Legend of Sri Kamakshi Devi of Kanchipuram

Navaratri is here – Shāradā Navarātri – The sacred nine nights of the Sharad Rtu where  the Divine Mother Lalithā Mahā Tripurasundari is venerated as Mahishāsuramardini , celebrating Her victory over Mahishasurā – victory of Dharma over Adharma.

This very same Lalithā Mahā Tripurasundari resides in the ancient city of Kanchipuram as Sri Kāmākshi Devi. It is said that Bhagwan Hayagreeva told Rishi Agastya that Kāmākshi Devi at Kanchipuram is none other than  Sri Lalithā Mahā Tripurasundari.

My offering to Devi for this Navaratri, is the story of how Sri Kāmākshi Devi came to reside at Kanchipuram.

Long long ago, there lived a terrible Asura by name Bhandakāsura. He had, through penance taken many boons from many gods  to be invincible. Day by day his atrocities increased beyond measure. He dared to go even to Kailasa Parvata and trouble Mahādevā, to the extent that Mahādevā had to remain invisible to be safe. With Mahādevā facing such a plight one can imagine the state of the Devas, Rishis and normal people. They were like nomads running from place to place, hiding in constant fear of Bhandakā.

At last, when they just could not bear the torture anymore, the Devas and Rishis went to Bhagwan Mahādevā. He was sitting near the entrance of a cave near Gomukh on another side of Kailasa Parvata. They stood praying to Him fervently seeking a solution for their problem.

Mahādevā smiled. “My condition is no better than yours” said He. “But I can guide you…” Then, pointing to the entrance of the cave He said, “What you see here is the entrance of a ‘Maha Bilam’ (great cave). This cave runs underground through thousands of miles and the other end is at a place called Kanchipuram at Dakshina Bhārat. Go there. Lalithā Mahā Tripurasundari resides in the ‘Bilakasam’ (cave space) there. Transform yourselves into parrots so Bhandakāsura cannot trouble you. Live on the Champaka trees there and propitiate Her, for She is the only one capable of annihilating Bhandakāsura.”

Seeing a faint ray of hope, the Devas and Rishis transformed themselves into parrots and flew to Kanchipuram and started living  on the Champaka trees there. They were immersed in meditation towards Devi for fourteen thousand years or so they say.

One day, they saw something magnificent…

A dreadful fire emanated from the mouth of the cave – a fire that moved around and looked capable of burning down the entire Universe. As they looked on frightened, they had a vision of the fire going like a whirlwind and destroying every single thing in the Universe. They could see that even the Tri Murtis Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were burnt to ashes. And so was Bhandakāsura. Soon there was nothing but empty space and them. Witnessing this, the Devas and Rishis trembled with fear expecting their turn next. But as they looked on, much to their surprise, the fire vanished, as suddenly as it had appeared and a beautiful Devi appeared there.

In the blink of an eye, She brought out Brahma as a baby from Her right eye. Mahadeva appeared from Her forehead, again in the form of a baby and Vishnu came out as a baby from Her left eye. Again in a matter of seconds, the babies magically turned into adults and started their work of creation, sustenance and destruction and the Universe started functioning as usual. And they saw the vision of Bhandakāsura back, laughing aloud in his court !

The Devas and Rishis were flummoxed. What was this?? They had never seen anything like this before. Was it a dream? Or was it real??

 They whispered among themselves. “What is this magical vision?” asked one. “I am also dumbfounded by what I saw. Did it all really happen?” asked another. “Or was it our own imagination? It all happened so fast…” wondered a third. “If it was our imagination how did we all imagine alike?” questioned another, his eyes rolling in surprise. “We don’t know what other miracle we will witness…” said another afraid of what would happen the next moment.

The Devi they had seen had now assumed Her dreadful ‘Bhairava Roopini’ form with eighteen arms holding eighteen weapons. Marching with anger, She vanished, much to the surprise of Her onlookers who were left gaping in awe. Passing through the various realms  of the Universe in giant strides, in search of Bhandakāsura, She went to Kailasa Parvata where Bhandakāsura was sleeping. She dragged him to the hall of his palace, where his kith and kin (all of whom were dreadful Asuras) had assembled.

A terrible fight ensued between Devi and Bhandakāsura along with his family. Finally Devi dispatched him with his family to the world of the dead. She then appeared again through the opening of the ‘Bilākāsam’ at Kanchipuram this time, as a small little girl of five, dressed in a beautiful skirt, wearing ornaments, with Her hair plaited  and decorated  with strands of flowers. In Her hand She was holding Bhandakā’s head by his hair.

