation of the Devī.

In Vajrāyana Buddhism, besides being one of the Eight Mātṛs^[13] Vārāhī also emerges as the Supreme Yoginī Vajravārāhī, embodiment of all the Tantras. Her boar's face here symbolizes the state of enlightenment, where there is the "one-taste" of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa.

She is described in many forms, either with only a woman's face or with two faces: the front the face of a beautiful yet wrathful lady, the second, attached to the side of or atop this human visage, a small, blue boar's head. Alongside these various descriptions, one might well bring to mind certain other divine forms: Vajrayoginī with a human face, meditated upon as being red in hue; Vajravārāhī, usually depicted as red, with two faces;^[14] Krodhakālī, the symbol of all-pervading compassion, visualized as being blue-black, with two faces, standing in a dancing pose, wearing bone ornaments.^[15]

A vast body of literature is dedicated to the Goddess Vārāhī, including such texts as the Vārāhī Tantra (also called the Vajravārāhīkalpa) and various Vajrāvārāhīsādhanās–some in Saṃskṛt, like the ones contained in the Sādhanāmālā collection, and others in Tibetan, like the hidden treasures (gTer-Ma) discovered by the great Tibetan Masters.^[16]

The worship and the different forms of Vārāhī are briefly treated in this Vārāhī Tantra, where she is variously called Svapnavārāhī ("the Boar-Goddess of the Dream"),^[17] Sundarīkālī ("the Beautiful Black Goddess") Who is One with Tripurasundarī and Kālī,^[18] Vajravārāhī, the Yoginī of the Vajrāyana Tradition, who is the protectress of all the gods,^[19] and Nīlavārāhī ("the Blue Boar-Goddess") presiding over the Southern Tradition (Dakṣiṇāmnāya) of the Śākta Tantra.^[20]

In the Vārāhī Tantra, Vārāhī is also worshipped in the groups of the Eight Mothers,^[21] the Sixty-four Yoginīs^[22] and the Six Mistresses of the six Traditions–this last group comprised by Nīlavārāhī of the Dakṣiṇāmnāya, Kālī of the Uttarāmnāya, Kubjikā of the Paścimāmnāya, Mahātripurasundarī of the Ūrdhvāmnāya, Pūrṇeśvarī of the Pūrvāmnāya and Vajrayoginī of the Adha āmnāya.^[23] The worship of the Six Mistresses is part of the cult of Siddhilakṣmī, where the six Goddesses are meditated upon in the six cakras of the human body.^[24]

Vārāhī is also included in the group of the Sixteen Mothers, they being Vārāhī, Nīlakālī, Gaurī, Padmā, Śacī, Medhā, Savitrī, Vijayā, Jayā, Devasenā, Svadhā, Svāhā, Hṛṣṭī (Sṛṣṭī?), Puṣṭī, Tuṣṭī and Ātmakuladevatā.^[25]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

It has been told to us that also in the Vaiṣṇava Tantra, and in particular in the Uḍḍiyāna Tantra (the Vaiṣṇava doctrine as developed in Orissa), Vārāhī is worshipped as one of the Mātṛkās, but mainly She is the Supreme Deity, the symbol of Vaiṣṇavism itself. We were referred to a Vārāhī Tantra, in Orīya script, belonging to the Uḍḍiyāna doctrine, is part of the private collection of the paṇḍit Sadāśiva Ratha Śarmā of Puri. Unfortunately we could not get access to this text, about which we cannot say anything.—The Durgābhaktitaraṅginī (p. 81) of the poet Vidyāpati says that, according to the Pañcarātra (a Vaiṣṇava doctrine), the Mothers of the Universe (Viśvamātā) are Brahmī, Māheśvarī, Kaumārī, Vaiṣṇavī, Vārāhī, Indrāṇi, Cāmuṇḍā and Mahālakṣmī.

[2]:

Durgāsaptaśatī 8.13.

[3]:

Durgāsaptaśatī 8.14-28.

[4]:

[...] (Durgāsaptaśatī 10.5)

[5]:

Kaulajñānanirṇaya 8.25-28.

[6]:

Kaulajñānanirṇaya 8.32

[7]:

In the colophon of the Ādivārāhīsahasranāmastotra it is claimed that the text belongs to the Uḍḍāmara Tantra, but we could not find it therein. The Ādivārāhīsahasranāmastotra is included in a pamphlet called the Ādivārāhīpañcāṅga, edited by Sarveśvar Śāstrī (Vārāṇaseyasaṃskṛtasaṃsthānam, Vārāṇasī 1982).

