Nava Durgas

The mother is an integral part of every creature’s life. Without her no creature – either animal or human could ever survive. The only religion that has truly respected this idea and understood the great importance of the feminine in human life, is the Sanatana Dharma. Hence, the worship of female deities is an integral part of our culture. Today modern science has discovered that the actual strength which the baby gets, comes from the mother and not the father. Obviously, our rishis were well aware of this fact and that is why they attributed all power or “shakti” to the goddess.

Actually, there are four festivals in Bharat that honour the Divine Mother. Of these the most important is the Sharad Navaratri, celebrated during autumn. It starts immediately after the amavasya – new moon of the month of Ashwini (September/October) and continues for nine nights. The important point is that this festival is known as nine nights and not days. This is because it closely tracks the growth of the moon from total darkness to almost full brightness on the tenth day of victory.

In the Durga Saptashati, Durga had told the gods to worship her twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn. This year, Vasanta Navaratri starts on the 1st day after the amavasya in the month of Chaitra on April 2nd. On the 9th day we celebrate the birth of Sri Rama. Each of these nights is given to the worship of one of the Nava Durgas.

All Hindu festivals, rituals and stories hide some deep scientific truths. The rishis of our culture were experts in hiding these truths under the cloak of these charming stories. They did this because they knew that the human mind, especially in those ancient times was incapable of understanding these truths which are only being brought to light in the 20th century and even now, people find it difficult to appreciate them. But since we belong to a scientific age, we are inclined to believe anything, however bizarre, that the western scientist tells us!

Women have a closer connection to the moon than men. The woman’s menstrual cycle of twenty-eight days is the same as the cycle of the moon which consists of twenty-eight days.

The Hindu calendar follows the lunar month of twenty-eight days which is divided into two fortnights – one dark and one bright. The bright fortnight starts immediately after the amavasya or new moon and each day following is known as “pratama,” “dwitiya” etc. which is just a count of each day of the fortnight. During these days the moon will increase in size from crescent to the full moon on the fifteenth day. These fourteen days of the waxing moon are known as “shukla paksha” or the bright fortnight.

Starting from the day after the full moon, the moon starts getting smaller and smaller for fourteen days until it totally disappears on the fifteenth day which is called amavasya or no moon. This fortnight is known as “krishna paksha” or the dark phase. The first nine nights of any lunar month are said to be especially receptive to the energy of the divine feminine. But the bright fortnight in the month of Ashwini is extra special.

The moon has a great influence on our minds as we all know. We have heard that inmates of a lunatic asylum get extremely agitated on full moon and new moon nights. We also know how much of a pull the moon exerts on the ocean. It is capable of pulling the entire ocean back and forth. The tides are totally caused by the moon. The human body consists of 72% water so we can imagine what an effect it has on our minds even though we do not realise this. Just as the sun affects our physical bodies – the “annamaya kosha,” the moon affects our mental sheath or the “manomaya kosha.”

This is an important aspect of the Navaratri festival. We worship the goddess in her nine forms which have a close connection with the phases of the moon. This is why the worship of the goddess is done at night when the moon is shining through your window and energising you to certain types of behaviour.

These nine forms of the goddess also correspond to the nine planets. By worshipping the corresponding forms, devotees can get rid of the evil influences of the malefic planets and be blessed by the auspicious influences of the others.

We have two methods of celebrating this festival. Some worship the primary forms of the goddess consecutively for three days. The first three days are kept for the worship of Durga Devi for she is the one who can help us to remove all our negative vibrations and thoughts. The next three days are meant for the worship of Lakshmi Devi to bring auspicious traits into the mind that has been cleared of all negativity by Durga. The last three days we conclude the festival with the worship of Saraswati Devi who is the one who can grant us wisdom and final liberation from these mortal coils. 

There is another tradition by which sincere sadhakas (spiritual seekers) worship the Nava Durgas – the nine forms of the Mother during the nine nights. The tenth day is Vijayadashami – the day of victory when Durga Devi slays the demon Mahishasura and Saraswati bestows the divine light of consciousness to all.

