The meaning of Navraatri is nine nights. Nav means nine and raatri means nights. We celebrate this festival for nine days and nine nights. Why nine days ? Because we pray and worship goddess Durga or Parvati’s nine different manifestations each day.
First of all, we have the original story of goddess Parvati , who is known as shakti that means the famine power. Parvati was originally born to king Daksha. Her name was Sati. Though Daksh was a king, Sati loved living in a simple life . She loved God Shiva and wanted to marry him . Being a king, Daksha wanted to marry his daughter to a king or prince. He started searching for a suitable boy. When Sati knew that, she told her father her wish. When Daksha heard that she wanted to marry god Shiva , he was furious. “ what??” -he screamed, “ you want to marry that recluse, who lives in the mountains?”- I will never allow you to do this. But Sati was firm to her decision. She married Shiva and went to live in the mountains.
One day Daksha arranged a little ceremony. He invited all the gods and the people of his status. He did not invite Sati and God Shiva. When Sati knew this , being determined she decided to attend a function God Shiva advised her not to go ,but because of her love l for her parents and home it led her to the ceremony when she reached there, Dakhsa insulted her and Shiva as well. Sati couldn’t tolerate this. She was angry and she burnt her self and died. When God Shiva heard this news, he sent his men to Daksha and destroyed everything. God Shiva was in deep sorrow he went into the forest for atonement .
This is Parvati’s original story.
Day 1 — Shail Putri
Goddess Parvati’s first manifestation is goddess Shailputri. In her rebirth, Parvati was born to king Himalaya / Hemavat. Her name in this birth was Shailputri . Shail means mountain and putri means daughter. ( in Sanskrit son is putra and daughter is putri )
See the photo of goddess Shailputri.
She is wearing a crown. It has a moon on it. In her right hand she holds a trident. ( three pronged spear ) In her left hand there is a lotus flower. Her complexion is milk white. Her face is calm. She wears light ornaments and is clothed in pink and red. She is sitting on a cow .
In this life also she married lord Shiva. She is the goddess of Yoga. From the yogic point of view the first day of Navratri is considered to be a very auspicious day. This is the yogic start of being in tune with Devine mother Parvati. The yogic people keep their minds concentrated on Yoga. This is the starting point of their spiritual discipline. They start their yoga practice from here. There is an original temple of goddess Shailputri in Banaras . ( Kashi ) . Now they found another temple in Jammu . This form of goddess Shailputri teaches us the importance of Yoga. Yoga teaches us the control of mental health and physical health.
Let’s pray to the goddess Shailputri.
या देवी सर्व भूतेषु मॅां शैलपुत्री च संस्थित: नम: तस्यै नम: तस्यै नम: तस्यै नमो नम:
Day 2 — Brahmachaarini
The second day avatar of goddess Parvati is Brahmachaarini. The word Brahma has different meanings. One of them is penance. Char is a Sanskrit word for to walk or to follow. So Brahmachaarini means, the person who follows the path of penance. The female is called Brahmachaarini.
See the photo-The goddess holds a rosary in her right hand she has a water pot in the left hand. She is wearing flower ornaments. She has a crown on her head. She is wearing white sari. She has a fair complexion and a calm mind .
In this form too, Sati was born in the mountain Himalaya.
One day when Sati was a young girl, she was wandering near her house. Sage Narad was going that way. He saw her. He immediately recalled that the girl was Sati. He approached her and bowed to her respectfully. Sage Narad told her that she was goddess Parvati and there was a cause of her birth. He then told her what exactly happened.
There was a demon named Tarakasur . Tarakasur had the blessing of not being killed by anyone. That’s why he was troubling the gods beyond the limits. All the gods wanted to get rid of him. There was a way out to this situation. It would be possible only when god Shiva and goddess Parvati would marry. Their son would kill the demon Tarakasur. Narad prayed to Parvati to wake Shiva from the atonement. Parvati accepted that politely. She went home, told her father that she wanted to marry god Shiva. Father refused to accept her decision. But Parvati walked to the forest and started her diligent penance.