Hearing the jingling of the anklets, the Devas and Rishis looked up and were astounded to see this small child carrying the big head of Bhandakāsura effortlessly with not an iota of fear on Her face. As She walked towards them, they backed out, unsure of whether Bhandakāsura was actually dead.

The little girl saw their hesitation. With an innocent smile She spoke in a sweet voice. “Do not fear!” She said. “Bhandakāsura was killed by me and is dead”.

Now the Devas and Rishis gained some confidence. With faltering steps  and stuttering speech, they asked Her “Who… are you …dear girl? And …who is the Devi we saw some time back? And… and… what was that terrible fire which destroyed everything? We are thoroughly confused. Please… please dispel our doubts…”

The girl smiled again. Pointing to the cave entrance from which She had appeared, She instructed them. “Build a space for me here and build a ‘Mandapam’ with twenty-four pillars around that space. Now that you have seen me, make a Murti resembling me and install the Murti in the space. When you are done, close the door of the space and wait till the sunrise of the succeeding morning and then open the door. Then you will get answers for all your questions. But before that, dig up a deep pit nearby and bury this Bhandakāsura. After closing the pit, install a Jaya Sthambha – a pillar of victory over the place.”

The Devas and Rishis who were still dazed by the happenings nodded their heads. They set to dig a huge pit for burying Bhandakāsura. That led them to a new adventure which is a separate story by itself (which will be my next story!)

They then built a beautiful Garbhagriha and the Mandapam as instructed, and made a Murti resembling the little girl and consecrated the Murti in a proper manner. They then closed the doors of the Garbhagriha and started meditating on that Supreme Devi till the next morning. When the first rays of the Sun emerged, they all went and opened the door of the Garbhagriha and lo and behold!  The Murti they had consecrated had disappeared and in its place what they saw was this beautiful form of  Sri Kāmākshi Devi.

The most charming form in the Universe was there seated in the Padmāsana posture with four arms. She was holding a sugarcane bow in Her left lower hand and five flower arrows in Her right lower hand. The left upper hand had a noose and the right upper one had a goad. Her eyes were brimming with benevolence and She had a beautiful serene smile on Her lips. She was wearing the crescent moon as an ornament on Her forehead. She was radiating auspiciousness  and immense bliss all around! What a magnificent sight it was!!

The Devas and Rishis were overwhelmed and raised their hands above their heads, joining their palms in obeisance. Their eyes overflowing with tears, they were all tongue-tied, trying to come to terms with all that was happening.

Devi spoke. “I will now answer the questions you asked me. I am that Supreme Power who is present everywhere. I pervade everything in this Universe and everything is within Me. This is what you witnessed when I came out as the ‘Pralaya Agni’ (the Agni that destroys the world) and destroyed and created the world again. I am the fearful Devi as well as the Bālā (child) you saw. Pleased by all of your devotion I chose to kill Bhandakāsura  to relieve you of your troubles. I have chosen to take this form of Kāmākshi and be here forever to bless all beings! This place cannot be destroyed even by Pralaya ( Great deluge) and so will be known as Pralayajit”  said She, in the most melodious voice.

The air reverberated with the ecstatic chants of “Jaya Jaya Jagadambe! Jaya Jaya Kāmākshi! Jayatu Jayatu!!” (Victory to the Goddess of the Universe, Victory to Kāmākshi, Victory to Thee).

Then there appeared Rishi Durvasā and the  Saptarishis (seven eternal sages) and a host of other deities who had all come to pay obeisance to the Devi. Rishi Durvasa composed the Saubhāgya Chintamani Kalpa which was the manual detailing the procedures of worship for Devi Kamakshi. That procedure is followed till date at the temple at Kanchipuram.

And from then on Sri Kāmākshi Devi blesses us all from there.

This is the story of Kāmākshi Devi as per the Shākta tradition. Devi has been here from time immemorial. Every year on Pooram star of the Tamil month of Aippasi, the day  She appeared from the Bilākāsam, thousands of litres of milk are brought by the public as a sacred vow and poured into the opening of the Bilākāsam as offering.

Let us all pray to Her this Navaratri for Her abundant blessings to keep us prosperous and healthy and keep Bharat safe and strong and rising in the face of adversities.

Jai Maa Kamakshi!!

Note: The picture of Sri Kāmākshi Devi with Bālā on her lap is the artist’s imagination. In the temple at Kanchipuram, it is just Devi Kāmākshi alone who is in the sanctum.