Sri Kubjika Varnana Stotram

Source and purpose

This short text is less a hymn of praise than a portrait for meditation. Its colophon places it in the Agni Purana, chapter 144, which deals with the worship of Kubjika. The last line states its purpose: kubjikaivam dhyeya pujadikarmasu, Kubjika is to be meditated on in this way during puja and other rites. Kubjika is the goddess of the Western Transmission, the Pashchimamnaya, of Kaula tantra.

Her form

Verse 1 calls her nilotpaladala shyama, dark as a blue lotus petal, six-faced, consciousness-power itself, with twelve arms. She sits at ease on a lion throne set on a lotus that rests upon a corpse. Verses 2 to 4 dress her in serpents: Karkota as her girdle, Vasuki as her necklace, Kulika at her ears, Padma and Mahapadma at her brows. Her hands hold a rosary, the khatvanga staff, a conch, a book, a trident, a mirror, a sword, a jewel garland, a goad and a bow, along with a serpent and a skull.

Faces and the gods within her

Verses 5 and 6 colour her faces. The upper ones are white, the eastern face is pale and wrathful, the southern face is dark, and one face is gentle and bright as snow, jasmine and the moon. The final verses set the gods on her body, with Brahma beneath her feet, Vishnu at the hips, Rudra at the heart, Ishvara at the throat, Sadashiva on the forehead and Shiva above. The word aghurnita, swaying, adds the last touch to the image the worshipper is asked to hold.