# Kavyamata

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{{Short description|Mother of Hindu sage Shukra}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox deity
| gender = Female
| type = Hindu
| texts = ''[Devi Bhagavata Purana](/source/Devi_Bhagavata_Purana)'', ''[Ramayana](/source/Ramayana)''
| spouse = [Bhrigu](/source/Bhrigu)
| children = [Shukra](/source/Shukra)
}}

'''Kavyamata''' ({{Langx|sa|काव्यमाता|translit=Kāvyamātā}}) is a consort of the [rishi](/source/rishi) [Bhrigu](/source/Bhrigu) In [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism). She is the mother of [Shukra](/source/Shukra), the god of the planet [Venus](/source/Venus) and the preceptor of the [asura](/source/asura)s. She was beheaded by the preserver deity, [Vishnu](/source/Vishnu), for protecting the asuras.

==Legend==
The goddess-centric ''[Devi Bhagavata Purana](/source/Devi-Bhagavata_Purana)'' discusses the legend of this character. Once, the asuras fought a war against the [devas](/source/Deva_(Hinduism)) and were severely beaten. The asuras rushed to the [hermitage](/source/Ashram) of Shukra, while being chased by Vishnu and the devas. None of the men were present at the hermitage when asuras arrived; Shukra and his father were at work. Kavyamata sent all the devas into a state of deep sleep. By her meditative power, Kavyamata petrified [Indra](/source/Indra), the king of the devas, paralysing him.<ref name="Mani p. 402">Mani p. 402</ref> Vishnu summoned his discus – the [Sudarshana Chakra](/source/Sudarshana_chakra), which sliced off Kavyamata's head. Shukra's father, the great sage [Bhrigu](/source/Bhrigu), was angered when he returned to his hermitage and cursed Vishnu for his sin of woman-slaughter, causing him to have [several births on Earth](/source/Avatar) and endure the agony of birth and death repeatedly to suffer for this act. Bhrigu resurrected Kavyamata by sprinkling holy water from his ''[kamandalu](/source/kamandalu)'' (water pot) and she awoke as if from a deep sleep.<ref>Mani pp. 77–8</ref>

==Woman-slaughter==
Although woman-slaughter is considered [adharma](/source/adharma) in [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism),<ref name = "Guruge"/> in the great epic ''[Ramayana](/source/Ramayana)'', the god [Rama](/source/Rama) – an avatar of [Vishnu](/source/Vishnu) – is convinced by his guru [Vishvamitra](/source/Vishvamitra) to kill the [yakshini](/source/yakshini) [Tataka](/source/Tataka), as it was according to [dharma](/source/dharma). To convince his pupil, the sage narrates the story of Kavyamata, who was plotting to "appropriate herself to the dominions of Indra" and was killed by Vishnu, implying that treacherous and wicked persons could be punished as per the ''[dharma](/source/dharma)'' of the king, regardless of gender.<ref name = "Guruge">{{cite book|last= Ananda W. P. Guruge|title=The society of the Rāmāyaṇa|year= 1991|publisher=Abhinav Publications|pages=[https://archive.org/details/trent_0116402264364/page/213 213]|isbn=9788170172659|url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116402264364|url-access= registration|quote= kavyamata.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ramashraya Sharma|title=Socio-Political Study of the Valmiki Ramayana  |year=1986 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|pages=108–9|isbn=9788120800786 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Vo0OJtO6DQC&q=Kavyamata&pg=PA109}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite book | author = Mani, Vettam | title = Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature | url = https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft | publisher = Motilal Banarsidass | year = 1975 | location = Delhi | isbn = 0-8426-0822-2 }}

Category:Hindu goddesses

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kavyamata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavyamata) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavyamata?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.