[8]:

In his introduction to the Tantrarājatantra (page 6) Arthur Avalon says: “At the middle line [of the Bhūpura in the Śrīcakra] the eight Mātṛkās are worshipped, four at the doors and four at the corners.—These are Brāhmī, Māheśvarī, Kaumārī, Vaiṣṇavī, Vārāhī, Indrāṇī, Cāmuṇḍā, and Mahālakṣmī, considered as constituted of Kāma (Kāmamaya), Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Mātsarya, Pāpa and Pūṇya. Brāhmī is conjoined with Kāma because She creates, Māheśvarī with Krodha because She ‘destroys’, Kaumārī with Lobha because, being youthful, She is ‘full of longing’, Vaiṣṇavī with Moha because She fascinates the Universe by Her Moha, Vārāhī with Mada because the boar is an obstinate and proud animal (‘pigheaded’), Indrāṇī with Mātsarya because Indra Her consort is a jealous Devatā, Cāmuṇḍā with Pāpa because by and through Her mediation injury is done, Lakṣmī with Pūṇya, because She is benign and leads the Sādhaka to all virtuous acts. […] The Mātṛkās are worshipped to suppress all evil inclinations associated with each of their names and to gain virtue.”

[9]:

See “The Lalitāsahasranāmastotra with the Bhāskararāya’s Commentary”, translated by R. Anantakṛṣṇa Śāstrī (The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras: 1988, pp.361-362).

[10]:

Lalitāmahātmyā 28.

[11]:

See chapters 3, 22, 23 of the Tantrarājatantra.

[12]:

Bhāvanopaniṣad 5.

[13]:

In the commentary to the Guhyasamājatantra, it is said that the Seven Mothers of the World (Lokamātṛkā) are Brahmāṇī, Vaiṣṇavī, Rudrāṇī, Indrāṇi, Kauberī, Vārāhī and Cāmuṇḍā; Candrakīrti adds that their abodes are respectively a deserted place, a crossroads, a field where there is but a liṅgam, an isolated tree, a mountain-top and a bank of a river (Bauddhatantrakośa, edited by Vajravallabha Dvivedī, Kendrīya Ucca Tibbatī Śikṣā Saṃsthāna, Sārnāth: 1990, part 1, p.15).—In the Journal “Dhīḥ” (n.6, Vārāṇasī: 1998, p.3) is edited a hymn, called “Pīṭhastava”, where the eight Mothers are associated with eight directions, eight cities and eight trees; they are: Brahmāṇī, Māheśvarī, Kaumārī, Vaiṣṇavī, Vārāhī, Śakreśvarī, Cāmuṇḍā and Mahālakṣmī.

[14]:

The different forms of Vajravārāhī and Vajrayoginī are extensively described by Elizabeth English in her "Vajrayoginī. Her Visualizations, Rituals and Forms A Study of the Cult of Vajrayoginī in India” (Wisdom Publications, Boston: 2002, pp.47-107).

[15]:

See “Feast of Chod. From the Cycle of the Wrathful Dakini, Thröma Nagmo” by His Holiness Lingpa Dudjom (Padma Publishing, California 1997).

[16]:

For more details concerning studies on Vajravārahī, see “Vajrayoginī. Her Visualizations, Rituals and Forms A Study of the Cult of Vajrayoginī in India.” by Elizabeth English (Wisdom Publications, Boston: 2002).—See also the journal “Dhīḥ” (in particular nos. 1, 9, 6, 27 and 38), published by the Tibetan University in Sarnāth (Vārāṇasī). In “Dhīḥ” n.27 (Vārāṇasī: 1999, pp.95-138) is found the critical edition of the ten chapter-long Yoga Tantra called the Herukādyavajravārāhīyogarājottamaparamarahasyatantra, which has been compiled from four manuscripts; the editor specifies that this text does not seem to be a Tantra in its on right but is probably a compilation where several subjects related to Heruka have been brought together (p.146). In “Dhīḥ” n.38 (Vārāṇasī: 2004, pp.17-26) is edited a Vajravārāhīkalpa of seven chapters, in the Apabhraṃśa dialect. In “Dhīḥ” n.6 (Vārāṇasī: 1998, p.134) is a reference to the Vajravārāhīdvādaśatantra.

[17]:

Vārāhī Tantra 2.90-95’.

[18]:

Vārāhī Tantra 12.122-113, 13.5-13, 35.1-2.

[19]:

Vārāhī Tantra 4.76-77, 6.43, 12.108-109.

[20]:

Vārāhī Tantra 12.108-109, 22.1-36.

[21]:

Vārāhī Tantra 4.20, 14.109-110, 28.95-118, 31.1-30.

[22]:

Vārāhī Tantra 4.21-29, 29.25-95.

[23]:

Vārāhī Tantra 22.

[24]:

Vārāhī Tantra 15.121-169.

[25]:

Vārāhī Tantra 28.1-3.