9 Goddesses of NavratriImage Credit Source: Unsplash
The festival of Navratri is the sacred time for the worship of Shakti and worship of the nine forms of Goddess Durga. This Mahaparva, which comes twice a year, is not only a symbol of worship, but also a symbol of spiritual practice and new start. Both Chaitra and Ashwin Navratri fall during the seasons of change and conversion, which is given special importance in the scriptures. Bhagwati Durga is considered to be Adi Shakti, Jaganmata and Sarvasiddhidatri. From time to time, he took avatar in various forms and destroyed unrighteousness and protects religion. Brahma ji has described the nine secret forms of Goddess Durga, which is called Navadurga. By worshiping them, the devotee gets both physical and spiritual siddhis.
Navratri and New Year Relations
With the beginning of Chaitra Navratri, the Hindu New Year, Vikram Samvat begins. This day not only brings a new year, but is also a symbol of the coronation of an ideal ruler like King Vikramaditya, whose greatness is shown in stories like throne Battisi. Similarly, Chaitra Navratri ends as Ramnavami, which symbolizes the birth anniversary of Lord Rama. The second Navratri comes in Ashwin Shukla Paksha, after which the festival of Vijayadashami is celebrated. According to astrology, the counting of constellations begins with Ashwin Nakshatra, hence it is also considered to be the first month of astrological year. In this way, both Navratri festivals are related to new start and positive energy. There is a difference of six months between these two, which divides the year into two parts.
Importance of season
The time of Navratri is the season, that is, when one season ends and the other starts. This time is considered very special for worship and practice. Just as morning and evening time is auspicious for worship, similarly these nine days have been selected for special practice. This is the time when you can worship power individually and collectively. Along with Navratri festival, the story of Durga’s descent is also associated. It is believed that the present era is the time of the condolence, that is, the end of one era and the beginning of the other, where collective power is required to overcome problems.
Maa Durga: Many forms of Adi Shakti
Goddess Durga is worshiped as Adi Shakti and Jaganmata. She is the main goddess of Shakti sect, but people of Vaishnava and Shaivism also worship her. All the incarnations like Goddess Lakshmi, Tara, Saraswati, Uma, Gauri, Chandika, Kali, and Chamunda are the forms of these Shakti. Brahma Ji himself has told about the nine forms of Maa Durga described in the armor of Durga Saptashati. Let us know these nine goddesses and the secrets related to them.
Shailputri: The Himalayas, the daughter of the Himalayas. The Himalayas performed penance and prayed to get her as their daughter. When Bhagwati was born as a daughter, both the Himalayas and his wife were very happy, that is why she was called Shailputri.
Brahmacharini: Brahma means penance and Charini means behaving. This goddess does harsh penance for the attainment of Sachchidananda (truth, consciousness, bliss), hence she is called Brahmacharini.
Chandraghanta: He has an hour -shaped half -focus on his forehead, which is a symbol of cleanliness and peace. This posture removes fear from the lives of devotees.
Kushmanda: To remove bad things. This goddess removes the sufferings and sufferings of her devotees.
Skandamata: Skanda i.e. Lord Kartikeya’s mother. When Lord Kartikeya was born, this goddess was appointed for her upbringing, hence she is known as Skandamata.
Katyayani: The daughter of Maharishi Katyayan. Pleased with the penance of the sage, the goddess was born as her daughter, which called her Katyayani.
Kalratri: Kaal means death and night means darkness. This goddess eliminates all evils, negative energy, and fear of death, hence she is called Kalratri.
Mahagauri: When Lord Shiva jokingly called him “Kali”, his color turned black. After this, he did harsh penance and again attained Gaur Varna, so that he called Mahagauri.
Siddhidatri: This goddess provides all kinds of siddhis. All the work is proved by their worship and a person gets success in every field.
These nine forms reflect every aspect of life and inspire us to follow the right path. The festival of Navratri is an opportunity to worship these nine powers, which gives us the message of the victory of good over the power and the victory of good over evil.