Tvarita () is a goddess primarily featured in Tantric Hinduism. She is depicted to be a member of the group of fifteen yoginis called the nityas, and an aspect of Adi Parashakti.

Iconography

Tvarita is depicted to be dark-complexioned. She has a crown on her head, which contains a peacock's tail. Her garments are made of leaves. She wears a necklace that is made of gunja flowers (rosary pea). The hem of her cloth, which is made of eight snakes, hangs down to the weight of her breasts. She is decked with armlets, a waist-chain, and anklets. She has three eyes, and has a fierce appearance. On one of her hands, she performs a gesture called the varada mudra, and on the other, the abhaya mudra.

Legend

In her early sources, Tvarita is depicted to be a goddess who was best known for saving the lives of the victims of snakebites. She was eventually assimilated and identified with the goddesses of

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

and

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

. Tvarita is conceived as a tribal woman with garments of leaves, peacock feathers, and a parasol. She is depicted in the company of eleven attendants and two door-guardians. She is offered her own

Gayatri Mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra (), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (), is a sacred mantra from the ''Ṛig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. The mantra is attributed to the rajarshi Vishvamitra. The term Gāyatr ...

. The Jain goddess Padmāvatī has also been associated with her. Tvarita is stated in the Lalitopakhyana, a part of the Lalita Mahatmaya of the

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' () is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text is also referred in medieval Indian literature as th ...

, as the one of protector deities of the Sri Chakra, and the slayer of the

asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

named Pundraketu. According to the

Shiva Purana The ''Shiva Purana'' (original Sanskrit title: Śivapurāṇa (शिवपुराण) and Śivamahāpurāṇa (शिवमहापुराण) is one of eighteen major texts of the '' Purana'' genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part o ...

, Tvarita joined the goddesses of

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ) is an important goddess, mainly worshiped by Hindus, and is a form of Kali. She is considered to be the auspicious and fortunate form of Adi Shakti or Durga, the supreme mother who protects the good, known ...

, Katyayani,

Chamunda Chamunda (, ), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu mother goddess, Mahadevi and is one of the seven Matrikas.Wangu p.72 She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or ...

, Tvarita, Vaishnavi, Ishani, Mundamardini under

Veerabhadra Virabhadra (), also rendered Veerabhadra, Veerabathira, and Veerabathiran, is a fierce form of the Hindu god Shiva. He is created by the wrath of Shiva, when the deity hurls a lock of his matted hair upon the ground, upon hearing of the self- ...

to destroy Daksha's yajna. Her puja rituals are mentioned in the

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also considered as a text that covers them ...

References

Hindu goddesses Shaktism {{DEFAULTSORT:Tvarita