Historical Period7c CE
Tantric canon c. 7th c. CE; older iconography from Kushan-era reliefs
Kaumari — Third Matrika — Kartikeya's shakti
No primary scriptures are catalogued for this entry yet. If you know of scriptural references we have missed, please contribute them.
Kaumari is one of the Eight Mother-Goddesses (Aṣṭa Mātṛkā) — the tantric set of female counterparts to the male gods. The group originated as a Seven Mātṛkā (Sapta Mātṛkā) in classical Gupta and Kushan iconography; the eighth, Chāmuṇḍā, was added in tantric elaboration. The Mātṛkās are worshipped collectively as a ring of protective mother-goddesses encircling a shrine, or individually when invoked in tantric ritual.