Daśa Mahāvidyā दश महाविद्या
8. बगलामुखी Bagalāmukhī
Bagalāmukhī is the eighth of ten Mahāvidyā-s. There is no word in Sanskrit as baga. It is mentioned as baka, which means hypocrite. But there is also another opinion wherein valgā is the original word. Valgā means a woman. But whatever be the original word, it is strange that why the word bagala was derived. It appears like a proper noun, without any significant meaning. But generally, this goddess is not worshiped much, as she is capable of causing negativities. She can turn a good person as a bad person and rich man as pauper. She is often worshipped in Tantra for various purposes such as paralysing enemies, etc.
There are three stories about her origin. It is said that there was a torpedo in kṛtayuga, the first of all yuga-s (kṛita or satya, treta, dvāpara and kali yuga-s). During this turbulent time, several beings were destroyed because of torpedo. Even Lord Vishnu was so concerned about it and He meditated to find a solution. Parāśakti appeared before Him and gave Him Bagalāmukhī from a pond, whose water was yellow in colour. Water in the pond is full of turmeric, which is considered as most auspicious. Only Bagalāmukhī could quell the storm. Since she is clad in yellow attire, she is also called Pītāmbarā Devī (Pītāmbara means dressed in yellow clothes and Viṣṇu is also known as Pītāmbara)
There is another story which says a demon called Madan attained boon and as a result of that, whatever he said came true. People were suffering due to him and they started worshiping Bagalāmukhī and by the time she was about to cut his tongue, he realised his mistake and prayed to her to permit him to stay at her feet. It is said that she granted this boon.
Third story is related to Dhūumavatī. It is said that Dhūumavatī was born in the place where Pārvatī, Consort of Shiva, immolated herself in homa fire of her father Dakṣa, by entering into the sacrificial fire. From the fire, thick smoke came and this is said to be Dhūmāvatī. That form of Pārvatī before self-immolation is known as Bagalāmukhī.
Bagalāmukhī is known for her magical powers. It is also said that one can acquire supernatural powers by worshiping Her. Lots of things are spoken about her capability to destroy enemies. She is also said to control five prāṇa-s in the body (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna). Though she has been portrayed as a negative goddess, it is also said that she is capable of bestowing highest spiritual knowledge and consequent liberation. There are instances where she is said to be seated on corpse. There is a particular practice called “śava sādhana” or practices with a corpse. She is also said to be chief of army of Lalitāmbikā, probably an indirect reference to Vārāhī (Lalitā Sahasranāma 76 speaks about Vārāhī).
She is said to be living in the upper palate of human body, where cerebrospinal fluid enters throat from the skull. This fluid is known as amṛta in kuṇḍalinī meditation. When she is meditated upon, she protects the aspirant. She is also described as the commander of the army of Parāśakti, as Bagalāmukhī was created by Parāśakti, only to destroy that great storm. This storm can be subtly explained as the storm of the mind, where mind fights hard to find out what is right and what is not right. A realized mind is always beyond dualities. But an ordinary mind always struggles to find a solution, leading to multiple thought processes. If she is worshiped properly, mind is calmed.
She is often described with four hands, adorning yellow colour attire (yellow not only symbolizes auspiciousness, but also removal of all diseases) and yellow colour ornaments. She is described only with two hands. In her right hand she holds a club and with her left hand, she is pulling the tongue of demon Madan. The subtle conveyance is that ego manifests in the form of speech, is to be eradicated to calm down the mind, as only in a non-turbulent mental state, Self can be realized.
