Many of us here have been exposed to a number of superstitions while growing up and we still are, in all honesty, to this very date. It is in fond memory especially if you have had a dosa ladle wielding mom who steadfastly believed in credulous theories and wouldn’t hesitate to throw that ladle at you if you so as ever slip just a notch and make a mistake.
Tharithiram, she would screech if she caught you napping from six in the evenings. After six is considered an auspicious time in an Indian household where the Goddess of Wealth, Mahalakshmi is said to visit. Sleeping during these visiting hours is a huge no, for it is considered inauspicious.
In case if you were wondering, yes, my mother still does this.
Even then, as we age, we begin to wonder about the form that auspiciousness takes. I remember writing an Instagram blurb once, about how the term moothevi, although widely used by Indian parents as a recognised insult that renders desired effect almost immediately, the name Moothevi refers to a Goddess of Ill-Fortune, the opposite of Sridevi, the Goddess of Prosperity and Wealth. Hence, we can ascertain the relevance to our parents insulting us moothevi to a certain extent now.
The aforementioned experience was what struck me immediately while I was researching Dhumavati, the seventh Mahavidya that we are looking at her today. What was more compelling was her imagery – it stands out in a rather different way, unlike the previous Mahavidya that we have thus looked upon.
Dhumavati means “the smoky one” and she is depicted as a wrinkly old woman clad in white, who represents the dark side of life. In popular culture, white denotes widowhood, and that is exactly what Dhumavati is, a widow.
In a world where there is light, there falls dark shadows as well. Good and bad co-exist, a balance struck perfectly in equilibrium ; one has never been standalone. The iconography of Dhumavati represents the darkness and inauspiciousness that dwells in a heart, opposite to the thousand suns of the radiant, fierce Bairavi.
Dhumavati is commonly seen with a crow as her vehicle, where the bird is normally associated with dark, decay and a sense of foreboding. In certain instances, Dhumavati is seen to be sitting in a chariot with no charioteer, signifying despair and despondency.
What place does Dhumavati occupy in the pantheon of Mahavidya who provides radiance and light, you may ask. Let’s look deeper into her significance.
Smoke, is a quotient of fire, the element that is closely affiliated to the act of destroying and purifying. Dhumavati, whose name literally means “smoke”, symbolises not just inauspiciousness but the end in itself, where one is purified not from having a positive upheaval only, but when one is able to strike a neat balance between the positive and negative upheaval. Dhumavati lives on as a goddess who represents misfortune – a reminder that she may well be an antithesis of Sri (prosperity) but she will always exist.
In retrospect, Dhumavati teaches us that a world of good is only possible with a balance of bad. As much as we want to invite all the light into our humble homes and heart, we need to embrace the darkness equally. Balance is of great notability when it comes to the journey towards self-consciousness, and Mahavidya Dhumavati advocates just that.
It’s the seventh day of Navaratri and a busy one for me as well, but I hope I managed justice on this Mahavidya today.
Another day tomorrow, with the tale of another Mahavidya.
File photo : Pinterest.
