Peet Vartali Devi (Sanskrit: पीत वार्ताली), as per ‘Siddha Dharma’ is one of the four forms of goddess Vartali. This form is the yellowish form of the goddess. As per them, although the maroon form of her is her main form but for the purpose of worshipping or sadhana, the yellow form or ‘Peet Vartali” worship and sadhana has to done before then gradually the maroon form, dark blue form and at the end the black form.

The Vartali goddess is the goddess of mind and heart. The ‘Siddha Dharma’ believes that she is one that causes a person to feel different emotions, different thoughts ultimately leading to new perceptions and new insights and intuition. They also say that the Vartali goddess is the goddess that gives intuition and sixth sense to her worshipper.

Etymology

Etymologically, the word Peet Vartali is a Sanskrit word (पीत वार्ताली = पीत ‌+ वार्ताली), which literally interprets as the combination of the words Peet and Vartali (पीत ‌+ वार्ताली) which means ‘Yellow’ and ‘Vartali. So, ‘Peet Vartali’ is the yellow form of Vartali goddess.

As per ‘Siddha Dharma’, the ‘yellow form’ of Vartali goddess denotes power. So, Peeth Vartali is the goddess of power. She in short is the amalgamation of power plus the inner aspects like feelings and thought and the source of their origin i.e heart and mind. As per ‘Siddha Dharma’, the most power entity inside or outside the body is ‘mind’. It is singularly the most powerful thing in the whole universe and when power is added to is, it is unstoppable and there is nothing that it cannot achieve. It is believed that ‘Peeth Vartali’ adds fuel to the fire inside the mind.

She is also believed to bestow the worshiper the power to rule. She bestows power of eloquence and words to her worshipper so that they can rule over their fellow people. Since, she also strengthens the mind, the worshipper of the goddess can cultivate good thoughts, can create an ideology through which everyone abides by.

Iconography

She is a tantric deity. The ‘Siddha Dharma’ depicts her in ‘yellow form’ of the Vartali goddess so she is pictured as faint yellowish color complexion. She is further depicted as a young woman sitting over a lotus flower in cross legged position. She is depicted in a very calm demeanor. She is also depicted smiling which means calm and feeling of joy. She is depicted as her mouth open where the teeth lining are openly visible. Her hair is open and mildly scattered and divided in two parts which comes forward at each side. She is pictured as wearing a golden crown and the crown has the maroon gem in the center. She has three eyes. She is also depicted in abhaya mudra (fear dispelling hand gesture) in both of her hands and it is also above her chest. She wears a heavy golden necklace that reaches just above her breast. Her two hands has the bangles of serpents. Her dress is rajasic (royal like) and is that of Kaulachari dress (maroon color cloth with yellow borders) and she is seated on a lotus flower which symbolizes that she is seated inside the ‘Sahasrar Chakra’ or the crown chakra of all human being. Her lotus has many petals and so does the ‘Sahasrar Chakra’ because both are pictured as lotus because as per ‘Siddha Dharma’, in the Rajas panth, ‘Sahasrar Chakra’ is symbolized in the form of a lotus with thousand petals.

The ‘Siddha Dharma’ also explains here yogic form. In the yogic form, she is not only pictured as a goddess but also more as a subtle entity i.e light. In Yoga, her form transcends from form to formlessness. She is the goddess of mind and heart and she is yellowish. She is pictured as a symbolic narmunda(human skull cap) which is the symbolic form of one’s own head. The mind and the heart is inside the head of a person so as per ‘Siddha Dharma’ one can use the method of dharana (visualization) for her perfection.

Modes of Worship

As per Siddha Dharma and Kaulantak Peeth, the authority source of all Kaula lineage, it is believed that Vartali goddess is mainly a tantric deity who can also be perfected through Yoga. It is imperative that to start her sadhana and worship, it is mandatory to be initiaited into the sadhana of goddess Vartali. Without initiation and proper guidance, she is believed to be unaccessible. Siddha Dharma says, Guru brings the candle and the burning match stick closer, when the Guru lits the consciousness of the disciple then only the disciples consciousness burns bright. Without Guru, starting the sadhana of Vartali goddess is like trying to lit the candle of oneself with illusion.