HER MANTRA:
There is only one mantra for her. Her bījākṣara is ह्ल्रीं hlrīṁ. This is pronounced only as “hleem” where r is silent and not pronounced as “hlreem”. Why ह्ल्रीं hlrīṁ is her bījākṣara? It is made of ha + la + ra; ha is the bīja for ākāśa; la is the bīja for earth and ra is the bīja of fire. As agni or fire is considered as the carrier of our worship to the respective gods, in all auspicious mantras, invariably agni bīja ‘ra’ is included. While ह्रीं hrīṁ (māyā bīja) energises prāṇa, ह्ल्रीं hlrīṁ stabilises it. ह्ल्रीं hlrīṁ has also the power to act on negativities such as black magic, etc. (Black magic is only the fear inculcated and not a reality; but there are many contradictory opinion on this; it is also used for captivating and arresting and all other such activities). Generally this bījākṣara is not used. At the same time, all such evil acts can be removed only by this bījākṣara. It is the only bījākṣara that prevents negative influences affecting our spiritual path, in particular during kuṇḍalinī meditation.
ॐ ह्ल्रीं बगलामुखि सर्वदुष्टानां वाचं मुखं पदं स्तंभय जिह्वां कीलय बुद्धिं विनाशय ह्ल्रीं ॐ स्वाहा॥
om hlrīṁ bagalāmukhi sarvaduṣṭānāṁ vācaṁ mukhaṁ padaṁ staṁbhaya jihvāṁ kīlaya buddhiṁ vināśaya hlrīṁ om svāhā ||
Further Readings
Jayanth Chandramouli
December 18, 2014 04:38 PM
Is there any specific reason as to why r is silent in hlrim and pronounced as hleem.
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MANBLUNDER
December 18, 2014 06:32 PM
There is no explanation for this. But 'ra' is agni bija. It is one of the powerful auspicious bija-s. But at the same time, as for hlrīṁ is concerned, it is made silent because, agni bija has also the power for captivating and arresting and all other such activities. As she is already portrayed as an embodiment of negativity, probably 'ra' could have been made silent. Additional factor could be that the previous bija 'la' also has the capacity to cause captivation and arrest. Her inherent nature, along with 'ra' and 'la' could cause serious disruption, hence 'ra' could have been made silent. It functions only till madhyama and not at the level of vaikari.
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Govindan
December 18, 2014 08:49 PM
Sir
It is said Varahi destroys evil,while there are opinion that Baglamukhi is used for evil purposes?How is this contraction?
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MANBLUNDER
December 18, 2014 09:06 PM
It is just a comparison and nothing to do with their attributes.
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Govindan
December 27, 2014 10:20 AM
Sir
It is mentioned that each Mahavidya is situated in different parts of our body like Lalitha in Sahashara,Kali in Muladhara.
Why is that? Is it for cleansing the nadis and preparing our body for kundalini arouasal?
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MANBLUNDER
December 27, 2014 10:58 PM
Identifying colours and yoginis and goddesses with different chakras are only to make us concentrate on the respective chakras. Some believe Ganapati is in mūlādhāra and some may believe Kālī is in mūlādhāra. These are meant to focus our attention on a particular chakra. It will be easier to contemplate a chakra with a goddess associated with it, rather than waiting for energisation of the chakra to happen only by fixing our consciousness.
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Krishna Vallapareddy
December 28, 2014 12:30 AM
There are references to pacification of the navagrahas by association with the Dasa Mahavidyas. There are also associations with the Dasavataras of Sri Mahavishnu. Can you please elaborate on these aspects of the Dasa Mahavidyas also?
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MANBLUNDER
December 28, 2014 12:47 PM
I will try to include this in the concluding chapter Daśa Mahāvidyā.
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Krishna Vallapareddy
December 30, 2014 07:36 AM
Is there any relationship between the Dasa Mahavidyas and the Nava Durgas? There is also the concept of the Sapta Matrikas (sometimes referred as Ashta Matrikas) related to the Divine Mother. If there is any connection, Please include them as well in the concluding chapter, if possible.
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Jayanth Chandramouli
March 26, 2015 01:42 AM
Thank you
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Ujjini
May 24, 2016 08:27 PM
Can people doing sodashi chant bagalamukhi kavach or mantra?or reciting bagalamukhi mantra or kavach is not required as it is the ultimate sadhana towards self realisation if done properly.
