Matangi ( sa, मातङ्गी, ) is a
Hindu goddess
Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism.
The conce ...
. She is one of the
Mahavidya
The ''Mahavidya'' ( sa, महाविद्या, , lit. ''Great Wisdoms'') are a group of ten Hinduism, Hindu Tantra, Tantric Devi, goddesses. The 10 Mahavidyas are usually named in the following sequence: Kali, Tara (Devi), Tara, Tripura Su ...
s, ten
Tantric goddesses and an aspect of
the Hindu Divine Mother. She is considered to be the Tantric form of
Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
, the goddess of music and learning. Matangi governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. Her worship is prescribed to acquire supernatural powers, especially gaining control over enemies, attracting people to oneself, acquiring mastery over the arts and gaining supreme knowledge.
Matangi is often associated with pollution, inauspiciousness and the periphery of Hindu society, which is embodied in her most popular form, known as Uchchhishta-Chandalini or Uchchhishta-Matangini. She is described as an
outcaste (
Chandalini) and offered
left-over or partially eaten food (''Uchchhishta'') with unwashed hands or food after eating, both of which are considered to be impure in classical Hinduism.
Matangi is represented as emerald green in colour. While Uchchhishta-Matangini carries a noose, sword, goad, and club, her other well-known form, Raja-Matangi, plays the
veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
and is often pictured with a parrot.
Iconography and textual descriptions
![Matangi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Matangi.jpg)
The ''Dhyana mantra'' (a mantra that details the form of the deity on which a devotee should meditate) of the ''Brhat Tantrasara'' describes Uchchhishta-Matangini, one of the most popular forms of the goddess. Matangi is seated on a corpse and wears red garments, red jewellery and a garland of
gunja seeds. The goddess is described as a young, sixteen-year-old maiden with fully developed breasts. She carries a skull bowl and a sword in her two hands, and is offered leftovers.
[Kinsley (1997) p. 209]
The ''Dhyana mantra''s in the ''Purashcharyarnava'' and the ''Tantrasara'' describe Matangi as blue in colour. The crescent moon adorns her forehead. She has three eyes and a smiling face. She wears jewellery and is seated on a jewelled throne. In her four arms, she carries a noose, a sword, a goad, and a club. Her waist is slim and her breasts well-developed.
The ''Dhyana Mantra'' of Raja-Matangi from the ''Purashcharyarnava'' describes Matangi as green in colour with the crescent moon upon her forehead. She has long hair, a smiling expression and intoxicated eyes, and wears a garland of
kadamba flowers and various ornaments. She perspires a little around the face, which renders her even more beautiful. Below her navel are three horizontal folds of skin and a thin vertical line of fine hair. Seated on an altar and flanked by two parrots, she represents the
64 arts.
The ''Saradatilaka'', adds to this description that Raja-Matangi plays the veena, wears conch-shell earrings and flower garlands, and has flower paintings adorning her forehead.
[Kinsley (1997) ''NOTES TO PAGES 209–216''] She is also depicted wearing a garland of white lotus (here lotus signifies multi-colored world creation), similar to the iconography of goddess
Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
, with whom she is associated with.
According to
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
's ''Shyamaladandakam'', Matangi plays a ruby-studded veena and speaks sweetly. The ''Dhyana Mantra'' describes her to be four-armed, with a dark emerald complexion, full breasts anointed with red
kumkum
Kumkuma is a powder used for social and religious markings in India. It is made from turmeric or any other local materials. The turmeric is dried and powdered with a bit of slaked lime, which turns the rich yellow powder into a red color.
In Indi ...
powder, and a crescent moon on her forehead. She carries a noose, a
goad
The goad is a traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide livestock, usually oxen, which are pulling a plough or a cart; used also to round up cattle. It is a type of long stick with a pointed end, also known as the cattle prod.
The ...
, a sugarcane bow and flower arrows, which the goddess
Tripura Sundari
Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरा सुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Lalita is a Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of supreme goddess Mahadevi m ...
is often described to hold.
She is also described to love the parrot and is embodied in the nectar of song.
The green complexion is associated with deep knowledge and is also the colour of
Budha
Budha ( sa, बुध) is a Sanskrit word that connotes the planet Mercury. Budha, in Hindu legends, is also a deity.
