Matangi is among the Mahavidyas. She is deemed to be the Tantric form of Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning. Matangi also governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. People worship her for supernatural powers, especially gaining control over enemies, attracting people to oneself, acquiring mastery over the arts and gaining supreme knowledge. Matangi is often associated with pollution, inauspiciousness and the periphery of Hindu society, which is embodied in her most popular form, known as the Ucchishta-Chandalini or Ucchishta-Matangini. She is described as an outcaste and is offered left-over or partially eaten food (Ucchishta) with unwashed hands or food after eating, both of which are considered to be impure in classical Hinduism.
Forms and Characteristics of Goddess Matangi

The Dhyana mantra as found in the Brhat Tantrasara describes Ucchishta-Matangini, one of the most popular forms of the goddess. Matangi is seated on a corpse and is found dressed in red clothes, red jewellery and a garland made out of ganja seeds. The goddess is generally described as being sixteen with fully developed breasts. She carries a skull and a sword in her two hands and is offered leftovers. The Dhyana mantras in the Purashcharyarnava and the Tantrasara describe Matangi as being blue. The crescent moon adorns her forehead. She has three eyes and a smiling face. She wears jewellery and is seated on a jewelled throne. In her four arms, she carries a noose, a sword, a goad, and a club. Her waist is slim and her breasts well-developed.
According to the Shyamaladandakam, Matangi plays a ruby-studded veena and speaks in a very sweet voice. She has four arms and has a noose, a goad, a sugarcane bow and a quiver of flower arrows in hand. The green complexion is associated with deep knowledge and is also the colour of Budha, the presiding deity of the planet Mercury who governs intelligence. Matangi is often depicted with a parrot in her hands, representing speech. The veena symbolises her association with music.

Legends of the goddess – to follow