Goddess Bhuvaneswari - fourth of dasa maha vidhya
Bhuvana means the universe. She is the ruler (Īśvari) of this universe. Seven worlds below the planet earth including earth and seven worlds above the earth are together called universe. These fourteen also represent the products of the five tattvas and antaḥkaraṇas.
The seven planets below us are Athala, Vithala, Suthala, Rasaathala, Talathala, Mahatala and Paathaala .
The seven planets above us, are Bhuloka or Earth{ food }, Bhuvarloka { Prana }, Suvarloka {Mind } ,Mahar Loka { Science }, Jano Loka {Ananda }, Thapo Loka { Chith }, Sathya Loka { Sath } .
The seven holy mothers, Brahmi, Maaheswari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Vaaraahi, Indraani and Chamundi appeared from her Bijakshara mantra during the war of Lord Siva with Andhakaasura. Her abode is in Manidweepam, which is above Brahmaloka, Kailash and Vaikunta.
Bhuvaneśwara means Lord of the universe (Śiva) and His Consort is Bhuvaneśwari; She represents āakaaśh or space tattva.
According to Taittirīya Upaniṣad (II.1) āakaaśh is the first amongst creation. It says.
“From this Self comes space;She is the cause of creation . She is also known as Vimarśa (consideration and reasoning), which also goes to prove that She is the creator. Creation is made out of Śiva’s power, which is also known as Vimarśa.
from space, air;
from air, fire;
from fire, water,
from water, earth;
from earth, plants and herbs;
from plants and herbs food and
from food, human beings.”
It is said that She is Aditi referred by Vedas. Aditi is boundlessness, immensity, inexhaustible abundance, unimpaired condition, perfection, creative power. She is said to be of one of the most ancient of the Indian goddesses mentioned in Rig Veda. She is also mentioned as the daughter of Dakṣa and wife of Kaśyapa, mother of the Ādityas and of the gods. By all the gods it is implied that She is Universal Mother. Since She is considered as the cause of creation,
She also represents māyā, the illusion. Māyā is explained in Lalitā Sahasranāma 716 and is explained thus: She is māyā. Māyā is illusion. The root of māyā is ma. Ma means ‘to measure’. It also means ‘leading to the idea of illusion’.
One of the several legends speaks about Lord Rama propitiating Bhuvaneshwari before his successful, final assault on demon Ravana.
She is worshipped by Her popular single letter Bijamantra by her devotees. She holds the Angusam or the elephant goad and the noose in two of her hands, while showering her blessings on the devotees with her other two hands.
Immensely powerful that Goddess Bhuvaneshwari is, but She also remains an embodiment of love, mercy and kindness. She regards earthly beings as her own children, gets pleased with sincere prayers and bestows her generous blessings on them. Her love is not of the usual possessive kind, but is all pervasive that frees us from illusion, attachment and suffering. Her worship will promote a cosmic vision and an universal understanding. It can also get for the devotees a captivating personality and all conquering success. It can also bestow them with a variety of benefits, like health, wealth and fortune. She can also remove obstacles, and give courage, confidence, sensitivity, sense of responsibility and emotional maturity. She also protects devotees against the negative influences of the planet Moon.
