Pratyangira

Pratyangira
Pratyangira
	Pratyangira upon her lion vehicle
Other names	Narasimhi, Atharvana Bhadrakali, Pratyangira, Nikumbhila
Sanskrit	प्रत्यङ्गिरा
Affiliation	Mahadevi, Mahalakshmi, Bhadrakali
Weapon	Trishula (Trident), Damaru (Drum), Kapala (Skull), Pasha (rope or snake)
Mount	Lion
Texts	Atharvaveda, Devi Bhagavata, Kalika Purana,
Consort	Shiva as Sharabha

Pratyangira (Sanskrit: प्रत्यङ्गिरा, IAST: Pratyaṅgirā), also called Atharvana Bhadrakali and Nikumbhala, is a Hindu goddess associated with Shaktism. She is described to be the female energy and consort of Sharabha.^[2]^[3] In the Vedas, Pratyangira is represented earliest in the form of Atharvana Bhadrakali, the goddess of the Atharva Veda and magical spells.^[4] According to the Tripura Rahasya, she is the pure manifestation of the wrath of Tripura Sundari.

Legends

There are many Hindu texts that narrate the different legends of Pratyangira.

According to the Markandeya Purana and Shiva Purana, in the beginning of the Treta YugaLord Narasimha the fourth among the ten avataras of Vishnu, full of ugra (rage) against the demon king Hiranyakashipu and kills him by drinking blood after tearing up his body.

But the act of drinking the demon's blood made Lord Narasimha lose his godly attributes and get imbibed with destructive evil attributes. Full of rage and unstoppable, Narasimha was in a destructive mode, and the world was threatened with destruction as he could not be pacified.

The story ends with Prahlada pacifying Narasimha and he returns to Vaikuntha after assuming his true form as Vishnu.^[5] In the Shaiva tradition, Shiva assumed the form of Sharabha, a bird-lion hybrid form with two wings of Shakti in the form of Shulini Devi and Pratyangira Devi to calm down Narasimha. Seeing this, Narasimha created Gandaberunda, a powerful two-headed bird, to fight Sharabha. Seeing that the fight between Sharabha and Gandaberunda was terrorizing the world, Pratyangira in her ugra form was released from the third eye of Sharabha. The war ended with Pratyangira's roar. Narasimha so he could resume his Satvik form, and thus Dharma in the world was restored.^[6]

The term 'Prati' means reverse and Angiras means attacking. Thus, the goddess Pratyangira is the one who reverses any black magic attacks. In the temples of South India, she is also eulogised as Atharvana Bhadrakali as the she is considered the embodiment of the Atharva Veda.^[7]^[8]

Iconography

Goddess Pratyangira is a powerful manifestation of divine mother who is ever willing to shower her grace upon her devotees. She is described as a goddess with the head of a male lion and the body of a woman. This unique combination represents the union of Shiva and Shakti. In Shaivism Pratyangira is Siddhilakshmi, a form of Guhya Kali. In Durga tradition, Pratyangira is referred as Purna Chandi, She is associated with Sharabha .

In the Vedas, Pratyangira named as Atharvana Bhadrakali, the ruling goddess of Atharv Veda. She is considered to be a powerful repellent of the influences generated by witchcraft and is said to have the power to punish anyone doing Adharma.

Many paintings she is described as a Goddess with a dark complexion, with a lion’s face, reddened eyes, disheveled hair, and protruding tongue. She rides on a lion, wearing a garland of human skulls. She holds a trident, a serpent in the form of a noose, a hand drum, and a skull in her four hands.

She is mainly described in two forms. One, the commonly seen form of the Goddess with four hands, seated on a lion. The other one is a greater form called Maha Pratyangira devi with multiple faces of lions and numerous hands. Behind her terrible appearance lies a wonderful mother who is soft-hearted and always ready to help her children. Praying her whole-heartedly will surely help you to overcome any type of problem.

