Maṅgalacaṇḍikā

Maṅgalacaṇḍikā is a chief part (prādhāna-aṃśa) of Mūla Prakṛti. She was born from the mukha (face) of Durgādevī. She gives all maṅgalas (auspicious things) to her devotees. At the time of the end of the worlds she takes the fierce form of Caṇḍī. In all the worlds, women do her pūjā every Maṅgalavāra (Tuesday). She gives them sons, grandsons, wealth, fame and happiness.

Nature and origin

The opening of the Prakṛti Khaṇḍa names Maṅgalacaṇḍikā as one of the chief parts of Mūla Prakṛti. It says she was born from the face of Durgādevī. She is thus the direct form of both the kindest and the fiercest powers of Prakṛti at once.

Her name shows her two sides. Maṅgala means all that is auspicious, all prosperity and welfare. Caṇḍī means the fierce power of Śakti that dissolves all. At the time of sṛṣṭi (creation) she appears as Maṅgala and gives blessings. At the time of saṃhāra (the dissolving of the worlds) she appears as Caṇḍī, the power that devours and destroys. She is both, and cannot be split, so she is called Maṅgalacaṇḍī or Maṅgalacaṇḍikā.

Pūjā on Maṅgalavāra

Women in all the worlds do pūjā to Maṅgalacaṇḍikā every Maṅgalavāra (Tuesday). They use the pañca-upacāra (five offerings). Tuesday is her holy day.

Women in all the three worlds are her chief devotees. They do her pūjā with devotion, and her grace falls especially on them.

Blessings she gives

The Prakṛti Khaṇḍa says that Maṅgalacaṇḍikā gives her devotees these blessings.

• Putra-pautra-sampada: sons and grandsons.
• Dhana-aiśvarya: wealth and prosperity.
• Kīrti: fame and a good name.
• Ānanda: happiness and joy.

She also sees that her devotees do not meet śoka (grief), santāpa (burning pain), ārti (distress), duḥkha (sorrow), dāridrya (poverty) or pāpa (sin). When she is pleased, she fulfils all the wishes of women. When she is angered, she can dissolve the whole world in a moment. Such is her power.

Removal of pāpa

Maṅgalacaṇḍikā takes pāpa away from her devotees. Her nature is to purify and to change. She makes the inauspicious auspicious and removes what blocks the way. Because she is both maṅgala and caṇḍī, she can destroy the cause of suffering and put a blessing in its place.

Her place among the aṃśas of Prakṛti

Maṅgalacaṇḍikā stands among the chief parts of Mūla Prakṛti, together with Gaṅgā, Tulasī, Manasā, Devasenā (Ṣaṣṭhī), Kālikā, Svāhā and Surabhī. Each of these devīs is the power of Prakṛti working in a different part of life and of the worlds. Maṅgalacaṇḍikā is the śakti of maṅgala itself, the first auspiciousness that makes creation worthwhile and its dissolving a cleansing.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 1