As per Siddha Dharma, she is goddess of flowers, she extensively loves flowers. So, to get her blessings she has to be worshipped by offering flowers. Her sadhana has to be performed in solitude. Besides that she can be worshiped through various different modes of worship as prescribed. They are:

1. Kaulachara

2. Vedachara

3. Mrikulachara

4. Tantrokta

5. Akulachara

6. Mishrachara

7. Sastrokta

8. Aghorachara

9. Vamachara

10. Chinachara

11. Samayachara

12. Yoga Parampara

The “Siddha Dharma” can initiate a sadhaka into the Vartali sadhana through any of the modes of worship as mentioned above. Besides these, she can also be perfected through Yoga.

As per ‘Siddha Dharma’ the yogis in the past have perfected the Vartali goddess through dharana(visualization). She is visualized as bright light inside the human skull cap. Just like a star shines brightly in the outer universe, she is like a tiny star that shines in a golden yellowish light inside the skull cap. As per ‘Siddha Dharma’, a Yogi who goes into a deep trance state and perfects the yellow light inside the skull cap is believed to have perfect “Peeth Vartali”. The Yoga practice should also be taken from an eligible Guru and one should not practice it as per their own discretion. It is a guided meditation.

Yantra

The ‘Siddha Dharma’ is by default a tantric dharma that uses tantra to specialize in every fields of wisdom forms. As per them, sadhana is always imparted through tantra. The tantra uses karmakanda (rituals), shakti diksha, yantra, mantra as a tool to achieve the purpose of the sadhana. Yantra is the most fundamental part of any sadhana of the ‘Siddha Dharma’.

As per Siddha Dharma, ‘Yantra’ is a geometrical figures that uses geometric diagrams, words, syllable, symbols to manipulate the consciousness, so as it can be directed in a certain way to create an idea in the mind. Without it the sadhana diksha procedure is itself incomplete.

Mantra

The ‘Kaulantak Peeth’ tradition of the siddha’s has numerous mantras of the goddess. The mantras of the goddess are also as per the modes of their worship. The mantra of Aghorachara is different than Misracharya, Kaulacharya with Akulacharya etc. Furthermore, the Peeth also recommends ‘Shabar Mantra’ for the sadhana procedure as it is very easy to comprehend and is understandable.

There might be lot of schools or modes of worship of the goddess but the Peeth and ‘Siddha Dharma’ prescribes four mantras. for each deity for each mode of worship or kulas. For instance, a Aghora panth will prescribe four mantras for the “Peeth Vartali”. The four mantras represent four modes of nature. The four modes of nature or the gunas according to which the mantras corresponds are satwa, raja, tama and nirguna. The Peeth while imparting the diksha and mantra gives four mantras of a deity which is the satwa, raja, tama and nirguna mantra.

Scripture, Texts and eligibility

The Peeth and the ‘Siddha Dharma’ tradition have a special book called “Vartali devi sutram” which is maintained as in the form of oral tradition. The Guru gives the knowledge of the book through oral tradition.

“Vartali Devi Sutram” prescribes methods and percepts that one can cultivate in the daily habits of any individual so as to develop oneself. It prescribes short methods and standards to follow. It also mentions the fact that “Peet Vartali” is the goddess of calm demeanor, so everyone is eligible to participate in her sadhana.

The Kaulantak Peeth is the peeth of “veer bhava”, the ‘hero mentality”. So the goddess doesn’t believe in shortcuts. The ‘Siddha Dharma’ believes that to perfect her, strict discipline and perseverance is the key. When she is perfected, it is believed nothing lefts to be perfected.