He is also known as Soumya (Sanskrit: सौम्य, lit. ''son of Moon''), Rauhineya and Tunga and is the Nakshatra lo ...
, the presiding deity of the planet Mercury who governs intelligence.
Matangi is often depicted with a parrot in her hands, representing speech.
The veena symbolizes her association with music.
Legends
![Brooklyn Museum - The Goddess Matangi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Goddess_Matangi.jpg)
Matangi is often named as the ninth Mahavidya. A list contained within the prose of the ''Mundamala'' equates
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
's
ten avatars with the ten Mahavidyas. The
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
is equated to Matangi. A similar list in the ''Guhyatiguhya-Tantra'' omits Matangi altogether, however the scholar Sircar interprets the goddess
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around co ...
– equated to the avatar
Kalki
Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...
in the list – as an allusion to Matangi.
In a story from the Shakta ''Maha-Bhagavata Purana'', which narrates the creation of all the Mahavidyas,
Sati
Sati or SATI may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi
* ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike
*Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer
*Sati, a character in ''Th ...
, the daughter of
Daksha
In Hinduism, Daksha (Sanskrit: दक्ष, IAST: , lit. "able, dexterous, or honest one") is one of the '' Prajapati'', the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a ha ...
and wife of the god
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, feels insulted that she and Shiva are not invited to
Daksha's yagna ("fire sacrifice") and insists on going there, despite Shiva's protests. After futile attempts to convince Shiva, the enraged Sati transforms into the Mahavidyas, including Matangi. The Mahavidyas then surround Shiva from the ten cardinal directions; Matangi stands in the northwest.
[Kinsley (1988) p. 162] Another similar legend replaces Sati with Kali (the chief Mahavidya) as the wife of Shiva and the origin of Matangi and the other Mahavidyas. The
Devi Bhagavata Purana
The Devi Bhagavata Purana ( sa, देवी भागवतपुराणम्, '), also known as the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavata Purana or simply ''Devi Bhagavatam'', is one of the eighteen Purana, Mahapuranas of ...
describes Matangi and her fellow Mahavidyas as war-companions and forms of the goddess
Shakambhari
Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism. Aft ...
.
The ''Shaktisamgama-tantra'' narrates the birth of Uchchhishta-Matangini. Once, the god
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
and his wife
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...
visited Shiva and his wife
Parvati
Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...
(a reincarnation of Sati) and gave them a banquet of fine foods. While eating, the deities dropped some food on the ground, from which arose a beautiful maiden, a manifestation of Goddess Saraswati, who asked their left-overs. The four deities granted her their left-overs as
prasad
200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad
Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...
, food made sacred by having been first consumed by the deity. This can be interpreted as the Uchchhishta of the deity, although due to its negative connotation the word ''Uchchhishta'' is never explicitly used in connection to prasad. Shiva decreed that those who repeat her mantra and worship her will have their material desires satisfied and gain control over foes, declaring her the giver of boons. From that day, the maiden was known as Uchchhishta-Matangini.
[Kinsley (1997) p. 213]
![Rajamatangi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Rajamatangi.jpg)
The ''Pranotasani Tantra'' (18th Century) and ''Naradpancharatra'' narrates that once Parvati longed to go back to her maternal house for some days and asked Shiva's permission to do so. The reluctant Shiva agreed on the condition that if she did not return in a few days, he would come to fetch her. Parvati agreed and went to her father Himalaya's place, where she stayed for many days. The lovesick Shiva went to Himavan's abode disguised as an ornament seller and sold shell ornaments to Parvati. In order to test her fidelity, the disguised Shiva asked for sex in return. The disgusted Parvati was about to curse the ornament-seller when she realizes by her yogic powers that it was none other than Shiva. She agrees to grant sexual favours but at the appropriate time. In the evening, Parvati returns to Shiva's abode disguised as a
Chandala
Chandala ( sa, चांडाल, caṇḍāla) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, traditionally considered to be untouchable.
