87 - Discourses on Tantra Volume One
Chapter 22
In the Glory of Shiva – Excerpt A (4)
Then comes Śod́ashii, the third deity. In this connection, let us say something about biija mantra [acoustic roots]. At the time of Shiva, there was no use of biija mantra in Shiva Tantra. The people loved Shiva so intimately that they did not think it necessary to worship Him with a particular biija mantra. In subsequent periods the use of biija mantra became an accepted practice. In Buddhist Tantra, the acoustic root of Kálii was raḿ: this was also the acoustic root of energy. This biija mantra signifies the application of energy in action. But in Post-Shiva Tantra the biija mantra for the same purpose was changed into riiḿ. (Ra, the acoustic root of energy, plus ii suffix, indicating feminine gender, equals riiḿ.) This denotes that energy is a female entity. And in still later days, when this deity Kálii was accepted in the Puranic Shákta Cult (the present custom of the worship of the goddess Kálii is derived from the Puranic Shákta Cult), the biija mantra (riiḿ) was further changed into klrḿ: Klrḿ Káli-káyae namah.
Generally in the Post-Buddha days, during the period of the Puranic Shákta Cult, all the Buddhist, Jain and Post-Shiva Tantric deities were declared to be the wives of Shiva, otherwise the society would not recognize and worship them. But they have different biija mantras. In the Puranic Age, the commonly accepted practice was that the controlling deities derived from Post-Shiva Tantra were designated as “Dakśińá Shakti”, and those derived from Vajráyána Buddhism were designated as “Vámá Shakti”.
For instance, Káliká: she was known as “Vámá Kálii” when worshipped in Buddhist Tantra. When an image was made of her, she would be painted jet-black; her left leg would be placed forward, her right leg behind; and there would be red patches on her left leg. This deity, Vámá Kálii, was not worshipped inside houses or in villages; she was worshipped in the cremation grounds outside the villages. These days, these deities are called by various names: for instance, Vámá Kálii, Shmashána Kálii, Rakśá Kálii and Rat́antii Kálii. These are all deities of the Buddhist Tantra Cult, subsequently declared to be “Vámá Shakti”; and the goddesses of Post-Shiva Tantra who are now accepted in the Puranic Cult are called “Dakśińá Shakti”.
But the images of Dakśińá Shakti are painted black or blue, or light green, and the right leg is placed in front. They are worshipped mainly at home, or inside the villages. The idea is: we may accept the deities of Buddhist Tantra, but not as family deities or village deities. Some sort of distance must be maintained. But in the case of the Dakśińá Shaktis, there is no such distance.
Though both types of deity, dakśińá and vámá, were declared to be the wives of Shiva, historically speaking, they had no relationship with Shiva, because all these deities originated at least five thousand years later than Shiva. Not only that, no human structure can have four hands. They have been selected out of the sixty-four schools of Tantra. Basically, they are not human structures.
Ek so padumá caośatti pákhuŕi
Te madheye nácanti d́omnii bápuŕi.
This is very old Bengali. It means, “There is one lotus flower having sixty-four petals, and in the centre of the petals is dancing Naerátma Devii.” In Buddhist Tantra, Prakrti [the Supreme Operative Principle], who is active in all the manifestations and emanations of this universe, is called Naerátma Devii.
Let us come to Śod́ashii of these ten Mahávidyás. Śod́ashii is also called “Shivá” – that is, “the wife of Shiva, one whose object of meditation is Shiva”. Śod́ashii, who was originally a deity of Buddhist Vajrayána Tantra, was accepted subsequently in Post-Shiva Tantra with a new name, Rájarájeshvarii. Later, in the Puranic Shákta Cult, this deity Rájarájeshvarii was accepted and worshipped, though she was not very popular among the masses. More recently, towards the end of the Mughal period and the beginning of the British period, Krśńa Candra, the king of Nadia, introduced the worship of Rájarájeshvarii, in a slightly changed form and with a new name – Jagaddhátrii. Thus Jagaddhátrii is essentially a Buddhist Tantric deity transformed from Śod́ashii.
You should note carefully that the worship of Jagaddhátrii was especially popular in Krishnanagar. It is comparatively recent in origin, as it started in the early part of British history. Just as Śod́ashii in Buddhist Tantra was conceived to be the wife of Shiva, Rájarájeshvarii and Jagaddhátrii were also declared to be Shiva’s wives. But how can they be the wives of Shiva, who lived seven thousand years ago?
It may be a bit irrelevant to mention here, but the fact is that the worship of Jagaddhátrii is carried out in both Krishnanagar and Chandannagar with great pomp and pageantry. An inhabitant of Chandannagar – possibly his name was Gauṋgá Govinda Bandyopádhyáya – was the Dewan, the Prime Minister, of Nadia. Following the example of Krishnanagar he introduced the worship of Jagaddhátrii in Chandannagar also. In art, grandeur, pomp and pageantry, Chandannagar lags behind Krishnanagar. But Chandannagar can claim supremacy in one special area: there the Jagaddhátrii idols are of gigantic size.
Anyway, these deities, which originated in the days of medieval Jain Tantra, Buddhist Tantra and Post-Shiva Tantra, were not the wives of Shiva. Some had four hands, some had eight hands, etc., so they were not representations of human beings.