Goddess Chinnamasta - “She Whose Head is Cut Off”
Chinnamasta, a Hindu Goddess and the sixth cosmic wisdom in Dus Mahavidya, is visually fierce but spiritually evolved, tender and compassionate sixteen year old who cuts her own head to feed the ones who come to her by granting them protection and fulfilment.
Spiritually, “She whose head is cut off” represents the unlimited capacity of transcending the mind and be absorbed in the Supreme Void of the Absolute Divine Consciousness. Further, it also implies transcending the mind by separating from identity or ego.
Though visually ferocious, like Kali, her divine and electrifying personality reveals the uniqueness of the infinite divine consciousness, that is nameless, formless and limitless, holding a pure vision that goes beyond any veil of ignorance resulting in thundering spiritual transformation. Hence, Chinnamasta is called Prachanda Chandika, identifying herself with the most terrible form of Kali, which is Chandi.
Due to her association with the ascending energy through Sushumna Nadi, Chinnamasta is also correlated with the subtle energy causing the ascension of Kundalini Shakti and the deep transformation of the human being. There are in fact three streams of blood coming out from Chinnamasta’s throat: a central stream that she herself drinks, and two other placed on the left and on the right sides of this central stream, signifying the energies from ida nadi and pingala nadi, drunk by the two yoginis Dakini and Varini.
In the Pranamayakosha or the energy body, there are 72,000 nadis, pathways
Of energy or prana in the system. The 72,000 nadis spring from three basic nadis – the left, the right and the central – the Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna.
Ida, the feminine representing the moon, is the left channel. It originates in Muladhara, Ida ends up in the left nostril.
Pingala, the masculine representing the sun, is the right channel. It originates in Muladhara, Pingala ends up in the right nostril.
Sushumna is the central channel through which Kundalini moves upwards running up the body from just below Muladhara chakra to Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head, thus energising the seven chakras.
The ability to balance Ida and Pingala, and cause Prana to flow in Sushumna results in an inner balance where whatever happens outside, there is a certain space within you which never gets disturbed and scale up the peaks of consciousness.
