Chapter 1 - The origin of the Vārāhī Tantra

The first chapter deals with the origin of the Vārāhī Tantra.

In the Great Seat of Kāmarūpa, which is situated atop severed heads and headless bodies,^[1] in the midst of a gathering of hosts of Spirits (gaṇa)^[2] and throngs of yoginīs (vicitrayoginīgaṇāḥ), each with her own vehicle, there is the Hero (vīra), Pracaṇḍabhairava, seated on a fearful boar.

After paying homage to Him with devotion, the Goddess Guhyākālī asks him,

"How is it possible to become unsurpassable by using the proper nectar, how is the impure converted into the pure, and how should the doctrine known as Vārāhī Tantra–which merely by its slightest recollection the fourfold matter is manifested–be meditated upon?" (vv.1-5).

In response to the Goddess, the Great Caṇḍabhairava reveals the Vārāhī Tantra, which, he says, should be kept hidden in the heart.

He tells the following story: In the early period of the Kṛtayuga there was a demon known in the three worlds as Viḍālarakṣasa, having as weapons an elephant and a spear (gajaśūlāyudhakaraḥ). He, the Great Mighty One, was victorious in battles and tyrannized the whole world. He was a worshipper of the Goddess Vārāhī, who would follow his commands and of whom the gods were so frightened that they would tremble by only hearing her name (vv.6-9). Later, at the time of the events of the Rāmāyaṇa (Dvāparayuga), when Rāma, Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa were exiled in the forest and the gods incarnated as humans^[3] to help Rama defeat Ravaṇa, the demon who kidnapped his wife Sītā. In order to liberate his beloved, Rāma went to Laṅkā and a battle ensued between the demon Viḍāla and His army (vv.10-30). When Hanumān began to kill the rakṣasās with his hammer, Viḍāla invoked Vārāhī, the Great Goddess who holds in her hands a spear and a skull, the Destroyer of Fear and the Savior from Suffering. After hearing his call, Vārāhī–Who is the Mistress of the three Worlds (Tribhuvaneśvarī) and the Mother of the Universe–arrived, holding a spear and a knife; and with a contemptuous outcry she swallowed the entire army of Rāmacandra, with the exception of Rāma and Hanumān. After seeing this, the astonished Rāma fainted and Markaṭa, weeping, invoked Durvāsa, the Master of the World (Jagadguru) to protect Rāma (vv.31-40). Durvāsa hastened to Lanka and was asked by Markaṭa how it could be possible to free the army of Rāma (vv.41-43). Durvāsa then revealed the mantra, viniyoga and dhyāna of the Goddess Vārāhī, saying that the mantra should be uttered after installing Rāma in one's left thigh and Hanumān in the right. The Goddess Vārāhī is described here as having an excellent boar's face and sitting on a buffalo; she holds a noose (pāśa) and a hook (aṅkuśa) (vv.44-53).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The word ruṇḍa ("mutilated body") in the compound "ruṇḍamuṇḍoparisthite" could be incorrect, since in both manuscripts the Nevārī character for the letter "bha" at times replaces the Devanāgarī "ru", which it resembles. The word "ruṇḍa" can be read as "bhaṇḍa", thereby referring to the demon Bhaṇḍa, killed by the Goddess Tripurasundarī, who resides as Kāmākhyā in the Seat of Kāmarūpa. In this sense, the compound could be translated as "standing on the severed head of the demon Bhaṇḍa". In the Śākta literature, the two demons Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa are said to have been killed by the Goddess Chamuṇḍa, so another interpretation could be "standing on the demons Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa".

[2]:

According to the Amarakośa, the Gaṇas are hosts of attendant Spirits and Devayoni begotten by the Devas, i.e. Vidyādhara, Apsarā, Yakṣa, Rākṣasa, Gandhārva, Kinnara, Piśāca, Guhyaka, Siddha and Bhūta.

[3]:

The text says “devatānarasambhavaḥ”, which means “the birth of the gods as men”; it could also be read as “devavānarasambhavaḥ”, i.e. “the birth of the gods as monkeys”.