We all know Goddess Kali. But Bhagavati Atharvan Kali is a fiercer form of the Mother: known also as Viparita Pratyangira, Nikumbala Bhadrakali, and Sakshat Pratyangira Mahadevi.
The teaching surrounding this Goddess is severe. It says that if she even passes near the Earth, she brings doom to the Earth. She is the Goddess before whom Lord Mahakala Shiva himself begins to tremble. She is the force on whose strength Ravana went to fight Lord Shri Ramachandra, and through whose Mahavidya Ravana’s entire family became wealthy.
This is a secret Mahavidya. If it is controlled from the Earth, it causes catastrophe. Yet the devotee of this Goddess is protected by the ten Mahavidyas situated in the ten directions, while sixty-four Yoginis grant the practitioner accomplishment in the sixty-four vidyas.
Parvati asks about the most terrible form
Once, Mother Parvati was present as a disciple on Mount Kailash. Before Lord Mahakala Bhairava, she asked:
Is there any form of mine that is the most fierce, the most electric, and the most terrifying?
Lord Mahakala Shiva replied:
“Shranno Devi Pravakshami”: listen, Devi, I shall tell you.
He then revealed the story of Narasimha.
The battle of Narasimha and Sarveshwara Mahakala
When Hiranyakashipu inflicted unbearable torture upon Prahlad, Lord Narasimha appeared by tearing open the pillar to protect him. After killing Hiranyakashipu, however, the fire of Narasimha’s anger could not be pacified.
Prahlad made endless requests for him to calm himself, but Narasimha did not relent. He began devouring even the gods.
At that moment, Lord Mahakala assumed his fierce tantric form, Sarveshwara Mahakala, also called Pakshiraja. His Gayatri is:
Om Pakshirajaya Vidmahe
Swarna Pakshaya Dhimahi
Tanno Sarva Sharbha Prachodayat
Lord Mahakala Shiva seized Lord Narasimha in his claws and lifted him above the Earth into space. Narasimha began to tremble, and a fierce battle arose between the two.
Seeing this, Brahma and Vishnu invoked the Goddess and meditated upon her. She manifested in her most terrible form: Nikumbala Bhadrakali.
With one roar, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva trembled. Narasimha, the fiercest form of Lord Vishnu, and Shiva both trembled before her. They understood that the primordial power is everything. Recognizing this vast truth, Goddess Parvati, the primordial form of Pratyangira Bhadrakali, was satisfied.
The two sages and the birth of Atharva Devi Pratyangira
Another account tells of two sages, Pratyangira and Angirasa, who performed intense penance in the Himalayas for twelve years: twelve kalpas, cycles of time.
Pleased by their austerity, the thousand-headed and thousand-eyed Goddess Nikumbala Bhadrakali appeared before them. The sages were astonished by her divine form.
The Goddess granted them a boon:
“Son, from now on this form of mine will be known by your name.”
From that time, Nikumbala Bhadrakali became revered as Atharva Devi Pratyangira.
Her ardent devotee was Meghnath, the son of Ravana. He worshipped her to destroy Lord Rama and Lakshmana. But this discipline carries an unbreakable law: if Nikumbala Bhadrakali is invoked for an unrighteous act, the Goddess takes the head of her own devotee.
That is exactly what happened.
While Meghnath was performing his yagya, Hanumanji appeared and destroyed it, protecting dharma. When the yagya was interrupted, the ritual was broken. The teaching states that if there is any hindrance in the worship of the Mother, in the prescribed method, or in any part of the ritual, the devotee dies. Meghnath was defeated and destroyed. The same Indrajit before whose name even Indra trembled.
This is not a power that excuses intention. The Goddess herself becomes the judgment.
Her form and the sword of liberation
The form of Bhagavati Pratyangira cannot be described by the gods:
“Swaroopam Taday Navinda Deva.”
She has a thousand faces and a thousand eyes. Her original form has four hands. In one she holds a skull. One hand gives Abhaya Mudra, granting fearlessness. Another gives Varada Mudra, granting boons. In the fourth she holds a divine sword.
That sword cuts the bonds of karma and dispels the devotee’s attachment to the world.
Her sadhana also sharpens the intellect. Kusha grass is pointed at its tip, and the practitioner’s intellect becomes sharp like that point. The devotee is said to gain the capacity to answer questions accurately. This sharpened understanding is described as a fundamental characteristic of her discipline.
Not a practice for ordinary people
The sadhana of Pratyangira is not for ordinary people. It includes the worship of a mandala of Yoginis, and sixty-four balis are prescribed for the sixty-four Yoginis.
Her Ganapati is Lion Ganapati. The thirty-two tantric forms of Ganapati are described in the Mudgal Purana and the Vinayaka Vimarsha Tantra. The twenty-ninth form is Lion Ganapati, whose face is that of a lion and whose vehicle is not a mouse.
Viparita Pratyangira is pleased with anyone who has received the blessing of Lord Lion Ganapati.
Pratyangira and Viparita Pratyangira
The Goddess has two established forms: Pratyangira and Viparita Pratyangira.
Viparita Pratyangira is like the thorn on a rose. The devotee is the rose, and the Mother protects the devotee in the form of the thorn.
When someone tries to harass the devotee, insult their reputation, or tarnish their name, the Mother protects them. When a hand reaches for a rose and touches its thorn, the body withdraws through reflex. In the same way, tantric practices directed at the devotee are ruined, become reflexive, and return upon the person who sent them.
