Shardiya Navratri, also known as Shubh Navratri, is a significant Hindu festival that is celebrated all over India. It is celebrated to honor the nine different forms of Maa Durga. The first day of Navratri will commence on the date 3rd of October, 2024 and devotees will keep fast to show their love and pay respect to Maa Durga’s nine sacred avatars.
Navratri is celebrated every year at the onset of autumn, typically between September and October. The Goddess descends to earth in this particular time and blesses devotees, making them free from various kinds of hardships and difficulties. People whosoever are keeping fasts should have the right know-how of what rituals one should follow to please Maa Durga ji such as what should be offered in mata ke 9 din ke bhog.
This nine-day festivity will kick start with the Ghatasthapana and Shailputri puja on October 3rd and the muhurat will take place at 6:30 am and will conclude at 7:31 am. The last day will be on Saturday, 11 October when the nine nights will be completed, followed by celebrating Dussehra the next day, 12th October.
Here, we will share with you insights and stories of nine forms of Devi Durga. So, let’s deep dive into it.
1st Navratri - 3rd October - Maa Shailaputri (Daughter of the Mountains)
Shailaputri is the first form of Maa Durga who was born as the daughter of the Himalayas. In her previous birth, she was Sati, the consort of Lord Shiva, but her father King Daksha did not approve of Lord Shiva as her husband and insulted him in a Mahayana. Not able to bear her husband’s insular, Devi Sati self-immolated herself into the fire of that yagna. Then she was reborn as Shailputri in the home of mountains king Himavat. She holds a trident and a lotus in her hands, which showcase purity and power.
2nd Navratri - 4th October - Devi Brahmacharini (The Ascetic)
Devi Brahmacharini is the second form of Maa Durga, who is the symbol of penance and devotion. After being reborn as Parvati in the home of King Himavat, she was determined to marry Lord Shiva again. But to win his love, she had to undertake intense penance in which she would have to abstain from food and water too for thousands of years and live in the jungle. Due to this unshaken bravery, she was referred to as Devi Brahmacharini, representing the unmarried form of Maa Parvati.
3rd Navratri - 5th October - Devi Chandraghanta (The Warrior Goddess)
The third form of Maa Durga represents courage and warrior spirit. After so much sacrifice and intense Tapa, Lord Shiva agreed to marry Devi Parvati and Devi Chandragupta portrays the married form of Maa Parvati. She also has a crescent moon on her forehead, hence named Goddess Changraghanta. It was Devi Chandraghanta who transformed into a fierce Goddess when Mahishasura threatened the Gods and created chaos in the heavens. She rides a tiger and is armed with various weapons too showing battle against demons.
4th Navratri - 6th October - Devi Kushmanda (The Creator Of The Universe)
Devi Kushmanda is the 4th Avatar of Maa Durga, who represents the creation of the universe. It is believed that there was darkness everywhere before the creation of the universe and Maa Kushmanda produced a little cosmic egg with her smile. The universe was then filled with light. It is also believed that Maa Kushmanda also lives in the core of the sun and provides energy to all beings.
5th Navratri - 7th October - Devi Skandamata (Mother Of Skanda)
Skandamata means the mother of Lord Skanda, who is also known as Kartikeya. When the demon Tarakasura created havoc and threatened Gods, there was a need for a strong warrior who could defeat him. Then Lord Kartikya was born to Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati to confront the armies. Skandamata guided Skanda to become a mighty warrior to destroy Taraksura in which he was successful.
Skandamata rides the lion and carries her son in her lap. She holds lotus in two of her hands symbolizing beauty and purity.
6th Navratri - 8th October - Devi Katyayani - (The Fierce Warrior)
The young girls worship Maa Katyayani for having a virtuous husband and also the devotees who seek courage to overcome their life obstacles. Katyayani also rides a lion and has a sword, representing power and destroying evil.
7th Navratri - 9th October - Kalaratri - (The Dark Goddess)
Kalratri is the seventh form of Maa Durga. She portrays her terrifying and powerful look. It is said that during the battle against demons Shumbha and Nishumbha, the Gods were not able to defeat the armies. Due to this, Maa Durga took the form of Kalaratri, the most violent form of Maa Durga to defeat those demons. Her complexion turned dark as night and she mounted a donkey. The messy hair and the fiery eyes were also very terrifying. With such wrath and anger, she destroyed the evils in the blink of an eye without getting her devotees harmed.
8th Navratri - 10th October - Mahagauri (The Goddess Of Purity)
Mahagauri is the 8th avatar of Maa Durga which showcases peace, purity and serenity. As per the Hindu mythology, it is considered that when Maa Parvati did severe Tap to marry Lord Shiva. She got covered with dirt and got bony with the Tapasya. Lord Shiva felt pleased seeing Maa Sati do such intense tapasya for Lord Shivji. He cleansed her with holy Ganges water and restored her body to look like a radiant white. It’s due to this she referred to the name Mahagauri.
Mahagauri rides a white bull and shows a calm demeanor reflecting peace and the removal of impurities from the soul.
9th Navratri - 11th October - Siddhidatri (The Bestower Of Supernatural Powers)
Siddhidatri is the ninth form of Maa Durg, the final avatar. This form of Maa Durga grants siddhis called supernatural powers to her devotees. Even Lord Shiva also worshipped Siddhidatri to gain those supernatural powers due to which he became Ardhanarishvara. Ardhanarishvara is the form that has half-male and half-female embodied, reflecting masculine and feminine energy.
Maa Sidhidatri is seated on a lotus and is surrounded by celestial beings. She holds the disc, a conch, a lotus, and also a mace in her hands.
Conclusion
So, this was all about the nine forms of Maa Durga which we worship the 9 days every year.
Make sure you follow all the fast traditions rightly honoring our sacred Devi Durga. To know about any of the Navratri rituals like knowing about the bhog for Navratri or what mantras to chant, you can consult our Mahaguru from Pandit.com named Pt. Rahul Kaushal.
Also, to make your worship more stronger and intense, include our Shri Durga Navarna Brass Yantra in the puja as it is the most powerful yantra of Maa Durga to draw all the divine and protective energies into the home.
Maa Katyayani, the sixth form of Durga, is a fierce and powerful goddess. As per history, it is believed that the sage Katyayana performed great penance to invoke Devi Katyayani Goddess, to be born as his daughter and destroy the demon Mahishasura. The Goddess granted the wish and defeated Mahishasura in a battle, bringing peace to the universe.
