Prathyangira
Encyclopedia
Prathyangira, also known as Atharvana Bhadrakali
, is a Hindu
Goddess
associated with shakti
, the Hindu concept of feminine energy. She is described as a goddess with a lion
's face and a human body. This combination of lion and human forms represents the balance of good and evil.
with Kali
. "Bhadra" means "benevolent".
In the beginning of the Satya
yuga
, the Lord Narasimha
, an avatar of Vishnu
, killed the unruly King Hiranyakashipu
by tearing up his body and drinking his blood. Because of the anger in Hiranyakashipu's body and the malicious effects of human blood, Narasimha was drunk on rage and could not be stopped. To calm him down with the power of compassion, Lord Shiva
came down as Sarabeswara, a bird-animal-human hybrid. Upon seeing this, Lord Narasimha created Ganda-Berunda, a two headed-bird that was Sarabeswara's opposite. Upon seeing this, Sarabeshwara turned into Bhairava
(Shiva's fierce form) and created Goddesses Pratyangira from his third eye. Prathyangira ate the bird, displaying rage the like of which the gods had never seen before. They praised her as she calmed Narasimha down by sitting on his lap.
. Indrajit
was performing "Nikumbala yaga" (a sacred ritual to worship Prathyangira) while Rama and his soldiers were waging war in Sri Lanka
. Hanuman
came down to stop this ritual because he knew that if Indrajit completed it, he would become invincible.
, the title "Maha Bhairava Poojitha" is identified with Prathyangira. She was also called "Bhairava pathni", (wife of Bhairava
). Another one of her names is "Daksha yagna vinasini", "the goddess who destroyed Daksha
's sacrifice".
Bhadrakali
Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....
, is a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
associated with shakti
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
, the Hindu concept of feminine energy. She is described as a goddess with a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
's face and a human body. This combination of lion and human forms represents the balance of good and evil.
Meaning of the Name
The Goddess's alternative name is Atharvana Bhadrakali, identified in the AtharvavedaAtharvaveda
The Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda"....
with Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
. "Bhadra" means "benevolent".
Mythology
As told in Markandeya Purana:In the beginning of the Satya
Satya
Satya is a Sanskrit word that loosely translates into English as "truth" or "correct". It is a term of power due to its purity and meaning and has become the emblem of many peaceful social movements, particularly those centered on social justice, environmentalism and vegetarianism.Sathya is also...
yuga
Yuga
Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is...
, the Lord Narasimha
Narasimha
Narasimha or Nrusimha , also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism...
, an avatar of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, killed the unruly King Hiranyakashipu
Hiranyakashipu
Hiranyakashipu [golden-haired] is an Asura from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. The Puranas describe Hiranyakashipu as an Asura. His younger brother, Hiranyaksha was slain by Varaha, one of the Avatars of Vishnu and angered by this, Hiranyakashipu decided to gain magical powers by performing...
by tearing up his body and drinking his blood. Because of the anger in Hiranyakashipu's body and the malicious effects of human blood, Narasimha was drunk on rage and could not be stopped. To calm him down with the power of compassion, Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
came down as Sarabeswara, a bird-animal-human hybrid. Upon seeing this, Lord Narasimha created Ganda-Berunda, a two headed-bird that was Sarabeswara's opposite. Upon seeing this, Sarabeshwara turned into Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
(Shiva's fierce form) and created Goddesses Pratyangira from his third eye. Prathyangira ate the bird, displaying rage the like of which the gods had never seen before. They praised her as she calmed Narasimha down by sitting on his lap.
In Hindu Epics
Prathyangira is also mentioned in the Hindu epic RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
. Indrajit
Indrajit
Indrajit or Meghanatha , a warrior mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana, was the son of the Lankan king Ravana. The word 'Indrajit' literally means the 'conqueror of Indra '....
was performing "Nikumbala yaga" (a sacred ritual to worship Prathyangira) while Rama and his soldiers were waging war in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
came down to stop this ritual because he knew that if Indrajit completed it, he would become invincible.
In Lalitha Sahasranama
In the Lalita SahasranamaLalita sahasranama
Lalita sahasranama is a sacred Hindu text dated to the 12th century A.D. for the worshippers of the Goddess Lalita Devi, i.e. the Divine Mother, in the form of her and the male gods' feminine power, Shakti. Lalita is the Goddess of bliss, an epithet for Parvati. Etymologically, "Lalita" means "She...
, the title "Maha Bhairava Poojitha" is identified with Prathyangira. She was also called "Bhairava pathni", (wife of Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
). Another one of her names is "Daksha yagna vinasini", "the goddess who destroyed Daksha
Daksha
In Hinduism, Daksha, "the skilled one", is an ancient creator god, one of the Prajapatis, the Rishis and the Adityas. Daksha is said to be the son of Aditi and Brahma...
's sacrifice".
Temples
There are three temples in India with dedications to Prathyangira, usually consisting of a Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi Statue and Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi Sannadhis:- Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi Temple, situated in SholinganallurSholinganallurSholinganallur is a suburb of Chennai located on the IT corridor south of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.- Demographics : India census, Sholinganalur had a population of 15,519....
, ChennaiChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
-119. It is the first temple with Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi as the main God, where the Goddess is throned "gigantically and powerfully".. - Ayyavadi (Aivar Padi) near KumbakonamKumbakonamKumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
. This temple was built many centuries before the Prathyangira Devi Statue was placed in the form of Suthai (Tamil-சுதை-Made up of Brick and Cement). Here Prathyangira is lion-faced with 18 hands. - Vedian Enthal, a small village near ManamaduraiManamaduraiManamadurai is a panchayat town in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Manamadurai is located at It has an average elevation of 70 metres .shops-Demographics:...
. Here Prathyangira is five-faced and seated on a lotus in the form of Suthai. - Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi Temple situated in DilsukhnagarDilsukhnagarDilsukhnagar has grown into a well-known commercial and residential suburb of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It has become one of the many major centers of Hyderabad with one of the highest density and development. Much of its growth has taken place in the last 5–10 years due to continuous...
, Hyderabad - Pratyangira temple in Madurai-OthakadaiOthakadaiOthakadai is a panchayat town in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Demographics: India census,Othakadai had a population of 12,185. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Othakadai has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:...
- Maha Devi Prathyangira temple, Brasil
- Maha Prathyangira Devi Temple - Bangalore
- Brahmapuram Sree Mahalakshmi Pratyangira Temple, Sasthamangalam, Trivandrum - 10