Pitambara · The eighth Mahavidya · She who stills
Baglamukhi
Baglamukhi, Pitambara, is the eighth of the ten Mahavidyas: the goddess in yellow who stills what has gone out of control, a storm, a quarrel, a restless mind. Say her Gayatri, offer her turmeric and yellow flowers, and see when Navratri falls in your city.
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In the Satya Yuga
The great storm
In the Satya Yuga, the first age of the world, a great storm rose that threatened to sweep away all creation, and nothing the gods could do would stop it.
The story, in full →By the lake
Lord Vishnu’s tapas
Lord Vishnu, the keeper of the world, sat in tapas, deep prayer and austerity, by the shore of a lake and prayed to the Goddess to save what he keeps.
The lake of turmeric
Haridra Sarovar
The lake by which he prayed was Haridra Sarovar, the lake of turmeric, its name taken from haldi: yellow water, and yellow is her colour.
Pitambara, in yellow
She rises from the lake
Pleased with his prayer, the Goddess rose from the turmeric lake as Bagalamukhi, clothed in yellow and holding her club, the power to bring things to a stop.
Stambhana
The storm is still
By her power of stambhana, stilling, she brought the storm to a stop, and creation was saved. So she is worshipped as the one who stills what has gone out of control.
The storm, the lake and the stillness, in five steps. Tap a step, or its name, to read it. The storm is drawn on the left, still water on the right: the story of how she rose from Haridra Sarovar.
Her days, in your city
Dates and puja times for the city you pick
For New Delhi
Nine nights of the Goddess in spring, when her temples at Nalkheda and Bankhandi fill with devotees.
- Every day
- Sun 1 NovHer days of the week
- Navratri
- Thu 30 Sept8:06 am to 10:12 am
Say her Gayatri
ह्लीं बगलामुखी विद्महे दुष्टस्तंभनी धीमहि ।
तन्नो देवी प्रचोदयात् ॥
Hleem Bagalamukhi vidmahe, Dushtastambhani dhimahi,
Tanno Devi prachodayat.
We know Bagalamukhi; we meditate on her who stills the wicked. May the Goddess inspire us.
हम बगलामुखी को जानते हैं, दुष्टों को स्तंभित करने वाली देवी का ध्यान करते हैं; वे देवी हमें प्रेरणा दें।
Her Gayatri, made in the form of the Gayatri Mantra: we know her, we meditate on her, may she inspire us. It is said on a mala of turmeric beads. Her aarti and her chalisa are not given here until their authorship is known.
Her prayers
- Bagalamukhi GayatriHer Gayatri, given aboveSoon
- Durga ChalisaForty verses to the Goddess, which name her Bagala among the MahavidyasRead
- Kali ChalisaForty verses to Kali, first of the ten MahavidyasRead
A simple Baglamukhi puja at home
Customs differ by family and region; this is a simple way to worship her at home, in yellow, her colour. Her longer mantras and the fire rites of her temples are not given here.
- Bathe, and put on yellow clothes if you have them.
- Spread a yellow cloth and set her picture on it.
- Offer turmeric and yellow flowers, and light a lamp of ghee.
- Offer yellow sweets, such as besan laddoo, and fruit.
- Say her Gayatri, or her seed syllable Hleem, on a mala of turmeric beads.
- End with an aarti, and pray for a still mind and right speech.
What you need
- A yellow cloth
- Her picture
- Turmeric
- Yellow flowers
- A lamp of ghee
- Besan laddoo or other yellow sweets
- A turmeric mala
Prayers for the puja
- Durga ChalisaRead
Who is Baglamukhi
Baglamukhi, or Bagalamukhi, is the eighth of the ten Mahavidyas, the wisdom goddesses who are forms of the one Goddess, with Goddess Kali first among them. She is Pitambara, the goddess clothed in yellow: yellow is her colour, in her clothes, her flowers, her offerings and the turmeric beads of her mala.
Her power is stambhana, stilling: bringing to a stop what has gone out of control. Her name is read from valga, a bridle or rein, as the one who reins in. She is shown with a club, holding the tongue of the demon Madan so that his lies are stopped before they are spoken, and devotees come to her for calm in a quarrel, for right speech and for a still mind.
Her great temples are the Pitambara Peeth at Datia and the temple at Nalkheda, both in Madhya Pradesh, and the temple at Bankhandi in the Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh. Her birthday, Baglamukhi Jayanti, falls on the bright eighth of Vaishakha.
- Bagalamukhi her name in Sanskrit, as on the hub of Goddess Kali
- Pitambara she who is clothed in yellow
- Bagala as the Durga Chalisa names her
- Pitambara Devi the name of her peeth at Datia
ह्लीं
Hleem
Her seed syllable, the single sound in which she is called on, counted on a mala of turmeric beads.
