Vibhāvarī
Vibhāvarī, “the starlit night”
Vibhāvarī has other meanings too: see all meanings of Vibhāvarī.
Vibhāvarī is the devī of the night. She was the very first form that Brahmā brought forth at the beginning of creation. She is an expression of the māyā-śabala side of Brahman, that is, Brahman as it appears clothed in māyā (the power that shapes the world). Through the power of night she spreads through and holds up all that exists.
In the Matsya Purāṇa’s account of Pārvatī’s birth, she has a key part to play. Brahmā called her to him in private and asked her to enter the womb of Menā, so that Pārvatī would be born with a dark complexion. This was a carefully planned step. It set off the chain of events that led to Pārvatī’s tapas (austerity), her taking the fair Gaurī form, the birth of Kumāra (Kārttikeya), and the killing of the asura Tāraka. Vibhāvarī is identified with Kālarātrī and with the devī whom all four varṇas worship under different names.
Her Nature and Origin
The name Vibhāvarī means “the shining night”, or “she who shines in the dark”. The Matsya Purāṇa presents her as the rūpa (form) that Brahmā took on, or brought forth, at the very start of creation: his first form, out of the darkness before anything had become separate and distinct.
A translator’s note in the source says that this Vibhāvarī-rūpa is one of the phases of the māyā-śabala Brahman-tattva (the principle of Brahman joined with māyā). Because she stands for this ādya-rūpa, the first form of the ground of creation, the tradition of the Śrī Devī Saptaśatī prescribes the recitation of the Rātri-sūkta (the Vedic hymn to Night) as the pūrvāṅga, the opening part, before the Saptaśatī itself is recited.
Brahmā’s Task for Her
The rule of the asura Tāraka had made the devas’ position impossible. Brahmā made a plan: Śiva had to be brought to marry and have a son. For this, a chain of events was needed. Pārvatī had to be born to Himavat and Menā. Śiva had to tease her about her dark skin. She then had to go away to do tapas to win Gaurī’s fair complexion, and through that tapas become worthy to give birth to Kumāra.
To bring about the dark complexion, Brahmā called Vibhāvarī in private, when no one else was present, and told her the whole plan. He asked her to enter Menā’s womb, stay there, and make Pārvatī’s complexion reflect her own dark colour. He promised her: “After Pārvatī finishes her tapas and gains Gaurī’s form, you will be set free. You yourself will gain the Gaurī-rūpa in the world’s pūjā, not as a part of Pārvatī but as a reality honoured beside her.”
Entering Menā’s Womb
Vibhāvarī accepted the task and went to Himavat’s mountain city. She arrived during the day and saw Menā in her inner rooms: queenly, adorned, and protected by the śarpa-mantra. As evening came and the household slowly fell asleep, Vibhāvarī waited for the exact moment when Menā’s eyes began to close. Then she entered through Menā’s mouth and settled in her womb. From then on, Pārvatī’s body carried Vibhāvarī’s dark essence.
When Pārvatī finished her tapas, she shed the dark layer and came forth as Gaurī, and Vibhāvarī was set free. The dark-skinned layer that separated from Pārvatī during her tapas became a śakti (divine power) of its own, known as the destroyer of the Ādi-dānava, as told in the account of Pārvatī’s birth.
Pūjā by the Four Varṇas
The Matsya Purāṇa records what Brahmā told Vibhāvarī about how the world would worship her:
| Who worships her | The name she is worshipped by | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Brāhmaṇas | Gāyatrī | “Oṃkāra-vaktrā”, she whose mouth is Oṃ; the veda-svarūpā, whose very form is the Veda |
| Kshatriyas | Ākrāntī | The form of fierce power (ūrjita-bala-śakti) |
| Vaiśyas | Bhūdevatā | The devī of the earth |
| Śūdras | Mātā | Simply “Mother” |
These four ways show Vibhāvarī as one reality present everywhere, whose name and form change with the understanding of the one who worships her.
Her Presence Throughout Creation
Brahmā went on to tell Vibhāvarī how she is present in all that exists:
- In munis: as kshānti, patience that cannot be shaken
- In those who keep strict niyama (discipline): as dayā, compassion
- In those who rule by the nīti-śāstra: as nīti, wise statecraft
- In the hearts of beings: as īhā, striving and purposeful effort
- In the famous: as kīrti, glory
- In all beings with a body: as mūrti, form, what makes each one an individual
- In lovers: as rati, shared delight
- In beautiful things: as prīti, the joy of beauty
- In all ornaments: as kānti, radiance
- In wrongdoing: as śānti, the peace that sets things right
- In the inner movements of beings: as krānti, the turning of attention
- In the tired: as śrānti, the weariness that restores
- In the ocean: as the shoreline, the limit that holds it in
- In the graceful: as līlā, effortless play
- In all beings who come into being: as saṃbhūti, the fact of being born
- In the guardians of the world: as sthiti, the order that sustains
- As the destroyer of all worlds: as Kālarātrī
- As the night that brings lovers together: as Rātri, Vibhāvarī herself, the night of closeness
Sources
- Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 153