Who is Dhumavati? The Smoky Goddess of Wisdom and Liberation.

Dhumavati: The Smoky Goddess of Wisdom and Liberation

In the profound realm of Tantric Hinduism, the Dasha Mahavidyas—the ten wisdom goddesses—represent various facets of divine feminine energy, guiding spiritual seekers toward liberation. Among them, Dhumavati, the seventh Mahavidya, stands as a unique and powerful deity, embodying the stark realities of existence. Known as the "Smoky Goddess," Dhumavati symbolizes emptiness, dissolution, and absence, inviting us to confront the darker aspects of life—loss, old age, poverty, and death—as pathways to spiritual growth and ultimate truth.

The Symbolism of Dhumavati

Dhumavati's fearsome form is a stark reminder of the impermanence of the material world. She is depicted as an elderly widow, gaunt and frail, with a greyish or blackened complexion that reflects her association with smoke and ash. Her unkempt hair and tattered, dirty clothes further emphasize her connection to renunciation and detachment. Often, she is shown riding a horseless chariot or perched on a crow, carrying a winnowing basket—a tool to separate grain from chaff, symbolizing the discernment needed to distinguish truth from illusion. Her gestures grant blessings or knowledge, offering wisdom to those who dare to look beyond her intimidating appearance.

Dhumavati's iconography teaches a profound lesson: the material world, with its superficial allure, is illusory and transient. Her presence urges devotees to accept the harsh realities of life as integral to spiritual evolution, guiding them to seek inner truth beyond the dualities of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness.

Mythological Origins

The origins of Dhumavati are steeped in Tantric lore, with two prominent legends shedding light on her emergence. According to the Shaktisamgama Tantra, Dhumavati arose from the smoke that billowed when Sati, the first wife of Lord Shiva, immolated herself in her father Daksha's sacrificial fire. This act of self-sacrifice, driven by Sati's outrage at her father's insult to Shiva, gave rise to Dhumavati as a manifestation of grief, loss, and dissolution.

Another legend from the Pranatosini Tantra offers a different perspective. In this narrative, Sati, overwhelmed by insatiable hunger, devoured Shiva. When she refused to release him, Shiva cursed her to assume the form of a widow, thus transforming her into Dhumavati. This story highlights themes of hunger—both physical and spiritual—and the consequences of unchecked desire, positioning Dhumavati as a deity who embodies the lessons of restraint and detachment.

Worship and Tantric Practices

The worship of Dhumavati is deeply tantric in nature, often conducted in secluded and unconventional settings such as crematoriums or forests, particularly at night. These locations align with her association with death and dissolution, creating an atmosphere conducive to introspection and spiritual transformation. Devotees offer items that reflect her austere nature, including black sesame seeds, mustard oil, bitter or unripe fruits, hibiscus flowers, and oil lamps.

A key element of her worship is the recitation of her mantra, "Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha," which invokes her protective and transformative energy. This mantra is believed to grant spiritual wisdom and shield devotees from negative forces. Dhumavati's worship is particularly suited for those on the margins of society—single individuals, widows, and renunciants—who resonate with her themes of renunciation and solitude. Through her sadhana (spiritual practice), devotees learn to embrace life's challenges as opportunities for growth, transcending societal norms of prosperity and happiness.

The Teachings of Dhumavati

Dhumavati's presence in the pantheon of Mahavidyas is a powerful reminder of the necessity to confront life's unpleasant realities. She teaches that loss, aging, and death are not to be feared but accepted as essential aspects of the human experience. By embracing these truths, devotees can move beyond the dualities of good and bad, beautiful and ugly, and find liberation in the ultimate reality that lies beyond appearances.

Her association with widowhood—a state often considered inauspicious in traditional contexts—challenges societal norms and invites a deeper understanding of existence. Dhumavati encourages us to look within, to shed our attachments to the material world, and to seek the eternal truth that leads to moksha (liberation). Her smoky, elusive form symbolizes the dissolution of ego and the clarity that emerges when illusions are stripped away.

Conclusion

Dhumavati, the seventh Mahavidya, is a profound and enigmatic deity whose teachings resonate with those willing to delve into the depths of their spiritual journey. Her fearsome appearance and association with the darker aspects of life serve as a catalyst for transformation, guiding devotees toward wisdom and liberation. By accepting the impermanence of the material world and embracing the lessons of loss and detachment, we can uncover the eternal truth that Dhumavati so powerfully embodies.

