Daśa Mahāvidyā दश महाविद्या
7. धूमावती Dhūmāvatī
Dhūmāvatī is the seventh of ten Mahāvidyā-s. Dhūma means smoke and Dhūmāvatī is said to be in the form of smoke, mostly relating to funeral pyre. Out of the ten Mahāvidyā-s, only Dhūmāvatī is considered as inauspicious. She looks very aged, wearing rags, unkempt hair, wrinkles on her face and all over the body. She travels in a small four wheeled chariot, which has a flag bearing an image of crow and a banner also containing images of crows. It is said that this chariot is drawn by big sized crows. There are opinions that she has no one to draw this chariot. She is depicted as very old, with shrivelled skin and as a widow. The main reason of depicting her in such an inauspicious form could be due to the fact that our lives contain both good and bad; both auspicious and inauspicious; both right and wrong, etc. In the higher levels of spiritual attainments, one does not differentiate between dichotomies. For them the entire universe is only Shiva, which means Shiva is control of all dichotomies. Śrī Rudraṁ is a typical example how Shiva prevails both as good and bad. Otherwise, His omnipresence will become disputable. In Śrī Rudraṁ, anuvāka 3 says, “Obeisance to the occasional cheater, who cheats all the time and who is the Lord of those who steal…..Lord of forest thieves….Lord of destroying others…..” If we go to anuvāka 8, it says, “Salutation to the one who is seated with Umā…to the one who gives happiness, to the one who is the Lord of all beings….” Thus Shiva does not represent only good; He also manifests as bad because He alone is omnipresent in truest sense. This is one of the reasons for projecting Dhūmāvatī having worst appearance. She is said to live in crematoriums.
As she is considered as highly inauspicious, she is compared to three of the most inauspicious goddesses. Nirṛti (dissolution, destruction, calamity, evil, and adversity), Jyeṣṭhā (misfortune, personified as the elder sister of Lakṣmī) and Alakṣmī (evil fortune, bad luck, distress, poverty and causing misfortune) are the three powerful inauspicious goddesses. There are several mythological stories about her origin. It is said that she came out during churning of ocean and she was given in marriage to a sage who understood that she cannot be pious and divinely. The sage approached Vishnu, who asked him to take his wife to all those places that are full of inauspiciousness. After that both of them could not live together and got separated. She went to Vishnu and told Him about her plight. Vishnu told her that all women will take care of her. But, women also did not take care of her and thus she appears in such an ugly and pathetic form. The main reason being that she is not auspicious for the rationalities discussed above.
Apart from her appearance, her eating habits are also said to be appalling. She has strange liking for bones and blood. She is depicted with carrying a broom stick, garland made of skulls, chewing corpses, etc. It is said that she 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. There is another story wherein Shiva cursed her to become a widow.
Thus, Dhūmāvatī is not generally worshiped, except in rare cases. For those who believe in evil acts such necromancy and black magic. She is mostly worshiped through rigorous tantric path. At the same time, it is said that she is the highest level of spiritual attainment, as one’s consciousness transcends all dualities of the material world. But, this aspect is rarely looked into in her worship. Everyone looks at her only as an embodiment of negativity and inauspiciousness.
HER MANTRA:
धूं धूं धूमावती स्वाहा॥ dhūṁ dhūṁ dhūmāvatī svāhā ||
As per tantra, the following mantra is used
धूं धूं धूमावती ठः ठः॥ dhūṁ dhūṁ dhūmāvatī ṭhaḥ ṭhaḥ ||
Dhūmāvatī Sahasranāma and kavacam are available.
September 23, 2017 06:25 AM
Honestly, i feel sad that some people see the goddes as a weapon to cause harm, specially because all the misinformation on internet about her. By my experience sometimes I meditated upon Dhumavati and she helped me to understand things I've never imagined to understand, to accept things I was not willing to accept and so on. Dhumavati is very wise, she reminds me to my dear great aun who passed away last year, my aunt never got married, she lived completely alone: no sons, no grandsons, no husband. Since I was a very little kid i used to call her grandma so I was her unique kind of grandson. :) sometimes I miss her. I never felt afraid of Dhmavati since she reminds me to my great aun that's why I meditated upon her during some days.
August 29, 2019 09:56 PM
Namaste Ravi Ji I am the sadhak of Ma Dhoomavati for many years may be a decade. Though I don't do elaborate sadhana and nor on a daily basis but I do chant her beeja mantra,stotra and few pther mantra on occasional basis. Yesterday in the afternoon may be around 12 or 1 pm I saw a dream of black crows(may be 4,5) and some pigeon(I think so) in my house. They were sitting in the veranda.I thought they are not flying away nor they fear us. I think they were eating some grains there. Also some of my family members were sitting there. Usually seeing crows are considered bad omens but here in this case does it mean differently.
