Cāmuṇḍā

Cāmuṇḍā is the tamo-guṇa Śakti (the power of the quality of darkness), born from the energy of Rudra. She is also called Raudrī, Kālarātrī and Tāmasī. She is the third of the three forms of the Tri-kāla Devī, who arose from the joint gaze of the Trimūrti. The Varāha Mahā Purāṇa tells how she did tapas on the Nīlagiri mountain, turned back the asura Ruru and his huge army from the ocean, and got the name Cāmuṇḍā by tearing off Ruru’s skin and skull. She is one of the chief Saptamātṛkās (the seven divine mothers). The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa gives a second account of how she got the name, in the Devī Māhātmya.

Origin and birth

Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara looked together at Kailāsa. Their joint gaze gave rise to a shining, three-coloured maiden. The dark, tāmasic form of that Devī parted from her as the Raudra-śakti. She carried a trident and had terrible fangs. She became the destroyer of the cosmos, roaming as the dark devī who dissolves creation. The Purāṇa describes her dark-blue colour (kṛṣṇa-nīla) as showing the tamo-guṇa from which she comes. This form left for the Nīlagiri mountain to do tapas, with the aim of ruling the whole universe and protecting all beings (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa).

Appearance

Cāmuṇḍā sits surrounded by her countless Devī-gaṇas (hosts), who come out of her face whenever she laughs. The gaṇas carry pāśas (nooses), aṅkuśas (goads), bows and śūlas (spears). She herself carries the trident (triśūla), with terrible eyes and fearful fangs. She is called Kālarātrī, the dark night, for her aspect of fearful destruction. She wears a garland of skulls (muṇḍamālā), rides a seat made of a corpse (śavāsana), and her mouth blazes with flames.

The stotras that Rudra addresses to her in the Purāṇa list many names: Mahākālī, Kālikā, Bhīmarūpiṇī, Cāmuṇḍā, Bhīmākṣī, Kṛṣṇā, Vikarālā and Pramāthinī (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa).

Tapas and the battle with Ruru

On Nīlagiri, Cāmuṇḍā began hard tapas with the five sacred fires around her. She was resolved to uphold and protect the whole cosmos through her inner power.

At this time the asura Ruru had won varas (boons) from Brahmā. He ruled a fortress in the ocean, set with gems, and led hundreds of crores of rākṣasas. He grew proud and set out to conquer the three lokas and all the cities of the lokapālas (guardians of the directions).

Ruru rose from the ocean with his huge army. The seas flooded and the devas were overthrown. They ran in fear straight to the Nīlagiri mountain where Cāmuṇḍā was. They cried: “O Parameśvarī! The rākṣasa Ruru of fearful strength is coming — save us!”

Cāmuṇḍā laughed with great delight. From her laughing face poured countless Devī-rūpas (female forms). They surrounded her in crores, each armed with bows and spears. Together with the armies of the devas — the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Viśvedevas and Aśvins — this huge host of Śaktis wiped out the asura army at once. Only Ruru stayed on the field. He let loose his māyā-śakti, called the Ruru-power, against the troops of the devas, and they all fell into a swoon.

Then Cāmuṇḍā struck Ruru with her three-pointed śūla. His skin and body split apart and fell in different places. She at once tore away (apaharaṇa) the skin and skull (carma-muṇḍa) of the asura. From this act of tearing away carma and muṇḍa, she got the name Cāmuṇḍā (ca-muṇḍā, she who seized the hide and the skull) (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa).

Rudra’s praise and the feeding of the gaṇas

After the battle, Cāmuṇḍā’s countless gaṇas cried out with hunger. She could not give them food at once, so she called on Rudra in meditation. Mahādeva came before her and told her how the gaṇas would find food, through certain lapses in ritual and breaking of limits in the human world. He then praised her with a grand stotra, in which he calls her Cāmuṇḍā, Mahākālarātri, Śavavāhanā, Premavicaraṇā and Sarvabhūtabhayaṅkarī.

Rudra said:

“Devī! Cāmuṇḍā! Bhūtaparmārdhinī! All-pervading one! Kālarātrī! Namaskāra to you.”

Cāmuṇḍā was very pleased with the stotra and asked Rudra to name his vara. He asked that those who recite this stotra three times a day should gain sons, grandsons, cattle and all prosperity. The Purāṇa states: “Mahākālī of nine crore different forms is set up here; she is the tāmasī Śakti of Rudra” (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa).

Names and epithets

The Purāṇa gives these names for this Devī:

  • Cāmuṇḍā — from the seizing of the carma (skin) and muṇḍa (skull) of Ruru
  • Raudrī / Raudriyā — born of Rudra’s energy
  • Kālarātrī — the night of dissolution
  • Tāmasī — the tamas-śakti
  • Kālikā, Mahākālī, Bhīmarūpiṇī — names for her terrible form
  • Sarvabhūtamahāraudrī — the great Raudrī of all beings
  • Saṃhāriṇī — the destroyer

The Varāha Purāṇa lists her among the Saptamātṛkās, also called the Aṣṭamātṛkās, in its wider account of the divine mothers (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa).

Birth in the Devī Māhātmya

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa gives a second, well-known origin of Cāmuṇḍā in the Devī Māhātmya. In the battle against the armies of Śumbha and Niśumbha, two great asura generals, Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, came into the presence of the supreme Devī, who fights Śumbha and Niśumbha, meaning to seize her. When she saw them coming, her face turned dark with fury. From her frowning brow came a being of terrible form: dark in colour, thin in body, with a wide gaping mouth, a hanging tongue and sunken, blazing eyes. She wore a garland of skulls round her neck and carried a khaḍga (sword) and a head in a pātra (bowl). She was Kālikā. She let out a fearful laugh that shook the worlds.

Kālikā leapt on the armies of Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa and ate soldiers and elephants. She seized both generals and brought them before the Devī. The Devī laughed and said: “Since you have brought me Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, you shall be known from now on as Cāmuṇḍā.” From this act of killing Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa she got this famous name (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 84–85).

Sources

  • Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 89–95
  • Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 84–85