First few years she lived only on fruits and vegetables. Then for many years she ate only leafy vegetables. Years later she started eating dry leaves only. She did this for many years. Her rigorous penance couldn’t wake Shiva up.so she gave up eating and drinking. She ate nothing. Parvati became frail, all seasons made her skin dry and dirty. Seeing her all the gods were worried about her. They pleaded with god Brahma to do something. God Brahma then said aloud, “ Hey Parvati, I am pleased with your meticulous performance. You will marry god Shiva soon. Your father will come to get you. Go home with him. “
Here god Shiva realized that someone is going through the hard penance and that someone is a woman. He wondered if she must be Sati. Before meeting her god Shiva decided to test her spirit. So he went to her in disguise. He was sage now. The sage asked Sati many questions. He asked her why she was going through rigorous atonement. Listening to her answer he started talking against Shiva. Parvati couldn’t bear that. She was angry at once. God Shiva was pleased. He came to his own form of god Shiva. Parvati was glad to see him in front of her. Thus Shiva and Parvati got married. Because of Parvati’s hard penance, she is known as Brahmachaarini.
She is a symbol of dedication, concentration, strength, determination and working on the goal until the success. We learn from this story that we should work hard while achieving our goals. So worship the goddess, enjoy the festival and follow these qualities too.
Mantra-
दधान
करपद्मभ्यामक्षमालाकमंडलू
देवी प्रसीदतु मयि ब्रम्हचारिण्यनुत्तमा
Day 3 — Chandraghanta
The third form of goddess Parvati is Chandraghanta. In this manifestation Parvati marries god Shiva. God Shiva was pleased with Brahmachaarini’s rigorous atonement and was ready to marry her.
Parvati’ in the form of goddess Chandraghanta, They got married. Here is the interesting story of their marriage.
Parvati’s father Hemavat and mother Menavati arranged a huge ceremony for their daughter’s wedding. They invited all the gods, kings and reputed people. The place was fully decorated with flowers, rich curtains, gold and silver ornaments. Parvati was beautifully dressed in a bridal costume . She was looking gorgeous. Hemavat and Menavati were eagerly waiting to welcome lord Shiva . Menavati was standing in the facade. As soon as she saw god Shiva arriving , she fainted. Because she saw a humongous crowd coming towards them. Shiva was riding on a bull. He had ashes smeared all over his body . The people dancing and walking with him were common men and women, demons, ghosts and even the creatures. The reason behind this was very simple. God Shiva is known as a kind hearted god . He is always generous to the people who worship him. He never differs between the gods , people, demons or even the ghosts. So all of them wanted to participate in Shiva’s marriage. When Parvati saw Shiva’s avatar she smiled because she knew him very well. Suddenly she decided to do something different. She changed her form. She appeared in a huge form. In this form goddess Parvati had ten hands.
There are lotus, bow , arrow, rosary and one hand is in blessing posture at the right side. At the left side there are five hands holding trident, mace , water pot, sword and a praying hand. Her complexion is golden. She is riding on a roaring lion. She wears a moon shaped bell on her head. Because of the moon shaped bell on her head she is called Chandraghanta. Chandra means moon . Ghanta means bell. God Shiva saw her new form of Chandraghanta. He felt the form as a great example of beauty, charm and grace. He transformed himself into a nice handsome prince. He wore beautiful jewels and ornaments.
Chandraghanta wore a moon shaped bell on her head because god Shiva had a crescent moon on his forehead. That’s why Shiva is known as Chandrashekhar and Parvati as Chandraghanta. Finally their marriage was celebrated with prayers and rituals.
Chandraghanta rides on a lion or tiger as her vehicle, representing bravery and courage. It shows that when provoked she can be malevolent. Her malevolent form is said to be Chandi or Chandika or Chamunda devi. Otherwise she is the very embodiment of serenity. Chandraghanta is ready to destroy the wicked but for her devotees she is kind and compassionate. For them she is like a mother showering peace and prosperity. During the battle between her and demons the horrible sound produced by her bell sent thousands of demons to their deaths. Goddess Chandraghanta is one of the most powerful forms of goddess Parvati.
Mantra
पिंडजप्रवरारुढा चंडकोपास्त्रकैर्युता। प्रसादं तनुते मह्यं चंद्रघंटेति विश्रुता।
Day 4 — Kushmanda
The fourth avatar of goddess Parvati is goddess Kushmanda.
Ku means a little, ushma means warmth or energy, anda means egg. Here it’s meaning is ball. So Kushmanda means a small ball of energy. Goddess Kushmanda is a happy form of goddess Parvati. She is believed as the creator of the universe. Goddess Kushmanda is riding on a tiger. She has eight hands so she is known as Ashtabhuja devi too. Ashta means eight and the meaning of bhuja is hands.In her right hands, she is holding a lotus, arrow, bow and water pot. In her left hands, there is a disk , mace , rosary and elixir pot. She has a Devine smile on her face. Our ancestors had great knowledge of astrology. They knew that the universe rotates , vanishes and comes to life again. In this story probably, we can realize this.
