About Kushmanda
The fourth form of Goddess Durga is known as Kushmanda. The name is said to derive from her having created the universe with just a gentle, cosmic smile ('kushmanda' evoking the small pumpkin-like origin of the cosmic egg). She has three eyes and wears a crescent moon on her forehead. With eight arms (Ashta-bhuja), she is adorned with various ornaments and holds a discus, mace, pot, rosary, bow, arrow and lotus flower among her hands, her form radiant with divine beauty. Her vehicle is the tiger.
It is said that when the universe did not yet exist and only darkness prevailed, Goddess Kushmanda created the universe through her own radiant smile — hence her association with the very origin of creation. She is believed to dwell within the solar orb (Sun-Mandala), possessing the power and ability to reside there as no other deity can, sustaining that fiery domain through her own strength. Her presence pervades every being and element of the universe, and all living and non-living things are said to have come into existence by her grace alone.
She is worshipped on the fourth day of Navratri. Devotion to Kushmanda is said to remove obstacles, and increase longevity, success and strength — she is easily pleased even by simple offerings of devotion.