vārāhī pitṛrūpā kurukullā balidevatā mātā

vārāhī pitṛrūpā kurukullā balidevatā mātā (Strength. Sacrifice. Source)

This is an axiomatic vākya from the bhāvana-upaniṣad, where dharma is identified with the ‘father-figure’ sustaining the seeker, and the ‘mother-figure’ is understood to deal with the worldly involvements (adharma). The physical body is seen as the product of divine ‘paternal and maternal’ energies, the father energy (vārāhī) providing the skeletal-structure made of bones and bone-marrow, and the mother-energy (kurukullā) showing her motherly affection by providing blood and flesh. The father-divinity, vārāhī, and the mother-divinity kurukullā, are folk in character that are often mentioned in the śākta-tantras in the context of tāntric ways of ‘energy-manipulation’ malicious-sorcery, and esoteric actions (abhicāra-prayoga) which are of 6 types, and which require strict spiritual discipline. The abhicāra-prayoga are classified under primary operational categories: śānti-prayoga (or pauśtika) which is gentle in nature and aimed at pacifying any negativity, and helping in healing; vaśīkaraṇa, aiming at subduing, or attracting, or influencing someone else’s mind; for palliating any adverse force, sthambhana, and paralysing the thought process of the opponent; vidveśḥaṇa, for causing separation or disagreement among opposing negative forces; for causing disturbance, distraction and affecting the enemy to flee (uccātana); and finally for neutralising the enemy or the hostile-force (māraṇa).

Etymologically, the word ‘vara’ suggests extreme good or bad, ‘āhi’, deliverance or annulment, and their conjugate ‘vārāhī’ suggests deliverance of extreme good like emancipation for the deserving, or whenever needed, extermination of both slander and the slanderer. In tantra-sāstra, devi-vārāhī is one of the matrika-sakti-s in the group of seven, and is depicted as sakti of varāha-vishṇu. She is invoked as dandini-devi aureating kiricakra-ratha and leading the armies of lalitā-parābhattārikā in the battle with asura groups. In tantric and yogic parlance, she symbolises the active, extroverted, solar pingalā-nādi, and bhāvana-upanishad detailed her as pitṛ-rūpā, father-form solicitous to osseous-matter and cartilage. Any disturbance in pingalā-nādi is believed to cause sarpa-dosha (also called pitṛu-doSHa) by rāhu, a ‘shadow-planet’ (chāyā-graha) popularly known as the North-Node of the Moon. In every human being kundalinī-sarpa is active in ādhāra and svādhiśḥṭāna and relates to material-opulence only. Through vārāhī-sādhana one can palliate pingalā-nādi disturbance, break-open brahma-granthi, and help kundalini to move to manipūraka-cakra, the place for pitṛu-devatā-s.

kurukullā, the sacrificial-divinity (bali-devatā) figures less frequently, but is listed as one of the nine-family-divinities (kula-devis): nārasimhī, cāmundaā, vāruniī, kalāpinī, kurukullaā, nārāyaṇī, kaumārī, aparājitaā, and pratyangirā. She is classed among the sixteen nityā divinities; and śrīvidyārṇava-ṭantra includes Her as a mātṛkaā-devī and gives an account of Her form and value. kurukullā is the dākinī-rūpa-śakti in brilliant red colour, standing on the demonic rāhu (asura-rāhu) as an embodiment of wisdom and intelligence. She is personified as all-embracing compassion, the chief quality of any venerable mother. Her Red-complexion signifies the faculty of speech and pure joy of wisdom. She is suitable for all offerings, hence worshipped as bali-devata. The root ‘kuru’ denotes the ‘doer’, and ‘kullā’, the tradition or ‘knowledge system’. Thus, ‘kurukullā’ is the mother-divinity that symbolises dharma. Together, vārāhī (Father) and kurukullā (Mother) embody the ‘dual cosmic forces’ that generate the physical instrument (body) for Consciousness. The tantrarāja-tantra and its famous commentary, the manoramā, briefly suggest that the father figure (vārāhī) symbolises 'merit' (dharma), while the mother figure (kurukullā), associated with worldly involvement, is identified with 'demerit' (adharma).

In the inner-ritual (antar-yāga), the very word bhāvana suggests the inner process of contemplation where the individual ‘I-ness’ (aham) and ‘Mine-ness’ (mām) is completely dissolved (juhomi) into the supreme consciousness (parā-śakti). Here, the fire is the fire of Pure-Awareness (cidagni). The paternal vārāhī symbolises the foundational, structural, and physical substance of creation (often associated with mūla-prakṛti or the physical sheath, annamaya kośa). In vārāhī-sādhana the seeker neutralises outer distractions, fears, and stubborn attachment to the body, preparing his mind to let go of the feeling of possessiveness (mama)

The bali-devata kurukullā governs attraction, desire, and the sensory apparatus (indriyas), and turns sensory desires inward. Instead of outward attachment to objects, the mind’s energy is re-directed as an offering (bali) into the supreme consciousness. The supreme, non-dual Consciousness, lalitā-tripura-sundarī, the ultimate receiver of the sacrifice, functions as both vārāhī symbolising the ‘illumination’ (prakāśa) of the masculine-principle of śiva, and kurukullā, the ‘deliberation’ aspect (vimarśa) of the feminine-principle of śakti. Thus, vārāhī and kurukullā symbolise the bindu and trikoṇa of the śrī-cakra helping in the spiritual transformation of the seeker.

