Ma Kushmanda is worshipped by devotees on the fourth day of Navratri. This avatar of Adi Shakti is also referred to as the Smiling Goddess. Her name is made up of three distinct words. The first word is “Ku” which means little. The second word is “Ushma” which means warmth or energy. And the third word is “Anda” which means egg.
Upon combining the three words, one can derive the meaning of her name which means the one who is the creator of this “little cosmic egg” called Universe. As mentioned above, this form is a happy manifestation of the goddess.
There is an interesting story about Ma Kushmanda. It is said that when the universe was non-existent and there was darkness everywhere, Ma Kushmanda produced this “little cosmic egg” with her smile. The universe was then filled with light. It is believed that she 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 the beings. She is believed to provide direction to Surya, the Sun God.
After creating the Universe, Ma Kushmanda created the first beings. These were three supreme goddesses. With her left eye, she created a terrorizing form and named her Mahakali. From her center 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 as Shiva. The female had one head and four arms. Her name was kept Saraswati.
From Mahalakshmi’s body also a male and a female took birth. The male had four heads and four arms. Ma Kushmanda named him as Brahma whereas the female was named as Lakshmi. She had one head and four arms.
When Ma 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, Ma Kushmanda absorbed the three supreme goddesses and herself entered Shakti as an orb of divine and unending energy.
It is thus believed that Ma Kushmanda is a form of Shakti who created this Universe and was the first being in the entire Universe. The gods that she created then went on to create other living beings in the Universe.
Ma Kushmanda possesses eight arms. She wields a Kamandalu, a bow, an arrow, a lotus, a pot of nectar, a disc, a mace and a rosary in her eight arms. She rides a lion which evokes fearlessness in her devotees. She bestows all pleasure and her regular worship brings prosperity, powers, pleasures and salvation. She destroys all ailments, troubles and hurdles of her true devotees.
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