Dhumavati

42.1. Dhumavati whose nature is smoke is again a Mahavidya who is not known outside the
Mahavidya cult. There are no references to her in the earlier mythologies. She unlike most
other Mahavidya is old, ugly and sulking. She is the only Mahavidya without a consort. She
is a widow associated with strife, loneliness, unfulfilled desires and inauspicious things of
life. Dhumavati shares some of her characteristics with three other ancient goddesses
Nirriti, Jyeshta and Alakshmi - who personified disorder, decay, poverty, misfortune,
dissension, sickness, and the whole range of lifes ills, culminating in death. Nirriti in Rig
Veda is the opposite of Rta the order, harmony and wellbeing in nature. Nirriti in contrast
to Rta stands for anger, disorder, death, decay and destruction. Jyeshta, the elder, is dark
and ugly. She indulges in quarrels and is intolerant of anything that is auspicious. . She is
instinctively drawn to households in which there is strifewhere family members quarrel
or where the adults feed themselves and disregard the hunger of their children. Alakshmi is
the dark - reverse image of Lakshmi. She is everything that Lakshmi is not. Alakshmi
symbolizes bad temper, hunger, thirst, need, poverty and all the misfortunes of life.
42.2. While there are similarities between Dhumavati and the above three goddesses, there
are also some differences. Unlike those goddesses, Dhumavati is a widow; she is ugly and

old. Dhumavati is also said to be fierce, frightening and fond of blood. She has , however,
certain positive characteristics such as: guiding the devotee along the spiritual path to help
him/her attain liberation; granting Siddihis and rescuing her devotees from troubles.
43.1. The Dhumavati Tantra describes her as an old and ugly widow. She is thin, tall,
unhealthy, and has a pale complexion. She is described as restless and wicked. Unadorned
with any jewel, she wears old, dirty clothes and has disheveled hair. Her eyes are fearsome,
her nose long and crooked, and some of her long fang-like teeth have fallen out, leaving her
smile with gaps. Her ears are ugly and rough; her breasts hang down. In one of her
trembling hands, she holds a winnowing basket, while the other makes a boon-conferring
gesture (varada-mudra) or knowledge-giving gesture (cinmudra). She rides in a horseless
chariot bearing an emblem of a crow as her banner. She is astute and crafty. Always
hungry and thirsty, Dhumavati initiates quarrels and invokes fear.
43.3. The symbolisms associated with Dhumavati explain that she points out to the negative
aspects of life, asking us to develop a sense of detachment .The bowl of fire she holds burns
ignorance and also indicates that all things are eventually destroyed. The winnowing basket
is viveka the power of discrimination that separates the grain (real) from the chaff (unreal).
On an outer level , she seems like poverty, destitution, and suffering, the great misfortunes
that we all fear in life. But in truth, she directs us look beyond the small ambitions .

43.2. In the Prapancasarasara-samgraha, Dhumavati is described as having a black

complexion and wearing ornaments made of snakes. Her dress is made of rags taken from
cremation grounds. She holds a spear and a skull-cup (kapala) in her two hands. The spear
is sometimes replaced by a sword. Another description in the same text says Dhumavati is
aged with a wrinkled, angry face and cloud-like complexion. Her nose, eyes, and throat
resemble that of a crow's. She holds a broom, a winnowing fan, a torch, and a club. She is
cruel and frowning. Her hair appears disheveled and she wears the simple clothes of a
beggar. Her breasts are dry. Her hair is grey, her teeth crooked and missing, and her
clothes old and worn.

43.4.. There are also unusual descriptions of Dhumavati where she is shown as a goodlooking young woman full of life with attractive features. She is not a widow. She is holding
a winnowing basket while riding a huge crow. She is adorned with ornaments, bracelets,
arm-bands, necklaces, and pendants. She is elegantly dressed. Her appearance here is in
total contrast to the descriptions of her as ugly and old wearing soiled rags.

43.5. Dhumavati is worshipped by the Tantrics for attainment of Siddhis (magical powers).
Though Dhumavati's worship is considered ideal for bachelors, widows, Sanyasins and
Tantrics, the householder too flock to her seeking blessings and fulfillment of their desires.

44.1. If Sodasi and Bhuvanesvari represent the sparkling vivacious stage in womans life,
Dhumavati projects the end and the miserable part of womans life. She is an old and a
sulking widow who has nowhere to go. She is lonely, a social outcast ; but, free from its
obligations and constraints. She lives in a cremation ground surrounded by burning
funeral pyres. She is often hungry and thirsty; and, is rankled by unsatisfied desires and
the memory of many things she missed in her life. The crow which is her emblem and on
which she is shown riding is a scavenger bird feeding on half-burnt corpse; it is a symbol of
death and inauspiciousness.
44.2. Smoke billowing out of a quenched fire is her nature .Dhumavatis youth and
freshness are burnt out; and what remains is the smoke of her spent life. And like smoke
she is restless and wandering. Her nature is not brightness. The smoke usually is dark,
polluting and concealing.
Another interpretation is that Dhumavati is a good teacher. By obscuring or covering all
that is known, Dhumavati reveals the depth of the unknown. Dhumavati obscures what is
evident in order to reveal the hidden and the profound.

44.3. She favors the unmarried, the single and the widowed. She instills a desire to be alone
and an aversion to worldly things. She encourages a certain kind of aloofness and
independence; and sets one on the spiritual path.
Dhumavati represents a typical old widow of the orthodox society. Although a widow was
considered unfortunate or inauspicious, she was free to undertake spiritual pursuits such as
pilgrimages and vratas that were not easily possible in her younger days while she had to
shoulder family responsibilities. For some of those women who found their married life
oppressive, widowhood might come as a sort of relief. Like the traditional sanyasin, a pious
widow is outside the society free from its constraints and obligations.
44.4. Dhumavati symbolically portrays the disappointments, frustrations, humiliation,
defeat, loss, sorrow and loneliness that a woman endures. She is the knowledge that comes
through hard experiences, after the youthful desires and fantasies are put
behind.Dhumavati thus represents a stage of womans life that is beyond worldly desires,
beyond the conventional taboos of what is polluting or inauspicious. She desires to be free
and at the same time she likes to be useful to the family and to the society.
44.5. In her temples near Varanasi, Dhumavati despite her aloofness is regarded as a
guardian deity who looks after the village folk and blesses with worldly happiness. She is no
longer the inauspicious and dangerous goddess approached only by the Tantrics.
Devim Koteshwarim Suddhampapaghnim Kamaroopinim
Namami Muktikamaya Dehi Muktim Harapriye

Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Swaha