Dhumavati - Beholder of smoke
All the negative forces of universe reports to her. She is also called dhumra varahi.
In a few houses, they light incense sticks, sweet smelling smoke(sambrani, dhoop) with a bell. This invokes good dhumavati and ensures all negative forces are driven away.
The black magicans pray to her for their own protection before they invoke the lower negative forces.
In Sri vidhya upasana, she is ultimate force before self realisation. She gives the power of annihilation of universe and tests. If a upasak of srividhya doesn’t use this power of annihilation and takes her blessing. She blesses them to goto Goddess Tirupura Sundari or Raja Rajeswari. The upasak proceeds to enlightenment.
If you feel bad dhumavati forces are on you. Take fresh cows milk. This will drive away negative energy.
Dhumavati is the seventh of the Dasa Mahavidyas. Dhumavati represents the fearsome aspect of Adhisakthi. She is often portrayed as an old, ugly widow, and is associated with things considered inauspicious and unattractive in Hinduism, such as the crow and the Chaturmas period. The goddess is often depicted on a horseless chariot or riding a crow, usually in a cremation ground. Her prayers are said to pacify Ketu. She is known for curing strife, loneliness, unfulfilled desires and prevent the happening of inauspicious things.
Dhumavati is said to manifest herself at the time of cosmic dissolution (pralaya) and is "the Void" that exists before creation and after dissolution. While Dhumavati is generally associated with only inauspicious qualities, her thousand-name hymn relates her positive aspects as well as her negative ones. She is often called tender-hearted and a bestower of boons. Dhumavati is described as a great teacher, one who reveals ultimate knowledge of the universe, which is beyond the illusory divisions, like auspicious and inauspicious. Her ugly form teaches the devotee to look beyond the superficial, to look inwards and seek the inner truths of life.
Dhumavati is described as a giver of siddhis (supernatural powers), a rescuer from all troubles, and a granter of all desires and rewards, including ultimate knowledge and moksha (salvation). Her worship is also prescribed for those who wish to defeat their foes. Dhumavati’s worship is considered ideal for unpaired members of society, such as bachelors, widows, and world renouncers as well as Tantrikas. In her Varanasi temple, however, she transcends her inauspiciousness and acquires the status of a local protective deity. There, even married couples worship her. Although she has very few dedicated temples, her worship by Tantric ritual continues in private in secluded places like cremation grounds and forests.
Dhumavati hardly has an independent existence outside the Mahavidya group. There is no historical mention of her before she is included among the Mahavidyas.[1] As a goddess of poverty, frustration, and despair, She is associated with Nirriti, the goddess of disease and misery, and Alakshmi, the goddess of misfortune and poverty also referred to as Jyestha.
The Vedic goddess Nirriti is associated with death, decay, bad luck, anger, and need. Hymns emphasize offerings to keep her away. Like Nirriti, Dhumavati is associated with unpromising things and hardship. Jyestha, also an early Hindu goddess, has similarities in iconography with Dhumavati. Like Dhumavati, she is dark, ugly and is associated with the crow. Jyestha is described as being unable to tolerate any auspiciousness. Also like Dhumavati, Jyestha dwells in quarrels, inauspicious places, and has a bad temper.
Dhumavati has fierce, warlike attributes too. In the Shakta pramoda, she crushes bones in her mouth, creating an awful noise. She also makes the fearful and warlike noises of drums and bells. She wears a garland of skulls, chews the corpses of the demons Chanda and Munda, and drinks a mixture of blood and wine.
By
V & RR
The Enlightened souls
