Chaitra Navratri -March 28 2020

During day 4 of Chaitra Navratri, Goddess Durga's Kushmanda form is worshipped. This avatar of the Mother Goddess is believed to have created the universe by flashing a smile that radiates incredible energy.

Symbolically, she is the one who eliminated darkness and gave birth to light. This form of the Devi resides in the middle of the Sun, and she emits light and energy. Due to this, she is known as Kushmanda, wherein Ku means (little), ushma (means energy or heat) and anda (means egg).

The depiction of Kushmanda shows her with eight hands and mounted on a lion. She is also called Ashtabhuja devi. She holds a lotus, bow and arrow and a kamandal in the right hands and a discus, mace, a jaapmala and a kalash in the left hands. She governs the Sun and is believed to cure people of illness.