Let’s start the story.
Once upon a time the whole universe was void, full of darkness. There was nothing except for darkness. Suddenly a ray of Divine light existed. It spread everywhere. It illuminated each and every nook of the empty place. It was like a sea of light. Then it started a certain form. It looked like a Divine lady. This lady was goddess Kushmanda. She smiled and the whole world was created as a belief. She is the one who produced the cosmic egg that is the universe. Her smile sent away the darkness and the universe was formed. The earth, the planets, the sun , moon, stars and even the galaxies were all brought into being. Goddess Kushmanda provides the light to the universe through the sun. She resides within the sun. She is the power of creation. She is also known as Shakti, which is feminine power. After the creation of the universe Kushmanda created three goddesses Maha Laxmi, Maha Saraswati and Maha Kaali. Later she created three gods Brahma , Vishnu and Mahesh ( shiva ) Brahma and Saraswati give knowledge to the world, Vishnu and Laxmi protect the world and Shiva Kali destroy the world when it’s time comes. Goddess Kushmanda is known as the source of energy. She blesses her devotees with strength, wisdom, prosperity. She protects them from the troubles and the hardships of life.
Mantra
सुरासंपूर्णकलशं रुधिराप्लुतमेवच दधाना हस्तपद्माभ्यां कुष्मांडा शुभदास्तु मे।
Day 5 — Skandmata
On the fifth day of Navaraatri , we worship goddess Parvati’s fifth form Skandmata.
Skand is another name of god Kartikeya .Kartikeya is son of goddess Parvati and god Shiva. He is brother of lord Ganesh. As mata means mother, Skandmata is mother of god Kartikeya. In this form of goddess Skandmata, goddess Parvati is honored as a mother.
In this avatar Parvati has four hands,both the upper hands holding lotus flowers. One hand at the left is in the blessing posture. With her fourth hand she is holding baby Kartikeya / Skand. He has six heads. He is holding a bow and arrow. In some places Kartikeya’s idol has only one head. Goddess Skandmata is riding on a lion. She sits on the full bloomed lotus flower so she is known as Padmasana too. Padma means lotus and asan means a seat.
In the south part of India, god Kartikeya is worshipped fondly. He is a popular god there. He has many names in south India. They are Murugan , Kumar, Mahesan, Shanmukh, Subrahmanyam. He is worshipped proudly because he is the commander in chief of the army of gods. As The commander in chief of the army he was blessed by the gods and was given special weapons for the war against the fierce demon Tarakasur.
We learned in the third day story that sage Narad approached goddess Parvati for the penance so that God Shiva would marry her.Their son will kill the demon Tarakasur. Then the gods will be released from the troubles of Tarakasur. After their marriage, they had two sons. Lord Kartikeya was older and Lord Ganesh was younger.
In this manifestation of goddess Skandmata, Kartikeya the older son killed the fierce demon Tarakasur and also the other demon Surapadman. This is why goddess Skandmata is worshipped as the mother of a supremely gifted child. Skandmata awards her devotees with salvation, power, prosperity and treasures . He, who worships goddess Skandmata is twice blessed because when people worship her, god Skand who is sitting in her lap is automatically worshipped. So the blessings get doubled. One from mother Skandmata and the other from the son. Thus people get the double benefit of grace.
Mantra
सिंहासन गता नित्यं पद्माश्रित करद्वया शुभदास्तु सदा देवी स्कंदमाता यशस्विनी l
Day 6 — Katyayana
The sixth form of nav Durga in Navratri is Katyayani. Katyayani is the warrior goddess like Chandika. Goddess Katyayani is one of the fiercest forms of goddess Parvati. Her other name is Mahishasurmardini , for she killed the demon Mahishasur. Long ago there was a sage named Katyayan. He was an honest devotee of goddess Shakti or Parvati. He spent most of his time in praying and worshipping goddess Parvati. He wished for goddess Parvati to be born to him. At that time there was a demon called Mahishasur. He was troublesome to the gods. As he gained more and more power the gods were increasingly worried about him. So they all prayed to goddess Parvati to save them from Mahishasur. As Parvati wanted to get into her new avatar, she chose her most honest devotee sage Katyayan . She was born to the sage. She was now the daughter of sage Katyayan so she was known as Katyayani by the people.
