She Devoured Her Own Husband !

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Did you know that Goddess Parvati devoured Her husband, Lord Shiva? You must be wondering if this is true. Yes, it is. The Goddess, in Her Dhumavati form consumed Lord Shiva which then later gave her the form of an ugly widow. This form of hers is worshipped on Dhumavati Jayanti which falls on the eighth day of Shukla Paksh in the month of Jyeshtha. This year Dhumavati Jayanti will fall on June 20th, Wednesday.

Dhumavati means smoky. Goddess Dhumavati is the seventh form of the ten 'Mahavidyas'. In this form, the Goddess is portrayed as widow without Shiva. She has a smoky complexion, and rides a chariot with a flag bearing a crow or sometimes She is shown riding a crow. She is tall and wears pure white clothes. She is extremely unattractive and is associated with negative things like annoyance, greed, distress, failure, sorrow, loneliness and disgrace. She resides in burning grounds as well. But despite these depressive features, the Goddess blesses her devotees with unnatural abilities and fulfills all their wishes.

Let us find out about the story of this Goddess who devoured Lord Shiva and became a widow.

Story Of Dhumavati

She Is Beleived To Have Eaten Up Shiva

There are many versions of the story of Goddess Dhumavati. One of them says that once the Goddess Parvati felt very hungry. But there was no food available. So, She asked Her husband Lord Shiva to provide some food for Her. Shiva asked Her to wait for some time and went into meditation. Unable to control Her hunger, Goddess Parvati became furious, took the form of Kali and ate up Lord Shiva. Her extreme hunger is satisfied only by consuming Lord Shiva.

However, when Lord Shiva realised that Parvati has devoured Him, He became angry. As the third eye of Shiva opens, the Goddess is unable to contain the extreme energy. So, She turns smoky due to the burning energy of Shiva. She soon realised her mistake and asked Lord Shiva for forgiveness. She disgorged Lord Shiva, who cursed her to wander like a widow.

She Saved Aghori From Shiva

Another story of Goddess Dhumavati says that she consumed Lord Shiva to fulfill her promise to protect her devotees. Once an Aghori sage named Malla asked Goddess Kali for a boon to protect him against all the cosmic forces. Granted the boon, the sage created havoc for all humans. Lord Shiva took the form of Aghora and tried to kill Malla. But as per her promise Goddess Kali came to the rescue of Malla. To stop Shiva from killing Malla, Kali devoured Shiva and became a widow. Thus, she devoured her own husband !

Hence, Dhumavati is always portrayed as a widow. She is the only one of the Mahavidyas without Her consort. She is considered unlucky and inauspicious. Married couples are advised not to worship Goddess Dhumavati. It is believed that worshipping this Goddess creates a desire for solitude and distaste for the wordly pleasures. So, Dhumavati is worshipped only by the Tantriks( those who do black magic) and people who have renounced the worldly pleasures.

She Jumped Into The Yagna Fire

Yet another story about her says that when the Goddess Sati, had married Lord Shiva, her father, King Daksh was not happy with her. When, Daksh organised a Hawan at his home, he did ot invite either Shiva or Parvati( Sati). However, she went to attend it believing that a daughetr needs no invitation to go to er father's house. When her father did not pay any attention to her presence in that gathering, she felt humiliated and therefore jumoed into the fire of Yagna. Moments later, a woman with a black face and a fierce appearance emerged out of hte Yagna fire. It was the otehr incarnation of Goddess Sati and was named Dhumavati as is believed by Hindus.

Though Dhumavati seems like an inauspicious and fearsome Goddess, yet she blesses all her devotees with whatever they desire. She rescues Her devotees from all troubles. Dhumavati's worship is performed at night in cremation grounds with only a loin cloth on the body. The worshipper must observe fast and remain silent for the whole day before worshipping Her. Dhumavati temples are also very rare. The most famous temple of Goddess Dhumavati is located in Varanasi where the Goddess is worshipped with very unusual items. She is offered fruits, flowers along with meat, bhaang, liquor, cigarettes and sometimes even blood sacrifices.

So, in spite of being a fearsome Goddess who devoured her husband, Dhumavati is an exceptional Goddess with amazing powers.

On Dhumavati Jayanti, people get up early, take bath and offer prayers to her. She is woshipped by pffering black sesame seeds tied in a black cloth to her. People perform special pujas and Yagnas on this day. She protects the devotees in times of distress. She gives them the power to face the difficulties.