Overview
Kushmanda (Sanskrit: कुष्माण्डा, romanised: Kuṣmāṇḍā) is a form of the Hindu goddess Mahadevi. The name is traditionally interpreted as "little hot egg", an allusion to the cosmic egg from which creation is said to emerge. In devotional traditions, she is venerated as the creator of the universe.
Among her best-known attributes is the act of liberating the energy of the Sun, by which solar light and warmth are said to be made available to the rest of creation. This association links her closely with the radiant, generative principle that sustains the cosmos in Shakta thought.
Kushmanda is counted as the fourth of the Navadurga, the nine forms of the goddess Durga that are central to Shakta worship. She is accordingly worshipped on the fourth day of the festival of Navaratri, when devotees offer prayers to this aspect of the goddess as part of the nine-night observance.
References
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Kushmanda.