Baglamukhi-Eighth Manifestation of Das Mahavidyas
‘Baglamukhi’ or ‘Bagala’ is the eighth manifestation of the Das Mahavidya forms of Goddess Sati. Goddess Baglamukhi is also called ‘Pitambara Devi’ or ‘Brahmastra-Rupini’ in many places. She is the goddess of destruction of the devotee’s enemies.
Appearance of Baglamukhi
Goddess Baglamukhi’s complexion is golden. The color of the goddess’s clothes is yellow. She sits on a yellow throne amidst a sea of nectar filled with yellow lotuses. A crescent moon adorns her head. In one of the two separate narratives, she is described as dwibhuja (two-armed) and in the other as chaturbhuja (four-armed). Baglamukhi’s dwibhuja (two-armed) idol worship is more prevalent. The right hand of this two-armed idol holds a mugur (mace). With this mace she beats the enemy. On the other hand, with her left hand, she pulls the enemy’s tongue. This figure is often seen as an attempt to silence the enemy and render him powerless. Many devotees worship the goddess to get this boon. The devotees believe that Goddess Baglamukhi can change one quality into the opposite quality. For example, she can change speech into silence, strength into powerlessness, knowledge into ignorance and vice versa, defeat into victory.
Story of Baglamukhi
According to the myth, when Sati wanted to go to Daksh’s yajna in the ancestral home without invitation, Lord Shiva forbade her. At that time, angry Sati started shooting fire from her third eye to get her husband’s permission. And Goddess Sati was transformed into Kali or Syama. Seeing this terrifying image of Goddess, Shiva tried to avoid her. But Goddess Sati took the forms of Das Mahavidyas and surrounded Shiva from ten directions. These forms or manifestations are called Das Mahvidyas
It is known that the word “baglamukhi” is derived from the words “bagla” meaning catch and “mukh” meaning face. So the word “baglamukhi” means one who is able to take control of someone’s face or something. In another sense, “baglamukhi” means one who has raised the face. There is a story about Baglamukhi Devi. That is, once there was a terrible storm in the world. At that time all creations faced destruction in that storm and all the gods gathered in Saurashtra region. Then Goddess Baglamukhi emerged from Haridra Sarovar and satisfied with the praises of all the gods stopped the storm.
Temples of Baglamukhi
The Kamakshya Temple in Guwahati, Assam is the center of Tantra as well as the Satipeeth. There is also a temple of Das Mahavidya. A few miles away from this temple is the temple of Devi Baglamukhi. Apart from this, there are temples of Baglamukhi in several other places. A temple Devi Baglamukhi is located at Bankhandi in Himachal Pradesh, North India. There are temples of the goddess at Nalkheda and Datia Pitambara Peeth in Agar Malab District of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Besides North India and Central India, there is a temple of Devi Baglamukhi or Bugla at Kallaidaikurichi in Papankulam district of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu in South India. There is also a temple of Goddess Baglamukhi in Kolkata, West Bengal. This temple is located on Tobin Road near BT Road in Barahnagar, Kolkata.
Jay Ma Baglamukhi
By Krishna Das