A female member of this caste is known as a ''Caṇḍ ...
huntress. She is dressed in red and had a lean figure and large breasts and performs a seductive dance to lure him. She told Shiva that she had come to do penance. Shiva replied that he is the one gives fruit to all penance and took her hand and kissed her. Further, they made love when Shiva himself changed into a Chandala and recognized the Chandala woman as his wife. After the love-making, Parvati asked Shiva to grant her wish that her form as a Chandalini (the Chandala female form in which Shiva made love to her) might last forever as Uchchhishta-Chandalini and that her worship in this form precede his for his worship to be considered fruitful.
[Kinsley (1997) pp. 213–4] This tale is also found in many Bengali ''
Mangalkavya''s. In these texts, however, Parvati is not explicitly identified with Matangi.
The ''Svatantra-tantra'' mentions that Matanga practised austerities for thousands of years to gain the power to subdue all beings. Finally, goddess Tripura Sundari appeared and from eyes emitted rays that produced goddess
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
, who had greenish complexion and was known as Raja-Matangini. With her help, Matanga fulfilled his desire.
[Kinsley (1997) p. 214] ''Matanga Tantra'' and many other texts including the ''Shyamaladandakam'' describe Matangi as the daughter of the sage Matanga.
Another tale is associated with the temple dedicated to Kauri-bai—an aspect of Matangi—who appeared in the low caste area of
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
. Kauri-bai is Shiva's sister who was obsessed with the Brahmin ways and purity and abhorred Shiva's heterodox practices like dwelling in cremation grounds, partaking of intoxicants and being in the company of ghosts and goblins. While Shiva simply ignored Kauri-bai's words at first, after his marriage his wife Parvati could not bear Kauri-bai's abusive words toward her husband and cursed Kauri-bai to be reborn in and spend her entire life within an "
untouchable" area of Varanasi which Kauri-bai considered polluted. Consequently, Kauri-bai was indeed reborn in the low-caste area of Varanasi and felt very unhappy. She pleaded her brother Shiva—
the Lord of Varanasi—who granted her the boon that no pilgrimage to Varanasi would be deemed complete without her worship.
Associations
![Kalighat Matangi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Kalighat_Matangi.jpg)
Matangi is often associated with pollution, especially left-over or partially eaten food (
Uchchhishta
Uchchhishta ( sa, उच्छिष्ट, Ucchiṣṭa), known by various regional terms, is an Indian and a Hindu concept related to food. Though the term has various meanings and has no exact parallel in English,Roy p. 107 it is generally tra ...
or ''Ucçhishṭa'', उच्छिष्ट) considered impure in Hinduism. She is often offered such polluted left-over food and is in one legend described to be born from it.
[Kinsley (1997) pp. 214–6] Matangi is herself described as the leftover or residue, symbolizing the Divine Self that is left over after all things perish.
As the patron of left-over food offerings, she embodies inauspiciousness and the forbidden transgression of social norms.
Matangi is often described as an outcaste and impure. Her association with pollution mainly streams from her relation to outcaste communities, considered to be polluted in ancient Hindu society. These social groups deal in occupations deemed inauspicious and polluted like the collection of waste, meat-processing and working in cremation grounds.
In a Nepali context, such groups are collectively called Matangi, who collect waste—including human waste—and other inauspicious things, and often live outside villages.
Thus she is associated with death, pollution, inauspiciousness and the periphery of ancient Hindu society.
She represents equality as she is worshipped by both upper and lower caste people.
Matangi is also associated with forests and tribal peoples, who lie outside conventional Hindu society. Her thousand-name hymn from the ''Nanayavarta-tantra'' mentions lines that describe her as dwelling in, walking in, knowing and relishing the forest.
[Kinsley (1997) pp. 219–20]
Matangi represents the power of the spoken word (''Vaikhari'') as an expression of thoughts and the mind. She also relates to the power of listening and grasping speech and converting it back to knowledge and thought. Besides spoken word, she also governs all other expressions of inner thought and knowledge, like art, music, and dance. Matangi presides over the middle part of speech (''Madhyama''), where ideas are translated into the spoken word and in her highest role, represents ''Para-Vaikhari''—the Supreme Word manifested through speech and that encompasses knowledge of the scriptures. She is described as the goddess of learning and speech, and the bestower of knowledge and talent.
[Frawley p. 138] She is also called ''Mantrini'', the mistress of the sacred
mantra
A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...
s.