In the lalitā sahasranāma, vārāhī is invoked as the commander of divine-forces (dandanāthā) embellishing the chariot drawn by boars, who is also recognised as mantriṇī, the dark-coloured rāja-śyāmalā. kurukullā is cognised as a divinity of lower status than vārāhī, receiving the offerings of the seeker (bali-devatā), red in complexion, naked, with loose and dishevelled hair, reddened eyes under intoxication, and jubilant. She is eulogised as the ‘mother of the universe’ (or the universe itself) composed of triguṇas. She is implored as tārā-mahāvidyā who can ferry the seeker across the ocean of samsāra.

The energy of dandanātha (vārāhī) is ‘punishment’ and ‘protection’ (danda). In a purposed practical application (prayoga), She is invoked for paralysing (sthambhana) an adversary or an obstacle, or for driving away negative influences (uccātana), and in certain egregious situations, for the elimination of hostile forces (māraṇa). Her boar form symbolises unyielding force that digs beneath surface obstacles. The primary domain of kurukullā in prayoga is subjugation by enchanting the adversary by binding the mind (vaśīkaraṇa), and palliating the hostile intent of the adversary. A qualified and mature sādhaka inculcates the habit of perceiving abhicāra through an internal lens, and wins over his lust, anger, ego, etc. With the grace of kurukullā, he tries to reach higher levels of Consciousness through ‘stilling’ his thought fluctuations (cittavṛtti-nirodha).

According to the bhavanopanśḥad, kurukullā embodies the mind (manas), while vārāhī governs the prāṇic and physical framework (prāṇa and ahamkāra). The seed syllable of kurukullā (hrīm) generates a magnetic resonance that bypasses the rational intellect (buddhi) to act directly upon subconscious memory (citta). Conversely, vārāhī-mantra targets the subtle life-force (prāṇa) alongside the Earth and Fire elements (pṛthvi and agni tattvas). Meditating on vārāhī primary seed syllable (glaum) directly impacts the sādhakā’s subjective sense of self (aham sphuraṇa), effectively immobilising or incinerating erratic energetic movement and forcibly arresting the flow of negative intent.

In śrī-vidyā philosophy, śrī-lalitā is revered as ādi-parāśakti as a double-edged-sword grounded in non-dual advaita consciousness. Because the seeker and the target are ultimately the expressions of the same supreme Reality, the intent behind the practice dictates its consequence. When deployed purely as a self-defensive measure to neutralise internal vices such as kāma (desire), krodha (anger), and moha (delusion), the mantra aligns with cosmic order (ṛta), dissolving the obstacle without triggering kārmic backlash. Stationed at the outer threshold of the inner sanctum, kurukullā presides over the sarva-siddhiprada-cakra, the ‘Mind-Gate’. Here, She governs the ‘intent and desire’ (sankalpa) as the supreme magnetiser. Any energy ascending toward the central bindu, or any command projected outward from it, must pass through Her sphere of influence, where raw thought-forms are shaped, magnetised, and directed. Stationed directly adjacent to the bindu, (sarvānandamaya-cakra), vārāhī guards the ‘Execution-Gate’ as the supreme daṇḍanāthā. Governing kriyā-śakti (the power of action), She enforces what kurukullā conceives. Once the mind-vector is aligned, vārāhī locks the intent into physical and prāṇic Reality, or ruthlessly crushes any opposing interference.

The tantrarāja-tantra and yoginī-hṛdaya structure the seed syllables of both the deities to manipulate specific elemental energies (tattvas) during prayoga (application). The foundational mantra of kurukullā revolves around the hrīm and klīm seed complexes, and their vibration at the anāhata and svādhiśḥṭhāna centers of the target, alters their emotional perception, and creates gravitational pull in the act of specialised desire-driven ritual (kāmya-prayoga) like vaśīkaraṇa. The foundational seed syllable (bīja) of vārāhī (glaum) acts as an energetic ‘lead weight’. In practices of immobilisation (sthambhana), it compresses the mūlādhāra-cakra of the sādhya (target person or entity), paralysing his (or her) capacity to project prāṇa or execute hostile intentions. When an initiate (sādhaka) combines these māntric streams in classical targeted ritual-work (mantra-prayoga), a distinct two-step sequence unfolds: disarming the ‘Psychic-Shield’ through the magnetising currents of kurukullā disabling the sādhyā’s subtle defenses, rendering their subconscious mind permeable to external influence; and by executing the command once the target's energetic field is breached, vārāhī’s dense phonemes (ṭhaḥ, huṃ, phaṭ) are deployed to either freeze their capacity for movement (sthambhana), or drive away the hostile force (uccāṭana).