One day two messengers of Mahishasur, Chand and Mund saw Katyayani. They were mesmerized by her beauty. They went to their master and they praised her beauty with a zeal. Mahishasur was so delighted that he was eager to marry her. He then sent his another messenger, Dundubhi to her. Dundubhi went to her and started praising his master a lot. He insisted Katyayani marry his master.Katyayani smiled and told him that according to her family tradition, Mahishasur has to defeat her in the battle.then only she would marry him. When told, Mahishasur accepted the challenge.
A fierce battle took place between the two. Katyayani defeated his demon soldiers and even killed most of them. When goddess Katyayani came face to face to Mahishasur, he transformed himself into a buffalo. This was a big challenge for her as she struggled with tooth and nail. However Katyayani tricked him and climbed on his buffalo’s back. He was surprised by this move . He tried to shake her off but couldn’t do so.Katyayani then put her foot on the back of his neck, pierced him with her trident and cut his head off. This is how Katyayani killed the powerful demon Mahishasur, saved the gods and brought peace into the world. For this act she is known as goddess Mahishasurmardini .
In many parts of India the unmarried girls often observe fasts. They pray to goddess Katyayani to get a loving and caring husband. Goddess Katyayani has four hands. In two hands she has lotus flowers. On one hand there is a sword and the fourth is in a blessing posture. It is believed that goddess Katyayani protects her devotees from all kinds of evil. She blesses them with happiness and joy .
Mantra
चंद्रहासोज्ज्वलकरा शार्दूलवरवाहना कात्यायनी शुभंदध्यादेवी दानवघातिनी l
Day 7 — Kaalratri
Goddess Kaalratri is the seventh manifestation of goddess Parvati. She is one of the terrifying forms of goddess Parvati. She is known as Mahakaali too. The word kaal has two meanings, one is time and the other is death. As we know, ratri means night, Kaalratri means the goddess who brings the end of the darkness. She destroys ghosts, evil spirits and demons. Her one more name is Shubhamkari which means she brings auspicious days in human life.
The story of her bravery is told from years ago. Once upon a time there were two wicked demons, one was Shumbha and the other was Nishumbh . They had a brother whose name was Namuchi. God Indra killed him in the battle. So Shambhu and Nishumbh wanted to take revenge. They attacked the gods fiercely and they were successful in defeating the gods. In this attack, demons Chand , Mund and Raktbeej helped them. These three were friends of demon Mahishasur. ( We know Mahishasur whom goddess Katyayani killed ). So these all five came together and defeated the gods.
God Indra and all the other gods went to Himalaya to reveal the destruction and the arrogance of the demons to goddess Parvati. She understood their fears. She created goddess Chandi to help them. Goddess Chandi killed most of the demons sent by Shumbh and Nishumbh. However Cnand , Mund and Raktbeej were so powerful that she was unable to kill them. Knowing that goddess Chandi created a goddess who was Kaalratri or Kaali.
Goddess Kaalratri fought with Chand and Mund . Eventually she killed both of them. Since then people started knowing her as Chamunda. After this victory Kaalratri went on to fight the powerful demon Raktbeej. But there was a big problem for her to win. Raktbeej had a special boon from lord Brahma that, “Any drop of his blood fell to the ground , will turn into a same figure like Raktbeej.” So whenever he was wounded, blood drops fell on the ground and they turned into several Raktbeej. That way there were too many clones of him on the battlefield. Goddess Kaalratri figured out a solution. She climbed on him and started drinking blood from his neck. This prevented his blood from falling to the ground. Thus she killed the demon Raktbeej. By this the demons and evil spirits were afraid of her.
After killing Raktbeej goddess Kaalratri became so fierce, full and destructive that she started everyone, whoever was coming her way. All the gods prayed to Shiva to stop her. God Shiva went to her feet to stop her. When she saw her husband god Shiva at her feet , she blushed and bit her tongue. She helped him to stand. Shiva calmed her down,then she stopped fighting and killing.
Goddess Kaalratri has a dark complexion. She has long untied hair. She wears a garland of skulls around her neck. She has four hands. She holds a thunderbolt and scimitar in two of her hands. One hand is in a blessing posture and the fourth hand is in a protecting position. She always protects and blesses her devotees. She destroys all the darkness on the earth and brings happiness.
