Kauśikī

Kauśikī is the bright, armed warrior form of the Devī. She came forth from the body of Pārvatī when the devas asked for help against the asuras Śumbha and Niśumbha. After Kauśikī came forth, Pārvatī herself turned dark and fearsome, and from then on she was known as Kālikā, also called Kālarātrī.

Kauśikī is described as radiant, very beautiful and armed. She appeared near the Himālaya, singing, and the sight of her led the messengers of Śumbha to tell their king about her. The Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa also tells that Cāmuṇḍā arose from the forehead of Kauśikī when the Devī grew angry in the battle with Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa. It was Cāmuṇḍā who killed Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, and she took her name from this.

Emergence from Pārvatī

The asuras Śumbha and Niśumbha had driven the devas out of svarga (heaven). The devas went to the Himālaya and praised the Devī. The Parādevī answered by coming forth from within the body of Pārvatī as a new, radiant form. This form is Kauśikī. She is called so because she came forth from the koṣa (sheath, the body) of Pārvatī.

She was splendid to look at, adorned with divine ornaments, seated on a lion and holding divine weapons. She was the warrior śakti (power) of the Devī, in a form fit for the task of that time.

After Kauśikī came forth, the body of Pārvatī changed deeply. She became dark in colour and fearsome in form, and took the name Kālikā (Kālarātrī). The dark form of the Devī, the power of dissolution, stayed as Kālikā, and the bright warrior form was Kauśikī. Both are aspects of the one Parāśakti. (Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 5, Chapter 23)

Appearance at the Himālaya

Kauśikī appeared near the Himālaya in a beautiful garden. There she sang with a voice as sweet as the koel bird. She sat on her lion, bright as the autumn moon. Her beauty was such that even the animals gathered around her and stood still.

Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, the ministers of Śumbha, found her there. They told their king that a woman of matchless beauty had appeared in the Himālaya. They called her a jewel among women, fit for the great conqueror of the three worlds.

Kālikā, the dark form, was also there as the companion of Kauśikī. It was Kālikā who first met the messengers sent to win the Devī. She turned them away with her usual bluntness. (Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 5, Chapter 23)

The killing of Dhūmralochana

Śumbha first sent Dhūmralochana with an army of six thousand to bring Kauśikī by force. Dhūmralochana came near and spoke words that he called reasonable. He tried to persuade the Devī to go to Śumbha of her own will.

It was Kālikā, not Kauśikī, who answered him with fierce bluntness. Dhūmralochana would not turn back, and he began his attack. Kālikā killed him not with a weapon but with a huṃkāra, a single syllable of fierce sound-power (the seed syllable Hrīṃ). He was burned to ash by the power of that one cry. Then the lion of Kālikā routed the rest of the army and killed them. (Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 5, Chapter 25)

The killing of Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, and the birth of Cāmuṇḍā

Śumbha then sent the great generals Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa with a vast army. The battle grew fiercer, and arrows rained on the Devī from every side. Kauśikī, also called Ambikā, became angry. Her face darkened with rage and her brow was furrowed. From her forehead came a new, terrible form: Kālikā in her most extreme shape. She wore a tiger skin and a garland of skulls. She held a sword, a prāsa (javelin) and the khaṭvāṅga (skull-staff). Her belly was sunken like a dry well. She was the very image of destruction.

This Kālikā opened her huge mouth and ate asuras by the handful. She crushed elephants and horses with her teeth and swallowed great armies. She bound Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa with a rope that had been made sacred for battle, and brought them before Ambikā. Ambikā told her, “Slay them.” Kālikā cut off the heads of Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa with her sword and drank their blood.

Ambikā saw this and praised her. She said: “Because you have slain Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, you will from now on be known in this world as Cāmuṇḍā.” The name comes from Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa. It became the lasting name of this dark, terrible form of the Devī. (Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 5, Chapter 26)

Her part in the battle with Raktabīja

Raktabīja could not be killed by ordinary means, because every drop of his blood made a new warrior. Devī Ambikā turned to Cāmuṇḍā and told her to drink every drop of his blood before it could fall to the earth. Cāmuṇḍā could take in darkness without limit, and this made her the right one for the task.

She drank all the blood of Raktabīja while the Devī cut him to pieces one by one. No new copies could arise. By their work together, Raktabīja was destroyed completely. (Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 5, Chapter 29)

Sources

• Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 5, Chapters 22–26
• Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 84–86