The form of the Goddess
worshipped on the fourth day of Navaratri is Kushmanda (‘Creator of the Cosmos’).
The name ‘kushmanda’
comes from ‘ku’ (small) ‘ushma’ (warmth) ‘anda’ (egg, signifying universe).
Legend is that out of the primordial darkness of non-being, the entire universe
was created by the radiance of a small smile from her.
She resides in the very
heart of the Sun, and is its source of light and energy. Of a dazzling mien and
golden hue, she holds in her eight arms a bow, arrow, discus, mace, lotus, kamandalu (water vessel), jar of amrit (nectar of immortality), and, a japa mala (rosary). Her vahana is a
lioness. In spiritual discipline, Kushmanda represents the anahata (heart) chakra –
the soul’s center of love, compassion, and empathy.
Among the Navagrahas, she governs the Sun. The
sacred offering to Kushmanda is wheat. It is among the traditions of Varanasi
(Kasi) to propitiate Kushmanda with white pumpkin, green cardamom, fennel.
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