Viparita Pratyangira is Bhadrakali herself. The teaching says that it is foolish even to ask where the enemy of the sadhaka who remembers her wanders, or where that enemy dies.
The burden of secret knowledge
Those who do not worship this Goddess according to scripture find the knowledge too heavy to bear. The method of worship of the Mahavidyas must be learned only from the Guru.
Although people commonly speak of ten Mahavidyas, the deeper account recognizes eighteen, including secret Mahavidyas and Brahma Vidyas. Some vidyas regarded as Mahavidyas are also Siddha Vidyas.
Every discipline has its Yakshinis. Pratyangira likewise has Yakshinis and Bhairavas. Her Bhairava is Sarveshwara Mahakala Shiva, also known as Akasha Bhairava. A dedicated scripture for him is called the Sharva Kalpa. Unless the appropriate person follows the Sharva Tantra, proficiency in this discipline cannot be attained.
The practitioners of Pratyangira are few on Earth, countable on the fingers.
This worship is not for householders. A householder should approach her only through the path of a Guru. Unless one has the protection of a Guru and has been initiated into the Shakta tradition, performing this ritual invites death.
The Bagla Pratyangira Kavacha
It is said that a yagya to Bagalamukhi subdues enemies. The eighth Mahavidya, Bagalamukhi, is called a Bagla Pratyangira Kavacha. An armour.
When no other practice works, one turns to this armour. When even the practice of Bagalamukhi is destroyed, worshipping Bhagavati Pratyangira together with Bagalamukhi is said to destroy marana, mohana, uchchatana, vidveshana, and vashikarana.
Kritya Dosha, described as the greatest marana practice in tantra, is said to depart merely upon seeing her.
Her Gayatri is:
Om Pratyangira Vidmahe
Shatru Nishaday Dhimahi
Tanno Devi Prachodayat
The teaching describes this mantra as so fierce that it destroys the entire clan of the enemy.
The order and conditions of worship
It is foolish to worship her after merely hearing of her somewhere. Worship may be approached through the Dakshina Marga or the Vama Marga, through a suitable Kaula Guru or a Dakshina Marga Guru, but it must be performed under the Guru’s protection.
The order is:
- Worship of Lion Ganapati
- Worship of Akasha Bhairava
- Worship of the Yogini Mandala
- Worship of Pratyangira
The dhyana of Pratyangira differs from the dhyana of Viparita Pratyangira. Viparita is Pratyangira in the highest and more severe form. These forms are worshipped primarily to remove Kritya Dosha, and one who has committed Kritya Dosha in the opposite manner experiences its force after rising beyond it.
Dhyana is not the same as contemplation. A stotram may be recited without dhyana, but dhyana here means the dhyana shloka. Dhyana is a vehicle: as ships and aircraft carry, dhyana carries the mind toward the deity. Only a supreme yogi can attain this state.
Pratyangira is therefore called the Goddess of yogis. One who becomes her practitioner becomes stable like Shiva and knowledgeable like Vishnu.
The key given for worshipping Bhagavati Viparita Pratyangira is the Pratyangira Panjara Stotram. Its opening is given as:
Siddha Vidya Mahakali
Yatra Chamodate
Saptaksh Mahavidya
Gopita Parameshwari
Mahakali Mahadevi
Shankara Shrestha Devata
Yas Prasad Marana
Param Brahma Maheshwar
By whose grace Lord Shiva is Param Brahma. That is Bhagavati Pratyangira Devi.
Time, offerings, and prerequisites
The basic times for worship are Ashtami Tithi and Amavasya. The best are Somvati Amavasya and Bhaumavati Amavasya.
Garlic garlands are beloved by her. Lemon garlands are beloved by her. If a devotee offers three lemons as a garland around her neck, the teaching says that the devotee’s life increases, long life is attained, and relief from skin disease may come.
But no one should approach this Goddess without first working upon their mental state. There is no easily approachable form of her.
Those who wish to undertake this sadhana should first complete at least two hundred thousand chants of Ganapati Bappa’s one-syllable mantra. Afterward, only those who have completed at least one and a quarter lakh, or six lakh, chants of Goddess Kali’s one-syllable mantra should advance.
For devotees of Bagalamukhi, the process may be somewhat easier. Those who have performed her rituals or practised her sadhana may be able to handle Pratyangira’s energy. This is the speaker’s personal observation.
If a Guru has given permission, the prescribed supports include meditation on Viparita Pratyangira Devi and recitation of the Pratyangira Panjara Stotram. A red seat is required, as is a red sandalwood rosary.
The practitioner should know trataka and pranayama, including bhramari, kumbhaka, and moola bandha. These are presented as basic requirements, not ornaments.
Silence is part of the discipline
This sadhana must not be trumpeted. It should not be spoken of publicly. It works with great speed, and sometimes even the practitioner must face huge losses.
The simple devotional act given is to salute Goddess Kali in her form of Pratyangira and prepare a rosary of fifty-four lemons as an offering. On the new moon, one may meditate before Bhagavati upon an enemy who is troubling them. Instead of wasting time and money with astrologers and tantrics, one should cry before the Goddess with the same intensity with which one cries before those people.
But even this instruction remains within the larger warning: the fierce Mother is not approached casually, and no practice belongs outside dharma, initiation, and the protection of a qualified Guru.
Jai Maa Viparita Pratyangira
