Shri Kurukulla Devi
Thou art the Adya Parama Shakti. Thou art all
power. It is by thy power that we, the trinity, are powerful in the acts
of creation, preservation and destruction. Endless and of varied colour
and form are thy appearances, and various are the strenuous efforts
whereby the worshippers may realise them - Mahanirvanatantra V, 2 (Woodroffe
edition)Devi Kurukulla is, like
Varahi, a balidevata,
that is a receiver of offerings. She is one with
Lalita and is
identified, at least in the Tantrarajatantra, with
Tara. She is one with
the 15 Nitya devis of
the waxing moon.
She has three mantras, one of seven syllables,
one of 13 and one of 25 syllables but in her daily puja the mantra of
Tara is employed (Om tare tuttare ture svaha).
According to the vast mediaeval tantrik digest
Shrividyarnava, these mantras are Om kurukulle svaha (7),
kurukullayah om kurukulle hrih svaha (13); kurukullayah om
kurukullehrih: mama sarvjanam vashamanaya hrim svaha. Because she has
three mantras she is called Trikhanda (three sections).
Her meditation image is as a naked woman, with
dishevelled hair, red and full of bliss. Her four hands bear arrow, bow,
noose and quiver. Around her is a multitude of Shaktis who look just
like her and all have taken their first bath after menstruation, have
flowering yonis and eyes intoxicated with desire.
The preparatory act (purashcharana) for
worshipping Kurukulla is to recite her vidya-mantra 100,000 times, using
red flowers.
Her yantra (top left) is inscribed with the 25
syllable mantra-vidya for success.
According to the tradition, yantras which do
not have bija mantras inscribed on them, are powerless.
