Matrikas
Matrikas, also called Mataras or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika. However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika. They are associated with these gods as their energies. Brahmani emerged from Brahma, Narayani from Narayana, Mahakali come from Mahakala, Indrani from Indra, Kaumari from Kartikeya,Varahi from Varaha and Chamunda from Chandi. And additionals are Narasimhi from Narasimha and Vinayaki from Ganesha.
Originally the seven goddesses of the seven stars of the star cluster of the Pleiades, they became quite popular by the seventh century CE and a standard feature of the Hindu goddesses's temples from the ninth century CE onwards. In South India, Saptamatrikas worship is prevalent whereas the Ashtamatrikas are venerated in Nepal, among other places.
The Matrikas assume paramount significance in the goddesses-oriented sect of Hinduism, Tantrism. In Shaktism, they are described as assisting the Durga in her fight with demons and demonesses and killing all of them. Other scholars say that they are Shaiva goddesses. They are also connected with the worship of warrior god Kartikeya. In most early references, the Matrikas are associated with the conception, birth, diseases, protection of children. They were seen as inauspicious, as the goddeses of perils, propitiated in order to avoid those ills, that killed off so many children before they reached adulthood. They come to play a protective role in later mythology, although some of their early inauspicious and wild characteristics continue in these legends. Thus, they represent the prodigiously fecund aspect of nature as well as its destructively killing aspect.
Origins and development
According to Jagdish Narain Tiwari and Dilip Chakravati, the Matrikas were existent as early as the Vedic period and the Indus Valley civilization. Seals with rows of seven feminine deities are cited as evidence for the theory. The Rigveda speaks of a group of seven Mothers who control the preparation of Soma, but the earliest clear description appears in select chapters of the epic Mahabharata dated to 1st century CE. Madhu Wangu believes that Matrika description in Mahabharata is rooted in the group of seven females depicted on Indus valley seals.By the fifth century CE, all these goddesses were incorporated in mainstream orthodox Hinduism as Tantric deities. David Kinsley proposes that the Matrikas may be local village goddesses, who were being assimilated in the mainstream. He cites two reasons for his assertion: their description in Mahabharata as dark in colour, speaking foreign languages and living in peripheral areas and their association with god Skanda and his father and mother, Shiva and Parvati, whose forms were the Matrikas and Bhairavas had Vedic attributes. Sara L. Schastok suggests that the Matrikas maybe inspired by the concept of Yakshas, who are associated with Kartikeya and Kubera – both are often portrayed with the Matrikas. In contrast to the Indus Valley origins theory, Bhattacharyya notes:
The Sapta-Matrikas were earlier connected with Kartikeya and in later times, associated with the Shaiva sect of Shiva himself. During the Kushana period, the sculptural images of the Matrikas first appear in stone. The Kushana images merged from the belief in Balagrahas worship related to conception, birth, diseases, protection of children. The Balagraha tradition included the worship of the infant Kartikeya with the Matrikas. The goddesses were considered as personifications of perils, related to children and thus, were pacified by worship. The Kushana images emphasize the maternal as well as destructive characteristics of the Matrikas through their emblems and weapons. They appear to be an undifferentiated sculptural group but develop in standard and complex iconographic representation during the following Gupta period.
In the Gupta period, folk images of Matrikas became important in villages. The diverse folk goddesses of the soldiers like Matrikas were acknowledged by the Gupta rulers and their images were carved on royal monuments in order to strengthen the loyalty and adherence of their armed forces. The Gupta kings Skandagupta and Kumaragupta I made Kartikeya, who is also known as Skanda and Kumara their model and elevated the position of Skanda's foster mothers, the Matrikas from a cluster of folk goddesses to court goddesses. Since the 4th century CE, Parhari, Madhya Pradesh had a rock-cut shrine been solely devoted to the Saptamatrikas.
The Western Ganga Dynasty kings of Karnataka built many Hindu temples along with Saptamatrikas carvings and memorials, containing sculptural details of Saptamatrikas. The evidence of Matrikas sculptures is further pronounced in the Gurjara–Patiharas and Chandella period. The Chalukyas claimed to have been nursed by the Saptamatrikas. It was a popular practice to identify the links between South Indian royal family lineages to North Indian royal family lineages in ancient times through Matrikas nursing them all. During the Western Chalukya period, all Matrikas continued to figure among the deities's sculptures of this period.
