{"id":757,"date":"2020-05-06T14:22:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T14:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/?p=757"},"modified":"2020-05-09T12:48:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T12:48:57","slug":"explanation-of-the-chinnamasta-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/?p=757","title":{"rendered":"Symbolism of the Chinnamast\u0101 image"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is an interesting day, the birthday of\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha<\/em>, the incarnation of\u00a0Vi\u1e63\u1e47u<\/em>, and of the Goddess\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>. According to the\u00a0To\u1e0dala-tantra<\/em>, the Ten Mah\u0101vidiy\u0101s<\/em> are associated with the Ten<\/em>\u00a0Vi\u1e63\u1e47u<\/em> avat\u0101rs<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>What do the images of\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha<\/em>\u00a0have in common? According to one legend,\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha<\/em>\u00a0came to destroy the demon\u00a0Hira\u1e47yaka\u015bipu<\/em>.\u00a0Hira\u1e47yaka\u015bipu<\/em>, performing austerities, asked\u00a0Brahm\u0101<\/em>\u00a0not to be killed either outdoors or indoors, either on the ground or in the air, either by humans or animals. Then\u00a0Vi\u1e63\u1e47u<\/em>\u00a0appeared in the form of a half-man and a half-lion, he killed the demon on the porch of his palace, placing him over his knee. So the demon was killed in a way that he did not expect. There is also a continuation of this story, \u00a0in which\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha<\/em>\u00a0gets drunk on the blood of the killed demon and becomes infected with it. After that,\u00a0\u015aiva<\/em>\u00a0appears in the form of\u00a0\u015aarabhe\u015bvara<\/em>\u00a0and neutralises the blood of the demon in\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha<\/em>.\u00a0\u015aarabhe\u015bvara<\/em>\u00a0is depicted not \u00a0just as a lion, but with wings, i.e. he has a great \u00a0ability of manifestation in various \u00a0realms, since he is able to \u00a0fly through the air. Two Goddesses appear from his wings, one is\u00a0Pratya\u1e45gir\u0101<\/em>\u00a0and the other is\u00a0\u015a\u016blin\u012b<\/em>\u00a0Durg\u0101<\/em>, both of which are related to the elimination of the negative influence or witchcraft on the practitioner. In fact,\u00a0\u015aarabhe\u015bvara<\/em>\u00a0is nothing more than an enhanced form of\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha<\/em>. I heard from Indian\u00a0tantrikas<\/em>\u00a0that there are no contradictions here, because\u00a0Vi\u1e63\u1e47u<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u015aiva<\/em>\u00a0are \u00a0fused in the form of\u00a0Harihara<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you \u00a0look at the \u00a0image of\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>, you will see that it stands on\u00a0K\u0101ma<\/em>, the God of sex, who is in the intercourse with his companion\u00a0Rati<\/em>\u00a0(Goddess of passion). Thus,\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0 gets energy from passion, but in its essence, this passion is also self-transformation or sublimation.\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0chopped off her own head and holds it in her hand, while her head drinks a stream of blood from the body. Two other streams are drunk by her two companions. This is a symbol of the three channels, where\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0herself symbolises\u00a0su\u1e63um\u1e47\u0101<\/em>\u00a0and the other two Goddesses \u2013 the channels\u00a0i\u1e0d\u0101<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0pi\u1e45gala<\/em>. In other words,\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0is a certain single reality that is present in all channels, in the power of passion and creation. In fact, it is a single indestructible force within every living form. Her\u00a0mantra<\/em>\u00a0is the same as the\u00a0Vajrav\u0101r\u0101h\u012b\u00a0mantra<\/em>\u00a0in Buddhism, \u00a0who is also known there as the Goddess\u00a0Khechar<\/em>\u012b<\/em>\u00a0(mudr\u0101<\/em>) of white color. The name\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0in the\u00a0mantra<\/em>\u00a0is \u201cVajravairocan<\/em>\u012b<\/em>\u201d (\u2018the shining lightning\u2019), and the term\u00a0vajra<\/em>\u00a0 could also mean \u201cindestructibility\u201d.<\/p>\n