For those seeking to explore the deeper dimensions of spirituality, Dhumavati offers a path of introspection and transcendence. Join us at https://anantbodh.blogspot.com/ for more insights into the divine feminine and the wisdom of the Mahavidyas.

Maa Dhumavati

Maa Dhumavati is 7th Mahavidya out of ten Mahavidyas. 

Baglamukhi is a part of linguistics, that's why mother Baglamukhi should take permission to meditate and pray that her mother should be done. 

In the absence of knowledge or reading the book from the internet, it has also been seen falling into adversity. Only after doing Baglamukhi Sadhana, you get the ability to do special rituals. So, under special circumstances, the process should be started from the Guru only. Guru knows what is the ability of the disciple. 

Origin of Dhumavati: Devi Bhagavat says that when Sati performed self-immolation at the Yagya of Daksha Prajapati, While getting burnt, Sati came out of her body in the form of smoke and came to be known as Dhumavati. The dhyana mantra of Dhumavati says: 
स्तुति :- विवर्णा चंचला कृष्णा दीर्घा च मलिनाम्बरा, विमुक्त कुंतला रूक्षा विधवा विरलद्विजा, काकध्वजरथारूढा विलम्बित पयोधरा, सूर्पहस्तातिरुक्षाक्षी धृतहस्ता वरान्विता, प्रवृद्वघोणा तु भृशं कुटिला कुटिलेक्षणा, क्षुत्पिपासार्दिता नित्यं भयदा काल्हास्पदा | 

Dhumavati is ugly, unsteady, and angry. She is tall and wears dirty clothes. Her ears are ugly and rough, she has long teeth, and her breasts hang down. She has a long nose. She has the form of a widow. She rides during a chariot decorated with the symbol of the crow. Her eyes are fearsome, and her hands tremble. In one hand she holds a winnowing basket, and with the opposite hand, she makes the gesture of conferring boons. Her nature is rude. She is usually hungry and thirsty and appears unsatisfied. She likes to make strife, and she or he is usually frightful in appearance. 

Dhumavati - The Grandmother Spirit: Dhumavati is that the eldest among the Goddesses, the Grandmother Spirit. She stands behind the other Goddesses as their ancestral guide. As the Grandmother Spirit, she is the great teacher who bestows the ultimate lessons of birth and death. She is that the knowledge that comes through hard experience, during which our immature and youthful desires and fantasies are put to rest. Dhuma means "smoke." Dhumavati is "one who consists of smoke." Her nature isn't illumination but obscuration. However, to obscure one thing is to reveal another. By obscuring or covering all that is known, Dhumavati reveals the depth of the unknown and the unmanifest. Dhumavati obscures what's evident so as to reveal the hidden and therefore the profound. 

Dhumavati is portrayed as a widow. She is that the feminine principle barren of the masculine principle. She is Shakti without Shiva as pure potential energy without any will to motivate it. Thus she contains within herself all potentials and shows the latent energies that dwell within us. To develop these latent energies we must first recognize them. This requires honouring Dhumavati. 

Dhumavati represents the darkness on the face of the deep, the original chaos and obscurity which underlies creation. She is that the darkness of primordial ignorance, Mulavidya, from which this world of illusion has arisen, and which it's seeking to transcend. Dhumavati represents the facility of ignorance or that aspect of the creative force which causes the obscuration of the underlying light of consciousness. While Maya is that the magic or illusion power of the Lord that creates the one reality appears as many, ignorance may be a sort of darkness that forestalls us from seeing the underlying reality.

Dhumavati is that the elder sort of Kali, Kali as an old woman. She represents time or the life-force dissociated from the method of manifestation. She is timeless which never really enters into the process of time. 

Dhumavati holds a bowl of fire in one hand and a winnowing basket in the other. The fire symbolizes inevitable cosmic destruction: all things shall pass on. The winnowing basket, used to separate the grain from the chaff, represents Viveka, mental discrimination between the permanent and the fleeting. Even though her stalled cart represents an external life going nowhere, Dhumavati empowers us inwardly to succeed in for the very best, and there's nothing to prevent us once we are resolved. In the end, she points the thanks to liberation. 

Goddess Dhumavati’s Sadhana is completed to urge obviate extreme poverty. She is also worshipped to make the body free from all sorts of diseases. Dhumavati’s worship is taken into account as ideal for bachelors, widows, Sannyasins, and Tantrics, it's advised that folks who are married shouldn't worship Dhumavati.