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MANBLUNDER
May 24, 2016 08:31 PM
When you are with the Absolute, what is the necessity for worshiping others?
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Sidharth
June 09, 2016 03:25 AM
Guruji. Can you post Sri BaglaMukhi mala mantra please.Thank you
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Soumic nandy
March 31, 2018 08:43 PM
Namaste Guruji, I am 27 yrs old. Just like other bengalis I am a worshipper of Maa Shakti. But as u see my age i have my parents to look after & other responsibilities. I do a lot pujas like Durgasaptashatipath, Durga stotram & Mahalakshmi Ashtakam. I do always face a lot of obstacles at work place. People never listen to me & I do often fall in trouble for being misinterpreted. People sometimes go against me due to misunderstandings & i often have to face their wrath. Half of the times, I am myself at fault. I just do not feel content even after whatever i have. I am always afraid to face any difficult situation. I am always pessimistic & procrastinate a lot. Please suggest what shud I do ? Shud I get initiated ? Which mantra would b better for me, Kali or Baglamukhi ? Since we bengalis are attached a lot to Maa Kaali (i consider her to be my ishta.) Or Baglamukhi since I always face opposition from people. Tho I know all Gods r same, I tried Surya mantra..but the dedication with which i invoke the divine feminine, i cannot do the same with divine masculine. I would be highly obliged if u could giude me. I sometimes see Kaali maa in my dreams. I have reaped benefits whenever I have chanted Durgasaptashati that too not in sanskrit. Divine mother has always come to my rescue. I wud b highly obliged if u cud guide me to attain divine bliss & fearlessness. Thank you Soumic Nandy DOB : 15 .09.1989 Jai Mata Di.
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MANBLUNDER
March 31, 2018 08:51 PM
When mind is afflicted, no mantra will ever work. You have to practice pranayama and meditation. Please don't go after mantras for finding solution to your problems. It is your mind that matters and your mind can be purified with pranayama and meditation.
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Soumic nandy
April 01, 2018 06:48 PM
Thank u Guru ji. I will definitely try so.
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Subramanya Joshi
May 03, 2018 12:05 PM
Hello Soumic Nandy, Surrender to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Without Guru whatever you practice it's no use. Everybody can't practice Kali or Baglamukhi. First you have check with deity will match to you then after you have to get guidance from Guru. Guru is the ultimate and beyond everything he is the Parabrahma. Trust in the Guru fully that is the only sadhana. Here is the Guru dhyana হংসাভ্যাং পরিবৃত্ত হার্দকমলে শুদ্ধে জগত্কারণং বিশ্বাকার মনেকদেহনিলযং স্বচ্ছংদমানংদকম্ | সর্বাকার মখংড চিদ্ঘনরসং পূর্ণং হ্যনংতং শুভং প্রত্যক্ষাক্ষর বিগ্রহং গুরুবরং ধ্যাযেদ্বিভুং শাশ্বতম্ ||
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Rama Krishna
April 03, 2019 09:09 AM
if guru not available ....how
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Krishna
April 04, 2019 08:50 AM
It is best to seek out a guru. One must understand and perform the procedures associated with mantra japa, to perceive any benefits from it, although not guaranteed and always subject to karma. In cases where a suitable guru cannot be found, one may study the associated tantras and understand the process. The self-initiation procedures may be followed, if familiarity with the associated rituals is fully understood. Blindly repeating any tantric mantra without following the pre-requisites and post-requisites, is considered meaningless and sometimes harmful even.
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Anita Krishnan
June 06, 2018 10:43 PM
Namaste Raviji, Could you please write an article about Sri Varahi Devi and her worship? Ashaada Navaratri will be coming up next month and is considered a very auspicious time to pray to Varahi Devi. I would really appreciate a write up on Maha Varahi Devi. Thank you very much and Pranaams, Anita
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Krishna
June 07, 2018 06:50 AM
We will post articles on śrī vārāhi very soon. You may also refer this article for more information on Her.
https://www.manblunder.com/articlesview/journey-to-sri-chakra-part-4
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