Om Hleem Baglaamukhi Sarva Dushtaanaam Vaacham Mukham Padam Stambhay Jihvaam Keelay Buddhim Vinaashay Hleem Om Phat

Om Hleem Baglaamukhi Sarva Dushtaanaam Vaacham Mukham Padam Stambhay Jihvaam Keelay Buddhim Vinaashay Hleem Om Phat

Om Hleem Baglaamukhi Sarva Dushtaanaam Vaacham Mukham Padam Stambhay Jihvaam Keelay Buddhim Vinaashay Hleem Om Phat

“I bow to the two-armed goddess who with the right hand grasps the tongue of her enemy and with the left hand torurures him. She holds a mace and is clad in yellow.” Bagalamukhi Tantra.

Bagalamukhi or Bagala is the eighth Mahavidya. Her name has been broadly translated and interpreted as “the crane faced one, one who checks the mouth, and one whose look has the power to stun, compel and control.” In Northern India, her name is Pitambara Maa, which refers to the yellow goddess. In her depiction, she is rarely dressed in yellow garb but her devotees are instructed to wear yellow or use yellow/gold mala beads to recite her mantra, and some interpreters have wondered if the yellow color refers here to Her aura of bright light being like the brilliant light of the Sun which is the ultimate power of consciousness.

Another name for Bagla is Brahmastra Roopini, referring to Her supernatural power which is a weapon against evil and ignorance: “The mantra of the goddess Bagalamukhi has the power of the Divine weapon Brahmastra instilled in it and the goddess simply strikes terror in and paralyze the enemies of her devotees. Repetition of her mantra is enough to stop even a terrible tempest.” (Mantra Maharnava) In her iconography, She is shown beating and pulling out the tongue of a demon. This is said to symbolize Her power to help us destroy all our inner and outer demons.

Bagla is often propitiated through mantra, ritual, and yagyas for those who are in dangerous or troublesome situations including legal matters. She is also invoked to attain all kinds of worldly power or happiness as well as to attain vak siddhi, the gift of speech and oracular power, a great boon for astrologers who are asked to make predictions about the future. She is one of the most powerful goddesses in my experience for overcoming inner darkness, depression, and mental or emotional unrest; and to strengthen courage, and to develop inner and outer stability including material prosperity.

Interestingly, just as Bagla is one of the most powerful of the divine warrior goddesses, She is also connected to the planet Mars in Vedic astrology, who is called the Army General or Overseer of the planetary family. Mars is planet of valor, energy, will and strength of character; he is the ultimate yogi and divine warrior. We can propitiate Bagla for any and all Mars problems in the astrological chart.

Some devotees of Bagla invoke Her by following a specific ritual while reciting a hymn from the Rudrayamala Tantra. Lord Rudra, the fierce Shiva who is the God of Storm, is Her consort. This is a small excerpt of the hymn:

I bow before Baglamukhi, who is seated on a gold throne, with three eyes, wearing yellow clothes, blissful, with limbs as bright as pure gold, wearing a garland of champak flowers, with the moon as Her diadem, with Her hands holding a club and a noose which binds the opponent. Her limbs are decorated with jewels, and She is the All paralyser of the three worlds.   Sitting on a golden throne in the midst of an ocean of nectar, where Her canopy, decorated with diamonds, is situated and her throne is decorated with jewels.

The shakti if Bagla is stambhana, the power to stop, restrain or paralyze. More superficially, She can help us stop and overcome our enemies. I frequently recommend Bagalamukhi yagyas for clients who are having legal, custody, or tax problems, or for those who are being stalked or attacked in any way (such as with libel or defamation), and these yagyas are often extremely helpful.

At the deepest level, stambhana refers to achieving a still point within the world of duality, resting in the sushumna nadi which is the Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient Source of Divinity existing beyond all polarities. Here, Bagla shuts down the world of Maya and all opposites are resolved in Oneness and Truth. Jai Maa Baglamukhi, I bow before you this night and pray that you will once again “stop the world so I can get off,” figuratively speaking of course. Jai Maa!