Ashta Matrika & Ashta Bhairavas
The Ashta Matrika are the eight Mother Goddesses, and their mantras are usually given as either moola mantras for each deity or jaap mantras used in worship and homa. Commonly listed forms include Brahmani, Maheshwari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani, Chamunda, and often Narasimhi/Yogeshwari depending on the tradition. ## Common Ashta Matrika names - Brahmani - Maheshwari - Kaumari - Vaishnavi - Varahi - Indrani - Chamunda - Narasimhi or Yogeshwari, depending on the lineage. ## What the sources show One source lists individual **jaap mantras** for the series, including Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, and the rest, and another source describes their role in Ashta Matrika worship within Sri Vidya practice. A third source explains that Matrika worship is often connected with broader Shakti and alphabet-based spiritual symbolism. ## Practice note Different sampradayas preserve differen...