Lalitā Parābhaṭṭārikā presides over the Kāmakōṣṭha in five forms:
1. Kāmākśī Parābhaṭṭārikā – śrī Kāmākṣī is the mūladēvatā of the Kāmakōṭi pīṭha, seated in the center of the inner Sanctorum of the shrine in Kñcīpura known as the Gāyatrī maṇṭapa. According to Kāmākśī rahasya, this maṇḍapa was built by the celestials with the four walls representing the four Vedas and the twenty-four pillars representing the twenty-four syllables of the sacred formula of Gāyatrī. śrīvidyā Paramēśvarī, who forms the inner core of the Prakaṭā Gāyatrī and thus called Rahasya Gāyatrī, is enshrined at the center of the Gāyatrī maṇḍapa as Kāmākśī. She is seated on pañcabrahmāsana and sports in her four hands pāśa, aṅkuśa, ikṣu-kōdaṇḍa, and puṣpabāṇa. Parāmbā is seated in Yōnyāsana and faces the Southeast. When tormented by asuras led by Bhaṇḍāsura, devas are said to have performed a penance to appease the Supreme Shakti in the form of parrots, residing on campaka vr̥kṣas at Kāñcī. Pleased with their penance, Parāmbā is said to have appeared from her residence in Mahāmēru or Bilākāśa through the Biladvāra and destroyed the demons. The śrīvigraha of Parāmbā has been described as representing her three forms: sthūla (dhyāna yōgya, sāvayava), sūkṣma (mantra and yantrātmaka) and kāraṇa or vāsanatmaka. It is also said that Lord Mahādēva himself worshipped Parāmbā in the four yugas assuming the forms of sages Krodha Bhaṭṭāraka, Paraśurāma, Dhaumya and Shankara Bhagavatpāda (and Mūka Shankara, believed to be an incarnation of Krōdha Bhaṭṭāraka). The biladvāra leading to Bilākāśa can be seen today in front of Tapōmagna Kāmākśī sannidhi inside the garbhagr̥ha. It is also said that Bhagavān Rudra assumed the form of Durvāsas upon her emergence from the Bilākāśa and first worshipped her through the modalities of śrīvidyā Tantra by consecrating a śrīcakra here. He is thus the Sampradāya Guru of śrīvidyā and the credit for crystallizing Parāmbā at Kāñcīpuram as Gurumūrtisvarūpiṇī (Charyānandanātha – Parābhaṭṭārikā mithunātmikā) goes to this great Seer. The forms of Vaśinyādi vāgdēvatas can be seen around the śrīcakra in their same positions as in śrīpura. A shrine dedicated to Hayagrīva and Agastya can be seen in the third prākara of the temple, at the location where the teaching of Lalitā Triśatī was imparted.
2. TapaH Kāmākśī – This form of Parāmbā can be seen to the right of the mūladēvatā and close to the biladvāra. Separated from Mahādēva due to the curse of a sage, umā appeared first as Annapūrṇā in Kāśī and then following the advice of sage Kātyāyana, appeared in Kāñcī to worship śrīvidyā Paramēśvarī and attain her blessings. She later worshipped the Lord as Ekāmranātha under the Mango tree in Rudrakōṣṭha and married him due to the grace of Parāmbā.
3. Añjana Kāmākṣī – Also known as Arūpa Lakṣmī, her shrine is situated to the left of the mūladēvatā, facing the north and in front of Saubhāgya Gaṇapati. Ramā is said to have performed a penance to regain her lost beauty in this place and due to the grace of Parāmbā, kuṅkuma offerings of mūladēvatā is offered to her here before being accepted by the devotees. While she represents Ramā in her form as Ramā-bīja, she represents Kāmākṣī in the form of Kāmakalākṣara that is inherent in the Ramā bīja. This is the secret mantrasaṅkēta behind this deity.
4. Svarṇa Kāmākṣī – The shrine of this deity, also known as Bangāru Kāmākṣī is situated in the second prākāra. It is said that this form of Umā was created by śrīvidyā Paramēśvarī from her third eye to serve as the śakti of Ekāmranātha named Ekāmbikā. The original idol that appeared from the third-eye of Parāmbā is seen today in Tanjore, which was transported to Tanjore to protect the idol from Muslim attacks by Kāmākṣīdāsa, an ancestor of Sri Shyāmā Shāstrigal.
5. Utsava Kāmākśī – The shrine of Utasava Kāmākṣī, the idol which is brought out during processions, is located in the second prākara. The idol is accompanied on either side by idols of śāradā and Ramā. A sacred Navakōṇa padaka offered by our Guru Smt. ‘Lōpāmudrā’ Rajalakshmi Suryanarayanan of Guhānanda Maṇḍalī adorns this deity. While the dēvatās generally are accompanied by their male/female consorts in most cases, on account of Kāmākṣī being śiva-śaktyātmikā, there is no shrine devoted to Shiva here.
atyantaśītalamatandrayatu kṣaṇārdhaṁ
astōkavibhramamanaṅgavilāsakandam |
alpasmitādr̥tamapārakr̥pāpravāhaṁ
akṣiprarōhamacirānmayi kāmakōṭi ||