उनका बीज अक्षर, वह एक ध्वनि जिसमें उनका आवाहन होता है, जिसे हल्दी की माला पर जपा जाता है।
मातंगी अरु धूमावति माता।
भुवनेश्वरी बगला सुख दाता॥
Matangi aru Dhumavati mata,
Bhuvaneshwari Bagala sukh data.
You are Mother Matangi and Dhumavati, and Bhuvaneshwari and Bagala, who give happiness.
आप ही माता मातंगी और धूमावती हैं, और आप ही सुख देने वाली भुवनेश्वरी और बगला हैं।
Her great days
When devotees worship her most
Baglamukhi Jayanti
Vaishakha Shukla Ashtami, the bright eighth of Vaishakha, in April or May: the day she appeared. Devotees rise early, bathe and dress in yellow, worship her on a yellow cloth with turmeric, yellow flowers and yellow sweets.
Navratri
The nine nights of the Goddess in autumn, in Ashvina. Her temple at Nalkheda is thronged in Navratri, and so is her temple at Bankhandi in the Kangra valley.
Chaitra Navratri
The nine nights of the Goddess in spring, in Chaitra, when her temples are crowded again, a few weeks before her Jayanti.
What her symbols mean
Yellow, pitambara
Yellow is her colour: her clothes, her seat, her flowers, her sweets and her mala are all yellow, and she is called Pitambara, clothed in yellow.
The club
She holds a club, the power to bring to a stop what is moving out of control.
The tongue of Madan
She holds the tongue of the demon Madan, who misused the power of his words: speech brought under control, false words stopped before they are spoken.
The turmeric lake
Haridra Sarovar, the lake of turmeric, from which she rose to still the storm, is why turmeric and yellow belong to her.
The turmeric mala
Her name is counted on beads of turmeric, the yellow of the lake she rose from.
Stillness
Stambhana, her power, is stillness: the storm stopped, the quarrel quieted, the restless mind brought to rest.
Her stories
Across India
Madhya Pradesh
Her two great temples of the state: the Pitambara Peeth at Datia, with a temple of Dhumavati beside hers, and the temple at Nalkheda on the Lakhundar, thronged in Navratri.
Himachal Pradesh
At Bankhandi, near Dehra in the Kangra valley, her temple is said to have been built by the Pandavas in one night, and fills with devotees in Navratri.
Across India
Wherever the Goddess is worshipped as the ten Mahavidyas, she is the eighth, and her devotees keep her Jayanti in Vaishakha with yellow clothes and yellow offerings.
Her temples
- Shri Pitambara PeethDatia, Madhya Pradesh
- Baglamukhi Mata Mandir, on the LakhundarNalkheda, Agar Malwa, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Bagalamukhi Mata TempleBankhandi, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Questions
When is Navratri in 2027?
Navratri, when her temples fill with devotees, is on Thursday 30 September 2027 in New Delhi, with the muhurat 8:06 am to 10:12 am. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.
Who is Baglamukhi?
Baglamukhi, or Bagalamukhi, is the eighth of the ten Mahavidyas, the wisdom goddesses who are forms of the one Goddess. She is Pitambara, clothed in yellow, and her power is stambhana, stilling what has gone out of control.
Why is she called Pitambara?
Pitambara means clothed in yellow. Yellow is her colour: she rose from Haridra Sarovar, the lake of turmeric, and her clothes, flowers, sweets and mala are all yellow.
What does stambhana mean?
Stilling: bringing to a stop what is moving out of control. She stilled the great storm of the first age and the false words of the demon Madan, and devotees come to her for calm in a quarrel, for right speech and for a still mind.
When is Baglamukhi Jayanti?
On Vaishakha Shukla Ashtami, the bright eighth of Vaishakha, in April or May. Devotees dress in yellow and worship her with turmeric, yellow flowers and yellow sweets.
Which day is Baglamukhi’s?
Sources do not agree on a day of the week for her, so every day is hers. In the year her great days are her Jayanti in Vaishakha and the two Navratris, when her temples fill with devotees.
Where are Baglamukhi’s temples?
Her three great temples are the Pitambara Peeth at Datia and the temple at Nalkheda, both in Madhya Pradesh, and the temple at Bankhandi in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
What is the mantra of Baglamukhi?
Her seed syllable is Hleem, and her Gayatri is Hleem Bagalamukhi vidmahe, Dushtastambhani dhimahi, Tanno Devi prachodayat, said on a mala of turmeric beads.