॥ Om Devi Kushmandayai Namah ॥
॥ Surasampurna Kalasham Rudhiraplutameva Cha।
Dadhana Hastapadmabhyam Kushmanda Shubhadastu Me ॥
Maa Kushmanda is worshiped on the fourth day of the festival of Navratri and she is believed to improve health and bestow wealth and strength. She is also credited with creating the world with her divine smile.
Kushmanda is depicted with eight to ten hands holding a trident, discus, sword, hook, mace, bow, arrow and two jars of honey and blood. One of her hands is always in abhayamudra, from which she blesses all her devotees. She rides on a tiger.
Durga Mandir, built in the 18th century, is dedicated to Goddess Durga. Next to the temple, there is a kund (pond) which was earlier connected to the river Ganges. It is believed that the existing icon of the goddess was not made by man but appeared on its own in the temple.
The temple is painted red with ochre to match the colors of the central icon of Durga, the goddess of strength and power. Inside the temple, many elaborately carved and engraved stones can be found. The temple is made up of many small shikharas conjoined together.
The legend is that Goddess Durga created the universe with a “little egg,” i.e., “Ku + Ushma + Anda = Little + Energy + Egg,” meaning the one who created the universe as the “Little Cosmic Egg” with the energy of her divine smile is called “Kushmanda.”
Secondly, as she liked the sacrifice of pumpkin (Sanskrit: कूष्माण्ड, pumpkin), she is known by the name Kushmanda.
Thirdly, Kushmanda is also known as “Ashtabhuja,” as she is often depicted as having eight arms. In her seven hands, she holds a kamandala, bow, arrow, lotus, a jar of nectar, discus, and mace. In her eighth hand, she holds a Japamala (rosary) capable of giving Ashta Siddhis and Nava Niddhis. She also rides a lion, which represents “Dharma.”
During Navaratri, devotees bathe in Durga Kund and worship Goddess Kushmanda Durga Devi, who washes away all sins accumulated over an entire lifetime! Particularly, the fourth day of Durga Puja belongs to Goddess Kushmanda, who eliminates ailments and sorrows and bestows longevity, name, strength, and health.
It is believed that Maa Kushmanda is the source of all the energy in the universe. Further, it is also believed that she lives in the core of the Sun and thus provides energy to all beings. She is believed to provide direction to Surya, the Sun God.
After creating the universe, Maa Kushmanda created the first beings. These were three supreme goddesses. With her left eye, she created a terrifying form and named her Mahakali. From her central eye (on her forehead), she created another ferocious form and named her Mahalakshmi. From her right eye came an extremely benevolent and smiling form, which she named Mahasaraswati.
From the body of Mahakali, a male and a female took birth. The male had five heads and ten arms. He was named Shiva. The female had one head and four arms. Her name was Saraswati.
From Mahalakshmi’s body, a male and a female were born. The male had four heads and four arms. Maa Kushmanda named him Brahma, whereas the female was named Lakshmi. She had one head and four arms.
When Maa Kushmanda glanced at Mahasaraswati, she also gave birth to a male and a female. The male had one head and four arms. He was named Vishnu. The female had one head and four arms and was named Shakti.
She then offered Shakti to Shiva, Saraswati to Brahma, and Lakshmi to Vishnu as consorts.
Thereafter, Maa Kushmanda absorbed the three supreme goddesses and herself entered Shakti as an orb of divine and unending energy.
Built in the eighteenth century in Nagara style by Rani Bhabani of the Natore district in West Bengal, there is a story behind this belief. One of the sons of the then Ayodhya king Dhruva Sandhi, Sudarsana, was a staunch believer of goddess Vaishnavi, who blessed him with a spiritual bow and arrow to help him win all battles. When Sudarsana went to the swayamvar of Sasikala, daughter of the then Kashi king Subahu, he noticed his step-brother Satrijith, whose maternal grandfather warned Sasikala to marry him or face dire consequences. But Sasikala chose Sudarsana and assured her father that Vaishnavi would protect them. A battle erupted between Sudarsana and Satrijith, but Durga appeared and killed the latter and his grandfather. This led to Subahu becoming a devotee of Vaishnavi, who requested Maa to reside in Kashi and defend them.
Maa Kushmanda is a divine, eternal being and is the source of all energy. She is known to bless her devotees with strength, wisdom, prosperity, and protection from the troubles and hardships of life.
