I have watched and read the Ramayan on multiple occasions and I'd always heard that Ravan's son, Meghnad/Indrajit had gotten all his strength and magical power from a goddess named Nikumbila. I'd heard of how he performed Tantric rites in order to please her. I just never looked up this goddess to learn if she was an actual Hindu goddess. I sort of just assumed she was some kind of Rakshasa goddess who only appears in the Ramayan because I'd never heard her name anywhere else. Now, I had also heard of another goddess, Pratyangira, who was a form of Goddess Durga with a lion's head. I knew that she was one of the Matrikas, who are 7-8 forms of Goddess Durga who help the goddess fight in battle. The Matrikas each represent the energy and power of a god or an avatar of Vishnu (except for Chamunda, who has no male counterpart). Pratyangira is also called Narasimhi because she is the female energy of Narasimha, Vishnu's lion-man hybrid avatar. Narasimha is one of Vishnu's most powerful incarnations. His anger nearly destroyed the universe. So, if Narasimha is so powerful, just imagine how powerful Pratyangira is since she's the physical representation of his entire power.
It wasn't until recently that I learned that Nikumbila was just another name for Pratyangira and it surprised me. She also goes by a couple of other names. In Vaishnavism, she is considered the wife of Narasimha. Narasimha literally means "human-lion" (Nara-simha). Narasimhi is the feminine version (name-wise). While she is often associated with Goddess Kali, she is also considered a form of Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu. Hence, she is also called Simhamukha Lakshmi ( lion-headed Lakshmi). In South India, she is known as Atharvani Bhadrakali, identifying her as the goddess of the Atharva Veda (which also makes her the goddess of magic and spells, since the Atharva Veda has magic spells in it). Prati means reverse, while Angiras means attacking. Hence, Pratyangira is the goddess who can reverse and protect oneself from black magic. She is the goddess of both offensive and defensive power.
Her lion head on a human body is a representation of the balance between good and evil. She also rides a lion and sometimes has blue skin and fur with a wide-open mouth and lots of teeth. Her eyes are often red with anger and in her four hands, she carries a trident, a damaru (basically a hand-drum), a cobra snake as a noose (badass!), and a skull.
Pratyangira has a couple stories. She is often present whenever Durga or Shiva summons the Matrikas to help them fight in battle, and she also helps Goddess Lalitha when fighting Bhandasura. One story states that some sages were performing a yagna to the Ashta-Lakshmis (the eight forms of Lakshmi). While doing so, they were attacked by a powerful demon. To protect them, Lakshmi transforms into Pratyangira and kills the demon.
Another story states that when Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu, he was still so angry, that his anger and power were burning the universe and threatening to destroy it completely. In fear, the gods all ran to Lord Shiva for help. So Shiva sent his incarnation Veerbhadra to stop him. Veerbhadra tried to explain to Narasimha, but when words and reason failed, the two started fighting. Shiva felt that things were getting out of hand and so he incarnated as Sharabha. Sharabha was a bird-lion monster who began to fight Narasimha, but neither could defeat the other. So, Pratyangira Devi burst forth from Sarabha's wings and nullified Narasimha's power in a second. JUST. LIKE. THAT. No fight or anything! If Narasimha is so powerful, just imagine how powerful SHE is.
Remember that as we segway into how her devotee became so powerful thanks to her. In the Ramayan, Pratyangira made a cameo appearance under the name Nikumbila. Nikumbila is actually Ravan's Kuldevi (family goddess). Meghnad was given a boon by Brahma that gave him knowledge of her mantra and the Tantric rites that he should perform to get her power. He did so and became very powerful, especially in the magical arts (like sorcery and illusions, since Nikumbila is the goddess of magic). Using this power, Meghnad defeated Indra, earning him the name Indrajit. Indrajit caused tons of problems for Lord Ram and his army during the Ramayan. At one point, He caused Ram and Lakshman to fall unconscious, and also nearly killed Lakshman. But luckily, Lakshman survived thanks to Hanuman and returned to kill Meghnad. He attacked Meghnad at the cave where he worshipped Nikumbila. If he disrupted Meghnad mid-worship, then Meghnad would be vulnerable, because he hadn't completed his sacrifice. Lakshman killed Meghnad, giving Lord Ram the upper hand in the war.
Considering how powerful Pratyangira is, I'm not really surprised that Meghnad was as powerful as he was. Anyone would be if they worshipped her at his level. Well, you know what they say: Behind every great man is a great woman.
What do you think of Pratyangira? Which of her names is your favourite? Did you know about Meghnad and Nikumbila? Comment below! (Please comment responsibly. Constructive criticism is welcome)
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