Mantra
एकवेणी जपाकर्णपूरा नग्नाखरास्थिता
लंबोष्ठी कर्णिकाकर्णी तैलाभ्यक्त शरीरिणी ।
वामपादोल्लसल्लोह लता कंठक भूषणा
वर्धन मूर्धध्वजा कृष्णा कालरात्री भयंकरी ।
Day 8 — Mahagauri
The eighth avatar of goddess Parvati is goddess Mahagauri. The name Mahagauri means extremely bright and clean complexion.
She has four hands. In the right hand, she is holding a trident . The right upper hand is in a blessing posture. The left upper hand is holding a drum and the other hand has a fear dispelling gesture. She is riding on a bull. Usually she is shown in white clothes. There are two stories about goddess Mahagauri. The most popular is like this—
After killing all the demons in the form of goddess Kaalratri, Parvati was left with the skin as dark as the night. This made her husband god Shiva tease her with the nickname Kali ( a dark skinned woman). Agitated, Parvati applied to lord Brahma by undergoing a severe penance lasting many days to regain her fair skin. When lord Brahma was pleased with her rigorous atonement, he was pleased. He advised her to bathe in the Mansarovar river in the mountain Himalaya. Listening to lord Brahma’s advice, she jumped into the river, had a bath and when she was out, she was surprised. Her dark skin vanished and she had beautiful fair skin. She became a gorgeous lady named Kaushiki . Kaushiki slayed the demons Shumbh and Nishumbh. They both had a boon from lord Brahma because of which they could not be slayed by a man , a demon, god or deity. Kaushiki was a nine years old girl and she slayed both the demons. Because Shumbh, Nishumbh could only be killed by an unmarried form of goddess Parvati. In this manifestation Parvati got extremely fair skin so she was known as Mahagauri.
The other story is as follows—-
In the form of goddess Brahmachaarini, Parvati went through a rigorous atonement to please god Shiva. She wanted to marry him for the gods to get rid of the demon Tarakasur. In the period of the penance Parvati became frail without food and the harsh winter, summer and rain made her skin dry and black. So god Shiva blessed her with fair skin and she is known as Mahagauri. In some parts of India people perform kanya-pujan . That means girls under 10 /11 years old are invited at home and they are given fruits, flowers, sweets and gifts. In this form Parvati is also known as Mahasaraswati and Ambika.
For Navraatri , in some houses the married ladies and their families celebrate the Pooja. They have decorations at home. They prepare many delicious dishes.They beautifully decorate the gods and their frames. People enjoy playing garaba and dandiya. Huge images of goddess Durga are worshipped daily for the nine days.
Mantra
श्वेते वृषे समारूढा श्वेतांबरधरा शुचि:।
महागौरी शुभं दधात् महादेव प्रमोदद।
Day 9 — Siddhidatri
Goddess Siddhidatri is the ninth form of goddess Parvati. Siddhi means supernatural power. Datri means a giver or awarder.
It is believed that one side of god Shiva’s body is of goddess Siddhidatri. According to Hindu mythology, the legends say that god Shiva worshipped goddess Maha shakti to get all the Siddhis ( supernatural powers ) as blessings. With the gratitude of goddess Siddhidatri lord Shiva attained the half body of goddess Shakti. That is why lord Shiva is known as ardh – half nari – woman and ishwar – god . Ardhanarishwar, whose half part of the body is of the woman.
The story of the goddess begins like the goddess Kushmanda. After goddess Kushmanda created the three gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva , she also created three goddesses Parvati, Laxmi and Sarasvati.
Goddess Siddhidatri entrusted lord Brahma to take up the role as creator of the world, Vishnu the role of preserving the creation and Shiva to destroy the world when it is time. The goddess assured them that she will provide them with divine miraculous power, which will help them carry out their duties. Their wives Sarasvati, Laxmi and Parvati will help them. Thus lord Brahma created the world with humans, gods, animals, rivers, oceans, trees, birds, and every single thing which has life.
In this form of goddess Parvati has four hands. She holds mace and disk at the right side and conch and lotus at the left. She is sitting on the full bloomed lotus or sometimes she is shown as sitting on a lion. She provides the knowledge. She is the mistress of all achievements and perfections . Goddess Siddhidatri is known to be a giver of perfection. She blesses her devotees with wisdom and grants them spiritual knowledge. She is also worshipped by demons. She is always surrounded by the gods.
Mantra
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु मां सिद्धीदात्री रूपेण संस्थिता
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नम:।
-Aaji-Rajashree Pradhan