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Shivaduti

Shivaduti (Sanskrit: शिवदूति, romanized: Śivadūti) is a manifestation of the Hindu mother goddess Adi Parashakti.^[1]

In the Kalika Purana, Shivaduti is described as having a dark complexion, with long matted hair, three eyes, and holding a scimitar, while her right foot rests on the back of a jackal and her left foot tramples a corpse of an asura. She possesses ten incarnations (yoginis): Kshemankari, Shanta, Devamata, Mahodari, Karali, Kamada, Bhagasya, Bhagamalini, Bhagavaha, and Subhaga.^{[citation needed]}

According to the Devi Mahatmyam, during the battle against the asuras Sumbha and Nisumbha, Shivaduti emerged from the body of the goddess Chandi and tasked Shiva to deliver an ultimatum to the asuras: if they did not surrender the three worlds that they had usurped from Indra and the devas, they would be devoured by her jackals.^[2] Since the goddess had sent Shiva as her messenger, she was named Shivaduti. A similar legend is described in the Markandeya Purana.^[3]

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