August 30, 2019 10:54 AM
This is only a dream and you can safely ignore this.
August 30, 2019 02:45 PM
Thanks for your reply. It was not that I worry for me but for my family members. And as you said I will ignore this dream. Thanks again.
February 11, 2022 02:08 PM
the dumavati kavacha available at sanskritdocuments website does'nt specify that "if one does not chant her kavacha, one will gain no powers, or face her wrath, loss of money and shortening of lifespan. " does that mean, even if one chants dhumavati mantra without her kavacha, one will still; be able to connect with her energies and be successful in her sadhana? I got into dhumavati because my life reflects the inauspicious side which nature has to offer, and I was initiated into this mahavidya by god in my dream. .. please guide. I do other powerful kavachas, such as matangi, ugra tara, shoolini, saravrtha sadhaka pratyangira, kamala kavachas which protection is more than sufficient,. Is there a necessity to do kavacha of each deity one does sadhana in?! I am asking this because each kavacha is like a number of deities with permutations and combinations of similar deities sometimes, protecting different parts in different kavacha stotras. Is it a hard and fast rule that sadhana of a deity must have the kavacha to be chanted if it is available?
February 18, 2022 12:24 AM
The normal practice of those following the puraścaraṇa of any deity mantra, would be to recite the associated mantra in units of 108 consisting of a māla, along with the prescribed āvaraṇa pūja (or Khaḍgamālā recitation, if daily pūja is not feasible), kavacam, stotram etc.
All of this should be done AFTER obtaining an initiation from a practicing guru. One must make an earnest effort to obtain an initiation from a suitable guru before proceeding further. A self-initiation is an option only when one has failed in his/her efforts. There are procedures suggested for self-initiation also and one must follow them earnestly. Besides this, one should follow the bhūta śuddhi, prāṇāyama procedures on a daily basis and if possible, the sṛṣṭi, sthiti and saṃhāra nyāsas on a regular basis. The puraścaraṇa process has been described in a separate article and you may go through it.
Nothing is guaranteed on the material front, but one does witness a spiritual transformation over a period of time. It should be noted that the higher deities such as the mahāvidyās are propitiated for spiritual purposes rather than material and seem to correspond better to such needs. One may choose graha mantras or other lower deity mantras such as Yakṣiṇīs for material needs. Lord Gaṇeśa strikes a great balance for both material and spiritual pursuits with His higher forms leaning more towards the latter than the former.
Reciting of mantras of several deities at the same time is not recommended during the puraścaraṇa process, but it is the norm under the krama process as prescribed by one's guru and tradition. In the krama process, the āvaraṇa pūjas could be specific to a deity on a daily or regular basis and other deity āvaraṇa pūjas are performed during special days. Several deity mantra kavacas and stotras can be recited on a regular basis as per one's initiation and guru's guidance. It is NOT recommended to self-initiate oneself into any krama.
--Krishna.
August 05, 2022 12:08 AM
Very profound Lorran. I have no words once again. I just keenly look forward to your posts everyday now!!! Last week after completing the transliteration of the kavacam (armor) and two Aṣṭottarams (108 names hymns) of Śyāmalā devi that I promised you, I ran into a book containing the Khaḍgamālās of all the Daśamahāvidyās. For some strange reason and the curiosity that I have towards the Divine Mother Dhūmāvatī, I transliterated Her Khaḍgamālā. For the next few days I lost myself spiritually and could not do anything productive, including the translations of the Śyāmalā devi stotras that I promised you (hopefully in the next couple of weeks, they will start trickling in). For this profound meditation on Śrī Dhūmāvatī, I will publish and dedicate Her Khaḍgamālā to you as well.
August 27, 2023 01:08 PM
Namaste Krishna ji Can you please provide the Dhumavati Khadagmala and it's translation as you said. I can't find the same in this site. I have been a devotee...well can't call myself a devotee in real sense as once a devotee you want nothing....but nonetheless I have been trying to fathom into the smoke screen & get grace of Ma Dhumavati knowledge. She's like the advait knowledge of Kashmir shaivism indicating the real knowledge of hridaya bija. Thank you and Ravi ji for providing authentic knowledge to people like us.
August 28, 2023 01:08 AM
I will work on this and get it out sometime later this year or early next year.