From my experience of worshiping\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>, I can say that this form is associated with a deep comprehension of one element or aspect of self, through which it is possible to penetrate into all others. You \u00a0kind of unite them and go beyond them. In\u00a0yoga<\/em>, for example, you exhale smoothly (rechaka<\/em>) and automatically comprehend the essence of the correct inhalation (p\u016braka<\/em>). Through both of them you comprehend the essence of the retention (kumbhaka<\/em>).\u00a0Kumbhaka<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 from the root \u0915\u0941\u092e\u094d\u092c\u094d \/\u00a0kumb<\/em>\u00a0( something which encompasses, embodies in itself). Therefore, \u00a0a \u00a0vessel is often a symbol of female genitals \u00a0(yon\u012b<\/em>), from the root \u092f\u0941 \/\u00a0yu<\/em>, \u2013 something which connects, forms and holds in itself.\u00a0Yon\u012b<\/em>\u00a0 could also mean something that is associated with \u00a0various forms of birth, all creation comes from it, all forms of life, they dissolve in it.\u00a0Kumbha<\/em>\u00a0or a vessel is a symbol of the body, both individual and the body of the universe, all life (am\u1e5bta<\/em>) and the whole universe is in it. A vessel is a symbol of the unity of external and internal space (vyoman<\/em>), the void inside \u00a0and outside a vessel is one in its essence. Therefore, there is one single reality in all our bodies. We \u00a0could say that these are parts: inhalation, exhalation, retention, like other parts of\u00a0yoga<\/em>, besides\u00a0pr\u0101\u1e47\u0101y\u0101ma<\/em>,\u00a0\u0101sana<\/em>,\u00a0praty\u0101h\u0101ra<\/em>,\u00a0dh\u0101ra\u1e47\u0101<\/em>,\u00a0yama<\/em>,\u00a0niyama<\/em>, etc. All of them are one single\u00a0s\u0101dhan\u0101<\/em>, one\u00a0yoga<\/em>, like other\u00a0yogas<\/em>\u00a0(r\u0101ja<\/em>,\u00a0karma<\/em>,\u00a0j\u00f1\u0101na<\/em>,\u00a0laya<\/em>). Unfortunately, people have separated all these methods now, although they have one goal and one reality. Once you comprehend one aspect well, you automatically come to the comprehension of its inextricable connection with \u00a0all others.\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0is a very paradoxical symbol, it is a symbol of cutting off all worldly things and at the same time it is a symbol of presence in everything. It is the transcendental, indestructible, \u00a0radiant emptiness that generates an abundance of life forms and is present in each such form. \u00a0Surely, she is associated with the complete absence of oneself in something, but also with the complete presence of oneself there.\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0is a symbol of spiritual death in which there is no conditioning by births, she is also a symbol of the fullness of life and the infinite wealth of life. Fear of death and fear of life are usually related. A\u00a0yogi<\/em>\u00a0is one who dies for the world and through this death he is resurrected to a new vision of life in all its beauty and fullness. In this regard,\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101<\/em>\u00a0is a part of the\u00a0K\u0101l\u012b<\/em>\u00a0pantheon (K\u0101l\u012b<\/em>\u2013k\u016bla<\/em>), because\u00a0K\u0101l\u012b<\/em>\u00a0is connected with time, which is divided into parts, into segments. The term\u00a0K\u0101l\u012b<\/em>\u00a0is feminine from\u00a0k\u0101la<\/em>\u00a0(\u2018time\u2019), which is \u00a0masculine. \u00a0It comes from the root\u00a0\u0915\u0932\u094d (kal),<\/em>\u00a0 which is the first\u00a0ga\u1e47a<\/em>\u00a0(group of roots) of ten in\u00a0P\u0101\u1e47ini<\/em>, and means \u0938\u0919\u094d\u0916\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0928 (sa\u1e45khy\u0101na \u2013 <\/em>\u201cto count\u201d)\u00a0,<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u0915\u0932\u093e (kal\u0101)<\/em>\u00a0is from the same root \u2013 \u201ca part of something \u00a0general, art, etc.\u201d She teaches to control\u00a0pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em>, and through the management of\u00a0pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em>\u00a0leads to going beyond time or death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is an interesting day, the birthday of\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha, the incarnation of\u00a0Vi\u1e63\u1e47u, and of the Goddess\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101. According to the\u00a0To\u1e0dala-tantra, the Ten Mah\u0101vidiy\u0101s are associated with the Ten\u00a0Vi\u1e63\u1e47u avat\u0101rs. What do the images of\u00a0Chinnamast\u0101\u00a0and\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha\u00a0have in common? According to one legend,\u00a0N\u1e5bsi\u1e43ha\u00a0came to destroy … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105,97,83],"tags":[185,100,187,186,33,188,36,31],"class_list":["post-757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-goddess","category-tantra","category-yoga","tag-chinnamasta","tag-kali","tag-kumbha","tag-nsiha","tag-praa","tag-sarabhesvara","tag-tantra","tag-yoga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":768,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions\/768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}