mastamasta

Mastamasta is a figure in Indian and Tibetan tantric traditions, described as a fierce goddess or dakini associated with the transmutation of desire and the destruction of ego. The name, from Sanskrit, is often interpreted as “one who drinks the head” or “drinker of blood,” reflecting the provocative imagery common in some tantric depictions.

Iconography and symbolism vary by tradition, but Mastamasta is frequently portrayed in a dramatic, transgressive form. In many images, she appears as a female deity in a fierce, naked or semi-clad pose, sometimes depicted as decapitated or holding a severed head and a skull cup, with a sword or other ritual implements nearby. She is often surrounded by skulls or other macabre symbols. The imagery is intended to symbolize the transformation of passion, fear of death, and the dissolution of ordinary attachments, rather than literal cannibalism. The paradoxical, extreme portrayal serves to challenge dualistic thinking and to point toward the ultimate emptiness of self.

In practice and doctrine, Mastamasta is considered a vivid manifestation used in advanced tantric meditation and ritual in some lineages. She is associated with the dynamic, transformative aspects of path and is cited across various tantric texts and schools within Hindu and Buddhist traditions, particularly within Tibetan Vajrayana contexts where wrathful deities are used as aids to realization.

See also: Vajrayana, tantra, dakini, yidam, wrathful deities. Note that authoritative guidance is typically required to interpret and engage with such imagery within legitimate spiritual contexts.