August 28, 2023 12:08 PM
Thanks Krishna ji I will wait for it. A humble request if you feel so....can you send her Khadagmala stotra to my mail id: aristides666@gmail.com because chaturmaas is going on and I wish if I can get her grace through this Khadagmala.
September 02, 2022 10:09 PM
शून्यप्रख्या या चिल्लीना प्रलये ब्रह्मणि जन्मिषु सुप्तौ। कबलितसकलब्रह्माण्डां तां कवयः श्रेष्ठां ज्येष्ठामाहुः॥३८। १३॥ निद्राविस्मृतिमोहालस्यप्रविभेदैस्सा भवमग्नेषु। एषैव स्याद्युञ्जानेषु ध्वस्तविकल्पः कोऽपि समाधिः॥३८। १४॥ śūnyaprakhyā yā cillīnā pralaye brahmaṇi janmiṣu suptau। kabalitasakalabrahmāṇḍāṃ tāṃ kavayaḥ śreṣṭhāṃ jyeṣṭhāmāhuḥ॥38। 13॥ nidrāvismṛtimohālasyapravibhedaissā bhavamagneṣu। eṣaiva syādyuñjāneṣu dhvastavikalpaḥ ko'pi samādhiḥ॥38। 14॥ Uma Sahasranamam Vasishtha Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni Perceived as the Void, as the dissolved form of consciousness, when all beings are dissolved in sleep in the supreme Brahman, having swallowed the entire universe, the seer-poets call her the most glorious and the eldest, Dhumavati. She exists in the forms of sleep, lack of memory, illusion, and dullness in the creatures immersed in the illusion of the world, but among the yogis she becomes the power that destroys all thoughts, indeed Samadhi itself. (David Frawley )
January 31, 2024 06:01 PM
Jothi and Krishna ji. There is very little information about Dhumavati Devi, could you touch in detail on this unique Mahavidya. I learned before starting sadhana, need to turn to Dhumra Ganapati, and recite his 11-syllable mantra, what kind of mantra is this?
February 01, 2024 12:02 AM
Namaste Rajiv. The main question for anyone who wants to be a devotee of Dhumavati in the Kaliyuga is: do you have the merit and personality strong enough to see all your enemies tortured and killed along the way? Because Dhumavati's main action in the Kaliyuga is Māraṇa (Killing). Forget another punishment, Dhumavati goes straight to torture and then kill. Dhumavati will give you all knowledge, pleasure and liberation, like the other Mahavidyas, but her path is that of those who have no mercy. The problem is not even about Dhumavati torturing and killing internal enemies, the problem is that you see her doing this to external enemies too, which will inevitably happen frequently if you are pure inside and live in society in Kaliyuga. Again I will talk about the main question to the devotee: does the devotee have enough merit to walk this violent path? If the answer is no, that devotee will suffer at the hands of Dhumavati because she will "correct" him. Dhumavati's Supreme Mantra is: om̐ namaḥ pracaṇḍaghoradāvānalavāsinyai hrīm̐ hrūm̐ samayavidyākulatattvadhāriṇyai mahāmām̐sarudhirapriyāyai chrīm̐ strīm̐ klīm̐ dhūmāvatyai sarvajñatāsiddhidāyai phrem̐ phaṭ svāhā || . Such a devotee of Dhumavati, who worships her according to the rules, can make even Brahma and other (gods) die, he makes all his enemies die, he banishes them, immobilizes them and makes them fight among themselves. Obtain- If perfection in the sixfold procedure (magic) and the status of one who wanders in heaven (Khecara). He will be all-knowing and obtains the status of Rudra. He will attain liberation and will show no mercy to anyone who is in his path, be it people or gods. He is feared by the planets and all, for there is no punishment, but torture and death. Such a devotee walks the path of no mercy. Clearly, it must be in the devotee's Karma to follow this path. I cannot be like this: no mercy.
February 01, 2024 04:02 PM
Dear Jothi Agaval, thank you so much for your reply. Behind the cover of darkness, pain, murder and suffering, I see such great love, radiance of light and compassion that comes from Dhumavati Maa that I cry not from fear of her, but from the Love that fills me. Swami Vivekananda - wrote "Learn to recognize the Mother as instinctively in evil, terror, sorrow, and annihilation as in that which makes for sweetness and joy! " I'm just amazed at the great game Sri Lalita is doing. I also want to ask you have described the actions of Dhumavati Mai - The Great Grandmother in Kali Yuga, some sources say that realities are changing and a new era of Light is coming, what role will Dumavati Maa play?