Literature

Prathyangira is also mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Indrajita is described to have begun to perform the Nikumbala yajna, a ritual to worship Nikumbala, another name of Pratyangira, while Rama and his soldiers were waging war in Lanka. Hanuman is described to have arrived at the site and stopped the ritual because its completion would have granted invincibility to Indrajita.^[9] Consequently, Lakshmana was able to defeat and kill Indrajita in the Battle of Lanka.

Worship

Tantra classifies deities as Shanta (calm), Ugra (wrathful), Prachanda (horrifying), Ghora (terrifying) and Teevara (ferocious). Pratyangira is considered as a teevra murti. Pratyangira worship is strictly prohibited for people who have namesake Bhakti. Pratyangira worship is only done by the guidance of a Guru who is proficient in Tantra.^[10]

Worships dedicated to Pratyangira is performed at many places for the welfare of the people and for eliminating the influences of evil forces. In some temples, Pratyangira Homam is performed on the days of Amavasya.^[11]

Eight kinds of Tantric acts

Like all Tantric deities, she can be invoked for the eight kinds of acts usually performed. They are appealing, growth, increasing, attracting, subduing, dissension, repealing, and killing. Detailed information is found as to what kind of materials are to be used for the respective aim, and the number of recitations to be performed. It is further said that any act performed invoking this deity, especially the bad ones like killing and subduing, it is impossible to retract it even when the doer wishes.^[12]^[13]

References

^ Kindler, Babaji Bob (4 July 1996). Twenty-Four Aspects of Mother Kali. SRV Associations. ISBN 9781891893179.
^ Nagar, Shanti Lal (1989). The Universal Mother. Atma Ram & Sons. ISBN 978-81-7043-113-8.
^ Punja, Shobita (1996). Daughters of the Ocean: Discovering the Goddess Within. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-87053-0.
^ Dr Ramamurthy, Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi: Holy Divine Mother in Ferocious Form [1]
^ Swami, Bodhasarananda (2016-03-02). Stories from the Bhagavatam. Advaita Ashrama. ISBN 978-81-7505-814-9.
^ "The Mother Who Calmed Down Ugra Narasimha - Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi". Retrieved 2025-10-29.
^ Max Muller The Hymns of the Atharva-Veda: The Sacred Books of the East V42
^ Teun Goudriaan Maya: Divine And Human
^ Dharma, Krishna (2020-08-18). Ramayana: India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love, and Wisdom. Simon and Schuster. p. 390. ISBN 978-1-68383-919-4.
^ Ajit Mookerjee KALI Brill Archive 1988
^ "Pratyangira Devi Homa". nanjangud.info. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
^ Max Muller The Hymns of the Atharva-Veda: The Sacred Books of the East V42
^ Teun Goudriaan Maya: Divine And Human

External links

[1] Kindler, Babaji Bob (4 July 1996). Twenty-Four Aspects of Mother Kali. SRV Associations. ISBN 9781891893179.

[2] Nagar, Shanti Lal (1989). The Universal Mother. Atma Ram & Sons. ISBN 978-81-7043-113-8.

[3] Punja, Shobita (1996). Daughters of the Ocean: Discovering the Goddess Within. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-87053-0.

[4] Dr Ramamurthy, Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi: Holy Divine Mother in Ferocious Form [1]

[5] Swami, Bodhasarananda (2016-03-02). Stories from the Bhagavatam. Advaita Ashrama. ISBN 978-81-7505-814-9.

[6] "The Mother Who Calmed Down Ugra Narasimha - Sri Maha Pratyangira Devi". Retrieved 2025-10-29.

[7] Max Muller The Hymns of the Atharva-Veda: The Sacred Books of the East V42

[8] Teun Goudriaan Maya: Divine And Human

[9] Dharma, Krishna (2020-08-18). Ramayana: India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love, and Wisdom. Simon and Schuster. p. 390. ISBN 978-1-68383-919-4.

[10] Ajit Mookerjee KALI Brill Archive 1988

[11] "Pratyangira Devi Homa". nanjangud.info. Retrieved 2016-01-17.

[12] Max Muller The Hymns of the Atharva-Veda: The Sacred Books of the East V42

[13] Teun Goudriaan Maya: Divine And Human

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