The Kadambas and Early Chalukyas from the fifth century CE, praise the Matrikas in their preambles, as givers of powers to defeat and kill their enemies. In most of the relevant texts, their exact number has not been specified, but gradually their number and names became increasingly crystallized and the seven mother goddesses were known as the seven Matrikas, albeit some mentions say that there are eight or sixteen Matrikas. Laura K. Amazzone cites:
The inconsistency in the number of Matrikas found in the Indus Valley today possibly reflects the localization of goddesses. Although the Matrikas are mostly grouped as seven goddesses over the rest of the Indian Subcontinent, an eighth Matrika has sometimes been added in Nepal to represent the eight cardinal directions. In Bhaktapur, a city in the Kathmandu Valley, a ninth Matrika is added to the set to represent the centre.
Iconography
The iconographical features of the Matrikas have been described in Hindu scriptures such as the Mahabharata, Puranas such as the Varaha Purana, Agni Purana, Matsya Purana, Vishnudharmottara Purana, ''Devi Mahatmya, Agamas such as the Amsumadbhedagama, Surabhedagama, Purvakarnagama, Rupamandana''.The Ashta-Matrikas as described in the Devi Mahatmya
- Brahmani or Brahmi is the Shakti of the creator god Brahma. She is depicted yellow in colour and with four heads. She may be depicted with four or six arms. Like Brahma, she holds a rosary, noose and kamandalu, lotus stalk, a book, bell and is seated on a hamsa as her vahana. She is also shown seated on a lotus with the hamsa on her banner. She wears various ornaments and is distinguished by her basket-shaped crown called '. She is the consort of the god Asithanga Bhairava.
- Narayani, the Shakti of the preserver god Narayana, is described as seated on the Garuda and having four or six arms. She holds Shankha, chakra, mace and lotus and bow and sword or her two arms are in varada mudra and abhaya mudra. Like Vishnu, she is heavily adorned with ornaments like necklaces, anklets, earrings, bangles, etc and a cylindrical crown called '. She is the consort of the god Krodha Bhairava.
- Mahakali, also known as Maheshvari, the Shakti of the destroyer god Mahakala, also known as Maheshvara. Maheshvari is also known by the names Rudri, Rudrani, Maheshi, Shivani derived from Shiva's names Rudra, Mahesha, Shiva. Maheshvari is depicted seated on Nandi and has four or six hands. The white complexioned, Trinetra goddess holds a Trishula, Damaru, Akshamala, Panapatra or axe or an antelope or a kapala or a serpent and is adorned with serpent bracelets, the crescent moon and the '. She is the consort of the god Ruru Bhairava.
- Indrani, also known as Aindri,, Mahendri, Vajri, is the power of the Indra, the god of thunderstorms. Seated on an elephant, Indrani, is depicted dark-skinned, with two or four or six arms. She is depicted as having two or three or four eyes like Indra, and a thousand eyes on her body. She is armed with the Vajra, goad, noose and lotus stalk. Adorned with variety of ornaments, she wears the '. She is the consort of the god Kapala Bhairava.
- Kaumari, also known as Kumari, Kartiki, Kartikeyani, 'Ambika is the power of Kartikeya, the god of war. Kaumari rides a peacock and has four or twelve arms. She holds a spear, axe, a Shakti or Tankas and a bow with arrows. She is six-headed like Kartikeya and wears a cylindrical crown called kiriṭa mukuṭa. She is the consort of the god Chanda Bhairava.
- Varahi, is also known as Vairali, Verai, Dandini, Dandai is the power of Varaha, the third and the boar-headed form of Vishnu. She holds a Danda, plough, goad, a Vajra or a sword, and a Panapatra and she rides a buffalo. Sometimes, she carries a bell, chakra, chamara and a bow. She wears a crown called ' with other ornaments. She is the consort of the god Unmatha Bhairava.
- Chamunda, is also known as Chamundi and Charchika, is the power of Chandi, a form of Parvati. She is almost like Kali and is similar in her appearance and habit. The similarity with Kali is explicit in the Devi Mahatmya. The black coloured Chamunda is described as wearing a garland of severed heads and holding a Damaru, trishula, sword and Panapatra and wears a karaṇḍa mukuṭa. Riding a jackal, she is described as having three eyes, a terrifying face and a sunken belly. She is the consort of the god Bhishana Bhairava.
- Narasimhi is the divine energy of Narasimha. She is also called as Pratyangira, the woman-lion goddess who throws the stars into disarray by shaking her lion mane and wears a karaṇḍa mukuṭa''. She is described as holding a Damaru, trishula, sword and Panapatra. She rides on a lion. She is the consort of the god Samhara Bhairava.