'Before anything existed it was the sun which appeared in the heavens. The rishis (sages) offered soma the sacred plant to it so that the world may be created. At that time Shodashi was the main power, or the Shakti through whom the Sun created the three worlds. After the world was created the goddess assumed a form appropriate to the manifested world.'
In this form she came to be known as Bhuvaneshvari, literally 'Mistress of the World.'
Bhuvaneshvari thus remains un-manifest until the world is created. Hence she is primarily related with the visible and material aspect of the created world.
More than any other Mahavidya with the exception of Kamala, Bhuvaneshvari is associated and identified with the energy underlying creation. She embodies the characteristic dynamics and constituents that make up the world and that lend creation its distinctive character. She is both a part of creation and also pervades it's aftermath.
Bhuvaneshvari's beauty is also mentioned often. The Tantrasara describes her as having a beautiful face, framed with flowing hair the color of black bees. Her eyes are broad, her lips full and red, and her nose delicate. Her firm breasts are smeared with sandal paste and saffron. Her waist is thin, and her thighs, buttocks, and navel are lovely. Her beautiful throat is decorated with ornaments, and her arms are made for embracing. Shiva is said to have produced a third eye to view her more thoroughly. In her hundred-name stotra (hymn) in the Shaktapramoda, she is said to be a beautiful young girl, to have a smiling face, and to have an attractive sexual organ. She is said to be the triangle itself (the schematic representation of the yoni).
Here she is shown with four arms, two of them making the gestures of granting boons and removing fear respectively. These gestures express her gracious attitude towards the world, particularly towards her devotees.
The other two hands hold a goad and noose. These suggest control. The goad means that she controls evil forces or inner hindrances, such as anger, lust, and any obsession that interferes with spiritual development. The noose symbolizes the different bodily sheaths that hide, and therefore bind, the spiritual essence of a person, the atman.
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