Astro River InstituteThe fourth night of Navratri belongs to Kushmanda, the Goddess who brought the universe out of darkness. This year's date for the fourth night in your city is in the box below.
Before there was anything, the devotional telling goes, there was only darkness. No light, no sky, no worlds. Then the Goddess smiled — and from that small warmth the cosmic egg was born, and from the egg, everything.
That Goddess is Maa Kushmanda, the fourth of the nine. She stands in a different place from the forms around her. The first three nights followed one woman's life — the mountain's daughter, her penance, her marriage. On the fourth night the story steps back and shows who that woman really is: the power that made the world.
Quick overview
- Night: the fourth of Navratri — Chaturthi, the fourth lunar day of the bright fortnight.
- Her name: Kūṣmāṇḍā, read as ku (a little), ūṣma (warmth) and aṇḍa (the egg) — the one who brought forth the cosmic egg from a little warmth.
- Who she is: the Goddess as the source of creation, said to dwell in the Sun.
- How she is shown: with eight arms — so also called Ashtabhuja — riding a lion, radiant.
- Her mantra: ॐ देवी कूष्माण्डायै नमः — Om Devī Kūṣmāṇḍāyai namaḥ.
- Bhog commonly offered: malpua — a family custom whose lists vary.
This year
Chaitra Navratri 2027: Wednesday 7 April to Thursday 15 April
9 days in New Delhi
- Night 4 · Kushmanda
- Saturday 10 April
Times are New Delhi clock time. Computed for each city from the positions of the Sun and Moon (Lahiri). Where your family or temple follows its own panchang, follow that.
Who she is: the warmth before the world
Her name is read in two ways, and both are worth knowing.
The first reading breaks it into three Sanskrit words: ku, "a little"; ūṣma, "warmth" or "heat"; and aṇḍa, "egg". Kushmanda is the one who, from a little warmth, brought forth the brahmāṇḍa — the egg of Brahma, the universe. In the devotional telling, the warmth was a smile: the Goddess smiled into the darkness, and the world began.
The second reading is plainer. Kūṣmāṇḍa is also the ordinary Sanskrit word for the ash gourd, the white pumpkin used to make petha — and in some families and temples an ash gourd is offered to her. The everyday vegetable and the cosmic egg share one name.
She is said to dwell in the core of the Sun, where no one else can live, and to give the Sun its light. That is why her day is kept for health, energy and vitality — the warmth that makes things grow.
How she is shown
Kushmanda has eight arms, and is therefore also called Ashtabhuja, "the eight-armed". Her hands hold a water pot, a bow and arrow, a lotus, a pot of nectar, a discus, a mace and a rosary — the list varies between images. She rides a lion. She is drawn bright and golden, often against the disc of the Sun.
Of the nine, she is the one whose picture is most often full of light.
Her mantra and her verse
The short mantra many families use on the fourth day:
ॐ देवी कूष्माण्डायै नमः
Om Devī Kūṣmāṇḍāyai namaḥ — "Om, salutation to the Goddess Kushmanda."
Her meditation verse (dhyāna), as it is recited in the Navadurga worship:
सुरासम्पूर्णकलशं रुधिराप्लुतमेव च ।
दधाना हस्तपद्माभ्यां कूष्माण्डा शुभदास्तु मे ॥Surā-sampūrṇa-kalaśaṁ rudhirāplutam eva ca, dadhānā hasta-padmābhyāṁ kūṣmāṇḍā śubhadāstu me.
"Holding in her lotus hands a pot brimming with surā and one steeped in blood — may Kushmanda be the giver of good to me."
The fierce images of her verse belong to the older tantric worship of the Goddess; in household worship today she is offered malpua. The nine meditation verses come from the later ritual tradition of the Navadurga worship; the Devi Mahatmya itself gives only the nine names.
How the fourth night is kept
The kalash is worshipped as on every day, and Kushmanda as the form of the day. Many families offer her malpua, the sweet pancake fried in ghee; some offer an ash gourd, for her name. Her day is a natural one to pray for the health of the family, and to begin a practice that strengthens the body.
The fourth night is also the turning point of Navratri. The first three forms are behind you; the five ahead lead to the great days of Ashtami and Navami.
Durga Ashtami: the great eighth day
Bhog and colour
The bhog most widely offered to Kushmanda is malpua. This is a popular custom rather than a rule of the texts; keep your family's list if it differs.
The colour worn on the fourth day is not fixed to Kushmanda; in the modern custom of nine colours it changes each year with the weekday on which Navratri begins.
→ This year's colours of Navratri, day by day
Questions we are asked
Which goddess is worshipped on the fourth day of Navratri? Kushmanda, the fourth of the nine forms of Durga named in the Devi Kavacham — the Goddess as the source of creation.
What does Kushmanda mean? It is read as ku (a little), ūṣma (warmth) and aṇḍa (egg): the one who brought forth the cosmic egg from a little warmth. Kūṣmāṇḍa is also the Sanskrit word for the ash gourd.
What is the mantra for Maa Kushmanda? Om Devī Kūṣmāṇḍāyai namaḥ — "Om, salutation to the Goddess Kushmanda." Her meditation verse is given above.
What bhog is offered to Kushmanda? Malpua, by popular custom; some families also offer an ash gourd. Lists vary.
Why does Kushmanda have eight arms? She is the creator-form of the Goddess, shown with eight arms — so she is also called Ashtabhuja, "the eight-armed".
This page teaches. The dates are computed for each city from the positions of the Sun and Moon. Where a family or temple follows its own panchang, follow that.
Night 3 — Chandraghanta, the bell of the moon · Night 5 — Skandamata, the mother of Skanda · The bhog for all nine days · Navratri: the nine nights, all on one page
