Deities
The Sapta Matrikas
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The Sapta Matrikas, the "seven mothers," are a group of goddesses in Hindu tradition, each one the shakti or embodied power of a male god: Brahmani of Brahma, Vaishnavi of Vishnu, Maheswari of Shiva, Kaumari of Kartikeya, Indrani of Indra, Varahi of Varaha and Chamunda, who is her own case, an emanation of the Goddess herself rather than of a male consort. The Devi Mahatmya recounts them springing from the bodies of the gods to fight beside Durga against the demon armies, each riding her parent god's own mount and carrying his weapons.
Facts
Attributions
Mythic AssociationThe Metropolitan Museum's Pahari painting of a Devi Mahatmya battle scene shows five of the group, Vaishnavi, Kaumari, Brahmani, Indrani and Maheswari, flying into battle around Durga and the emaciated Chamunda, a single episode of the wider Devi Mahatmya account of the Matrikas joining the goddess against the demon armies. 1 Identity
GenderSourced to the subject's own accountCollective / plural, not a single figure 2 Belief
TheologySourced to the subject's own accountScholarship is divided on whether the Matrikas are best read as seven independent goddesses, as aspects or emanations of a single Devi, or as the personified shaktis of seven distinct male gods; the Devi Mahatmya itself supports all three readings at different points. Origins
Origin of the NameSourced to the subject's own accountMatrika is Sanskrit for "little mother," and sapta for "seven," naming the group directly as the seven mother goddesses. 2 Attestation
Veneration TodaySourced to the subject's own accountActively venerated in a living tradition 2 HistoricitySourced to the subject's own accountNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 2 Correspondences & Relations
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Brahma directly: "or embodied power of a male god: Brahmani of Brahma, Vaishnavi of Vishnu, Maheswari of Shiva, Kaumari of Kartikeya, Indrani of Indra, Varahi of Varaha and Chamunda, who is her own case, an emanation..."
Durga, Deities This source names Durga directly: "the bodies of the gods to fight beside Durga against the demon armies, each riding her parent god's own mount and carrying his weapons."
Indra, Deities This source names Indra directly: "of Shiva, Kaumari of Kartikeya, Indrani of Indra, Varahi of Varaha and Chamunda, who is her own case, an emanation of the Goddess herself rather than of a male consort."
This source names Kartikeya directly: "Vishnu, Maheswari of Shiva, Kaumari of Kartikeya, Indrani of Indra, Varahi of Varaha and Chamunda, who is her own case, an emanation of the Goddess herself rather than of a male consort."
This source names Shakti directly: "in Hindu tradition, each one the shakti or embodied power of a male god: Brahmani of Brahma, Vaishnavi of Vishnu, Maheswari of Shiva, Kaumari of Kartikeya, Indrani of Indra, Varahi of Varaha and..."
This source names Varaha directly: "Kartikeya, Indrani of Indra, Varahi of Varaha and Chamunda, who is her own case, an emanation of the Goddess herself rather than of a male consort."
This source names The Sapta Matrikas directly: "A Wikipedia article on Varahi, one of the Sapta Matrikas, the seven mother goddesses of Hindu tradition, describing her sow-faced iconography, her creation from Vishnu's boar avatar Varaha, her..."
Depicted In
Members
Panchami, the fifth-named Matrika in the standard row, one of the Sapta Matrikas.
Worshipped In
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