She also represents the word of a guru, who serves as a spiritual guide.
[Frawley p. 140] Matangi is described as dwelling in the
Throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the trachea (windpipe ...
chakra
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
—the origin of speech—and on the tip of the tongue. She is also associated with a channel called Saraswati from the
third eye
The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is a mystical invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In ...
to the tip of the tongue.
[Frawley p. 142] According to
David Frawley
David Frawley (born 1950) is an American author, astrologer, teacher (''acharya'') and a proponent of Hindutva.
He has written numerous books on topics spanning the Vedas, Hinduism, Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedic astrology. His works have been popula ...
, her description as impure refers to the nature of the spoken word, which labels things and stereotypes them, thereby hindering actual contact with the soul of things. The goddess is described as one who helps a person to use words in the right way and to go beyond it to seek the soul and inner knowledge, which lie outside the demarcated boundaries of tradition.
[Frawley pp. 140–1]
Matangi is regarded as a Tantric form of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and the arts of mainstream Hinduism, with whom she shares many traits. Both embody music and are depicted playing the veena. They are also both said to be the ''Nada'' (sound or energy) that flows through the
Nadi
Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...
channels in the body through which life force flows. Both are related to rain clouds, thunder and rivers. Though both govern learning and speech, Saraswati represents the orthodox knowledge of the Brahmins while Matangi—the wild and ecstatic outcast—embodies the "extraordinary" beyond the boundaries of mainstream society, especially inner knowledge.
[Frawley pp. 138–140] Matangi is also associated with
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...
, the elephant-headed god of knowledge and obstacle removal. Both are related to the elephant and learning. Matangi is also regarded as his mother.
[Frawley p. 140] Matangi is also described as a minister of the Mahavidya goddess
Tripura Sundari
Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरा सुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Lalita is a Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of supreme goddess Mahadevi m ...
or Rajarajeshvari, the Queen of Queens.
[Frawley pp. 141–2]
Worship
![Matangi yantra color](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Matangi_yantra_color.jpg)
Besides the Mahavidya
Bagalamukhi
Baglamukhi or Bagalā ( sa, बगलामुखी) is the female form of a personification of the mahavidyas (great wisdom/science), a group of ten Tantrik deities in Hinduism. Devi Bagalamukhi smashes the devotee's misconceptions and delu ...
, Matangi is the other Mahavidya, whose worship is primarily prescribed to acquire supernatural powers. A hymn in the ''Maha-Bhagavata Purana'' asks her grace to control one's foes, while the ''Tantrasara'' says that recitation of her mantra, meditation on her form and her ritual worship gives one to the power to control people and make them attracted to oneself.
''Tantric sadhaka''s are regarded to have transcended the pollution by offering her left-over or partially eaten food (''
Uchchhishta
Uchchhishta ( sa, उच्छिष्ट, Ucchiṣṭa), known by various regional terms, is an Indian and a Hindu concept related to food. Though the term has various meanings and has no exact parallel in English,Roy p. 107 it is generally tra ...
'') and thus overcome their ego. Worship of Matangi is described to allow her devotee to face the forbidden and transcend pollution, leading him to salvation or allowing him to gain supernatural powers for worldly goals.
The ''Purashcharyarnava'' describes pleasing the goddess would result in her answering all the devotee's queries by whispering in her ear.
Matangi is often worshipped with the mantra syllable ''Aim'', which is associated with
Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
and is the seed-syllable of knowledge, learning, and teaching. A longer mantra is also used:
[Frawley pp. 142–3]
''Om Hrim Aim Shrim Namo Bhagvati Ucchishtachandali Shri Matangeswari Sarvajanavasankari Swaha''
"Reverence to adorable Matangi, the outcast and residue, who gives control over all creatures"
![Matangi Janbazar Sammilito Kali Puja Samiti Arnab Dutta 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Matangi_Janbazar_Sammilito_Kali_Puja_Samiti_Arnab_Dutta_2011.jpg)
Her mantra may be repeated ten thousand times, repeated one thousand times while offering flowers and
ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
in a
fire sacrifice
Worship or deification of fire (also pyrodulia, pyrolatry or pyrolatria) is known from various religions. Fire has been an important part of human culture since the Lower Paleolithic. Religious or animist notions connected to fire are assumed ...
