Daṇḍanātha Vārāhī

Daṇḍanātha, also called Vārāhī (“the boar-faced one”), is the chief commander of the divine army of Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī. She is the śakti (power) who bears the daṇḍa (the staff of command). She leads one of the great armies in the Lalitopākhyāna, in the war against Bhaṇḍāsura.

Among the chief attendant śaktis of Lalitā, Daṇḍanātha Vārāhī holds the highest military command. She is counted as one of the Saptamātṛkās (the seven Mothers) in her Vārāhī form. This is the boar-headed form of Bhagavān Vishṇu’s energy, used as a weapon of protection for all the worlds.

Her part in the Lalitopākhyāna

Chapter 17 of the Lalitopākhyāna tells of the march and the description of the armies of Daṇḍanātha Vārāhī and Śyāmalā-Mātaṅgī, the two chief commanders of Lalitādevī’s forces. Śyāmalā commands the “eastern” wing. She is Lalitā’s prime minister and the Gīta-Yoginī. Daṇḍanātha Vārāhī commands the whole of the army. Her army is vast. It is made up of yakshas, yakshiṇīs and countless battalions of śaktis, who march in good order.

Daṇḍanātha is described as boar-faced (the Vārāhī form) and fierce to look at. The daṇḍa is her chief weapon, and she also carries a kheṭaka (shield) and other weapons of great power. Her troops are fierce fighters who long for battle and are wholly devoted to Lalitādevī. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Lalitopākhyāna, Chapter 17)

Her place in the Śrī Vidyā tradition

In the wider Śrī Vidyā tradition, Daṇḍanātha Vārāhī is known as one of the chief attendants (parivāras) of Lalitādevī, and she has her place in the inner layers of the Śrī Cakra. She is linked above all with protection and victory. The Śrī Vidyā tradition lays down her pūjā for those who seek protection from enemies and from obstacles. Her boar face joins her to the Varāha-śakti, the energy of the cosmic boar who lifts up the earth and protects it.

Sources

• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Lalitopākhyāna, Chapter 17