Stambhana is a power to stop not a licence to harm
Resonance
Those facing a lawsuit a slander or a speech that will not stop
Symbols
ClubDemon tongueYellow clothGolden throne
Mythology Summary
Bagalamukhi is the eighth Mahavidya, the golden goddess of stambhana - the power to stop, paralyse and silence - shown holding a club and the tongue of a demon. Her name is glossed as 'she whose face is that of a crane' (baka), though the standard tantric image is a human golden face; the crane-headed figures are a later iconographic drift. Her chief living shrine is at Nalkheda in Madhya Pradesh, and she is invoked against enemies and litigation.
Modern Practice
She is invoked in the classical remedial mode - against enemies, litigation, a slander, or a paralysis of one's own speech - and her worship is famously done with yellow things. Modern practice should keep the tradition's ethical frame: stambhana is a power to stop, not a licence to harm.