, or repeated one hundred times while offering water (''Arghya'') or while offering food to
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
priests.
[Kinsley (1997) pp. 220–22] Her
yantra
Yantra () (literally "machine, contraption") is a geometrical diagram, mainly from the Tantric traditions of the Indian religions. Yantras are used for the worship of deities in temples or at home; as an aid in meditation; used for the benefits ...
(sacred geometric diagram), whether physically constructed or mentally envisioned,
is used in worship along with the mantra.
Offering certain items to a fire sacrifice—particularly those performed at cremation grounds, riverbanks, forests, or crossroads—while repeating the mantra is said to fulfill specific goals. An offering of
Bael Bael may refer to:
*''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as the Bael tree
*Bael (demon)
* Bael (wrestler)
See also
* Baal (disambiguation)
* Bail (disambiguation)
Bail is the conditional release of an arrested person prior to their trial, or the mo ...
leaves is said to result in kingship; salt gives the power to control; turmeric gives the power to paralyze; neem twigs bring wealth; and an offering of sandalwood, camphor, and saffron together or a salt and honey mixture grants the power to attract people.
A rice-flour bread prepared while repeating her mantra is said to give the power to attract women. It is likewise said that it is possible to make a person one's slave by feeding him or her the ashes of a crow whose stomach was stuffed with a conch and burnt in a cremation ground while repeating the goddess' mantra.
Leftover or partially eaten food (''Uchchhishta'') is recommended to be offered to Matangi with the devotee in the polluted ''Uchchhishta'' state, that is, having eaten but not washed, with the remains of food in the mouth and hands. An offering of leftovers to Hindu deities or being in the polluted ''Uchchhishta'' state is a taboo in mainstream Hinduism.
Another taboo that is broken in Matangi worship is the offering to the goddess of a cloth stained with
menstrual blood
Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ho ...
to gain the ability to attract a mate.
Menstrual blood is considered polluted in almost all Hindu scriptures and menstruating women are kept away from Hindu worship and temples.
The outcaste Matangi community of Nepal collect polluted substances and items related to death and bad luck such as sacrificial animal heads and clothes of the deceased, and offers them at special stones kept at crossroads called ''chwasa''s, where the Matangi "consumes" them as an offering, thereby getting rid of the pollution.
[Kinsley (1997) p. 218] The ''Tantrasara'' also advises offerings to Matangi of meat, fish, cooked rice, milk and incense at crossroads or cremations grounds in the dead of the night to overpower enemies and gain poetic talent. Oblations of ''Uchchhishta'', cat meat and goat meat to the goddess are said to help achieve Supreme knowledge.
A text proclaims Matangi's worship becomes fruitful only if the devotee reveres women as goddesses and refrains from criticizing them.
No fasts or rituals to purify oneself before worship—typical of Hindu worship—are prescribed for Matangi worship. Anyone can use any mantra for worship, even though he is not initiated or considered unfit for worshipping any other deity.
A thousand-name hymn from the ''Nanayavarta-tantra'' and a hundred-name hymn from the ''Rudrayamala'' are dedicated to the goddess.
The recitation of the Sanskrit alphabet, the chanting of mantras, the loud reading of the scriptures, and performance of music and dance are also described as constituting acts of her worship.
Temples
Matangi along with the other Mahavidyas finds place in the Kamakhya Temple complex, the most important Shaktipeeth for Tantra worship. While other Mahavidyas are worshipped in individual temples, Matangi and Kamala find place in the main Kamakhya shrine along with Kamakhya, in the form of a 'yoni'.
Goddess Meenakshi of
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
is also considered as none other than Raja Matangi. Here, She is seen as two-handed and standing, holding a parrot.
The Modh community of Gujarat worship Matangi as Modheshwari, patron deity of the Modh community. Here, Matangi is seen in a Durga-like form sitting over a lion.
Other than the above, Rajrappa Chhinnamasta shrine also has a temple dedicated to Matangi and the other Mahavidyas. There are several temples in South India where Matangi is venerated as Shyamala or Mantrini, the Prime minister of Goddess Lalita in Srikula tradition.
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Hindu goddesses
Forms of Parvati
Mahavidyas