Goddess Chandika

Goddess Chandika, also referred as Goddess Chandi, is mentioned in the Devi Mahatmya. She is one of the numerous forms of Goddess Durga and is counted among Ashta Shakti (eight powers of Durga) and also in some holy texts she is one of the Nava Durgas (nine forms of Durga). Popularly, Goddess Chandika is the form of Goddess Durga that killed demons Chanda and Munda.

Various texts describe the form of Goddess Chandika differently. In some texts she has six arms and in some she has twenty arms. In one text, she is white complexioned, in another she is dark complexioned. In some texts, she is depicted as young woman but with arms. The only constant attribute is her Vahana – that is a lion in most texts.

The form that Goddess Durga took to annihilate demons Chanda and Munda is unimaginable and it is beyond the capacity of human beings. The net result is that sculptures, idol makers and writers wanted to better what was imagined by the previous generation. Thus we have numerous forms of Goddess Chandika.

Symbolically the Goddess Chandika form is that of the Violent Mother Nature, who annihilates her sons, who have strayed from the path of Dharma.

It must be noted here that the form that Goddess Durga took to kill Chanda and Munda is also known as Goddess Chamunda.