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The Sapta Matrikas

Hindu Deities

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. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Attributions
Mythic Association
The 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. 2
Identity
GenderSourced to the subject's own account
Collective / plural, not a single figure 3
Function
Domain / Function
Motherhood 1
Belief
Theology
Debated 3
Sourced 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.
Attestation
Era of AttestationSourced to the subject's own account
from 1 3
Veneration TodaySourced to the subject's own account
Actively venerated in a living tradition 3
HistoricitySourced to the subject's own account
Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 3
Origins
Origin of the NameSourced to the subject's own account
Matrika is Sanskrit for "little mother," and sapta for "seven," naming the group directly as the seven mother goddesses. 3
The Sapta Matrikas
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Correspondences & Relations

Pantheons

Connections

Associated With

Brahma, Deities

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..."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
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."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
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."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Kartikeya, Deities

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."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Shakti, Deities

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..."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Varaha, Deities

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."

Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)

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..."

Source Varahi (Wikipedia)

Depicted In

Source Battle Scene from a Devi Mahatmya, Object Record (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Members

Brahmani, Deities
Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Chamunda, Deities
Source Encyclopedia of HinduismDenise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.)
Indrani, Deities
Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Kaumari, Deities
Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Maheswari, Deities
Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Vaishnavi, Deities
Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Varahi, Deities

Panchami, the fifth-named Matrika in the standard row, one of the Sapta Matrikas.

Source Varahi (Wikipedia)

Worshipped In

Hinduism, Religions
Source Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. Battle Scene from a Devi Mahatmya, Object Record (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtView the Source
3. Matrikas (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • lead paragraph
    The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mothers).
  • Lead or body text
    the earliest clear description appears in select chapters of the epic Mahabharata dated to 1st century CE
View the Source
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