Maa Chhinnamasta Devi ছিন্নমস্তা অর্থাৎ যার মস্তক ছিন্ন

Maa Chhinnamasta Jogini is the sixth maha vidya in the Dasha Maha vidyas. She is the sixth form of Maa Durga and controls sadhanas or spiritual practices performed in many lives. Chinnamasta means ‘She whose head is severed’ also called Chhinnamastika, Prachanda Chandika, Vajra Vairochini maa. She is one of the Mahavidyas, the ten tantric goddesses and a ferocious, wrathful aspect of the Divine Mother. The self-decapitated goddess holds her own severed head in one hand, khadga (sword) in another hand. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her own severed head and two attendants Dakini Maa and Bornini Maa. Chhinnamasta is usually depicted standing on a copulating couple Kam Deb and Rati maa. Chhinnamasta Jogini maa is associated with the concept of self-sacrifice as well as the awakening of the kundalini Shakti in the yogic body. She is considered as a symbol of self-control in various areas of tantric worship. Devi symbolizes the aspect of a life-giver from her own Yog. She represents the embodiment of self-sacrifice with a maternal element for the care of her worshippers (sadhoks). She is the complete form of Shakteyic worship and Sadhana. The aroused kundalini Shakti sprouts to other parts of the sadhak body nourishing and satisfying them leaving the sadhok one with the Divine Debota.

Jogini Maa in Sree Vijaya Kali Ashram
Chhinnamasta Maa is described as being red as the hibiscus flower and as brilliant as one thousand suns. She is depicted mostly nude and with dishevelled hair, thus inner yoga shakthi has no covering. She has a blue lotus near her heart chakra, Anahata. Chhinnamasta is depicted wearing a serpent as a sacred thread and a garland of skulls and bones showing the inner base of the body. She carries her own severed head in a skull-bowl known as kapala kundala. The yogis spiritual shakti revolves in the kapaal which is inebriated by the yogi again and again sustaining spiritual bliss with His Debota’s puja which help to balance the yogi to stay in Turya (a divine void state with the Debota). Hence many tantric practices involve the sadhok to worship Maa using human or animal skulls with rites and rituals to get energized as well as attainment for such yogic states. Sadhok Bamakhyepa was a tantric yogi who lived in the maha shmasaan in Tara pith, Birbhum, West Bengal. He performed many practices with human skulls found in the cremation grounds, and used to eat Tara Maa’s maha prasad from the mandir in his Kapaal kundal (skull pot). Tantrics carry with them a Trisul (unity with the three levels of the world, as well as Ida, Susumna, Pingola), a kamandola pot of Ganga water and kapal kundal (a skeleton skull pot) for various rites they perform to their debota. Some tantric worshippers carry with them murtis of divine entities made from various stones and elements found in mines for various sadhanas and passing on various energies to others who seek them. The rituals performed with sadhana blessed Bamdev with oneness with Maa Tara and kept him in the states of Maha Turya, Shoonno Turya, Maha Bhaab, Bhyomu Turya, Vajra bhaab and many more. While Sri Bamakhyepa was enjoying all different angles of siddhis (prasad of Maa) from sadhana, to the mundane world he looked to be a khyepa (mad man). But he is not. He is Bam Jogi a Maha Yogi who in a very short time achieved excellent states of being with his Debota known as Purna Ekojatt Cina Tara. Pranaam to BamaDeb.
Maa Chhinnamasta Jogini reflects her power in all her sadhoks nurishing them with Her own tejas for them to glitter in the world of the Siddhas. Maa Chhinnamasta; in her right hand she holds khatri, a scimitar or knife or scissor-like object. Three streams of blood string from her neck, one enters her own mouth nourishing herself, while the others are drunk by her female yogini companions which can also be seen as the two main yogic channels the Ida and Pingola of the Yogi. Both the attendants – Dakini to her left and Bornini to her right – are depicted nude, with matted or dishevelled hair, three-eyed, wearing a sacred snake on their heads (represents Kundalini shakti) and carrying the skull-bowl in the left hand and the knife in the right. While Dakini is fairly bluish (“Neel”complexion) and represents the tamas guna, Varnini is red-complexioned and conveys the rajas guna. With her right leg stretched and left leg bent a little, Sri Pratyalidhini Prachondaa Jogini Maa (chhinnamasta) stands in a fighting posture on the love-deity couple of Kamadev and his wife Rati. Below the couple is a lotus and in the background is a cremation ground the maha Shmasaan. This iconographic form and the tattva of Maa is described in the Tantrasara, Trishakti Tantra and Kalikula tantra. Sometimes, Kamadev-Rati is replaced by the divine couple of Krishna and Radha, symbolizing shakti with divine compassion. The lotus beneath the couple is sometimes replaced by a cremation pyre. Maa chhinnamasta has many forms in her pantheon of debis. She is closely related to Bajra Jogini, Bajra Barahi, Bajra Dakini, Bajra Nilakhya Jogini and with other Bajra Sattva Debis. Bajra Jogini a tremendous wrathful goddess worshipped by one of our mandir yogis Sri Baba Loknath in the himalayas. Sri Loknath Baba travelled wide and far and practiced all sixty four tantras and many paths of yogas and lived for about 160 years protecting all his devotees.
Thus worshipping Maa Chhinnamasta bestows her divine grace in spiritual sadhana bringing out antic sadhana from previous births and polishing them with her own nourishment. She also removes old karmic ways and transforms them into sadhana making the aspirant a sadhok. She also removes the unnecessary elements in worship (sadhana). She protects her children with her own motherly love and fulfills their wishes nourishing them with her shakti. Only through the blessings and sadhana of such shaktis yogis and kabis like Kalidasa, Ramprasad, Bamakhyepa, Ramkrishna, Tyagaraj, Kabirdaas, Shyam Sastri, Rabindranath Tagore, Arunagirinath, Tukaram, Naam Dev and many more yogis could have expressed Divine Mother’s various tatwas in their poetry and kirtan offering them with bhakti back to Maa as a sadhana. Maa chhinnamasta is worshipped on mongol baar with special archanas and pujas.
The Chintpurni Maa, Himachal Pradesh temple of Chhinnamastika is one of the Sati Shakti Peethas and where the goddess Sati's feet (charon) fell. Chhinnamasta at this pith is interpreted and worshipped as the severed-headed one as well as the foreheaded one, or divine gnaan (wisdom). Mata’s form in the temple is only one head or Mastak. A shrine dedicated to Chhinnamasta is in Ramnagar near Varanasi, where tantriks worship her in the smasaan. There are Chhinnamasta shrines in Jharkhand, Bihar on the hill Nandana Parvat near Deoghar (Baidyanath Dhaam) and in Rajrappa, along with other Mahavidyas. Her shrine is situated in the Kamakhya Temple in Assam, along with other Mahavidyas. A temple to Chhinnamasta is present in Bishnupur, West Bengal, Where Chhinamasta Maa’s form is the same form worshipped in our Sree Vijaya Kali Ashram, Burlington. Chhinnamasta's shrines are also found in Nepal and in Kathmandu Valley.
As the power of Jog, May Maa Protect all who seek her with Bhakti and artistic sadhana.

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