As with many of our festivals, this also celebrates the victory of dharma over adharma. Hinduism is known as the Sanatana Dharma or the ancient way of righteousness and it is only fitting that we in Bharat celebrate this victory year after year. As is common in Hinduism, this inner battle is woven into a story. The Devi Mahatmyam, also known as Chandi Pat or Durga Saptashati, is a deeply esoteric book which we are all encouraged to read during these nine nights of Durga Puja. In this scripture Durga slays all the various forms of asuras that lurk below the surface of our mind. The book gives a graphic account of the battle between the goddess Durga and the demons Mahishasura, Raktabija, Chanda, Munda, Shumbha and Nishumbha. These asuras or demons work best at night. They prey upon our minds when the noisy world becomes silent.

Hinduism believes that the reason behind human birth is to gain liberation from the coils of maya and enter the blissful realm of the Absolute. The festival of Navaratri ensures that this knowledge is never forgotten and helps all Hindus renew their relationship with the Divine Mother every year. Thus, the nine nights of Navaratri are meant for reflection and removal of our negative traits and the acquisition of positive qualities.

Each of these goddesses are actually representations of Parvati, the consort of Shiva. Each one of them represent one digit of the moon starting from the first night “pratama” after the new moon or amavasya.

1st Night – Pratama
Shailaputri
Planet – Chandra – Moon

She is the daughter of Himavan, king of the Himalayas and his wife Menavati. She is commonly known as Parvati. Shailaputri represents Parvati as a young girl living in the palace of her parents.

Daksha was one of the patriarchs of the ancient world. He was very autocratic and filled with ego. He had many conflicts with Shiva. His youngest daughter was Sati and she married Shiva against his wishes. At one time he held a huge yaga to which he invited all the celestials and other great beings and deliberately ignored Shiva and Sati. Sati went for the yaga despite Shiva’s advice and was insulted by her father. She saw that no offering had been made to Shiva. This saddened her so much that she gave up her life into her own yogic fire.

Shiva was devastated when he heard this and went into a state of deep samadhi from which nobody could awaken him. In the meantime, an asura called Taraka had subdued all the worlds and thrown the devas out of their heaven. They went en masse to the presence of Vishnu and begged him to help them. He told them that only the son of Shiva was capable of this.

They knew Shiva to be a celibate who had gone into seclusion after Sati’s death. Sati was really the Divine Mother and they supplicated her to take another birth to help the world. She was born as the daughter of Himavan and was known as Parvati. She is the one who is worshipped on the first night of Navaratri as Shailaputri. As soon as she came of age, she realised that Shiva was the only one she wanted to marry.

Shailaputri is said to be the goddess of the moon. So, any bad effect of the planet moon,  can be overcome by worshipping her. Shailaputri is the essence of earthly existence. Her abode is in the very first chakra – the Muladhara Chakra. This chakra is associated with the grossest of the five elements that make up our bodies and the cosmos. This is the tattva or element – Earth. The quality of the earth is coherence and the corresponding guna is that of smell.

Her planet is the moon, her favourite flower is the hibiscus and favourite colour is orange. Her other names are Parvati, Bhavani and Hemavati.

Her mantra is,

Aum Devi Shailaputryai Namaha!
ॐ देवी शैलपुत्र्यै नमः॥

The shloka describing her form is also given to make it easier for the sadhaka to concentrate on the deity.

“Vande vaanchitalaabhaya chandraardhakrita, shekharam,
Vrishaarudham shuladharaam Shailaputrim yashasvinim.”

I bow to the brilliant Shailaputri, who is adorned with the crescent moon on her head. She rides on the bull, Nandi and holds a trident in one hand and a lotus in the other. May she bestow upon me all the objects of my desire.

2nd Night – Dwitiya
Brahmacharini
Planet – Mangal – Mars

Brahmacharini represents Parvati in her phase of asceticism. When Shailaputri or Parvati wanted to marry Shiva, she started doing formal puja to the Lord but the celestial sage Narada came to her and told her that Shiva being a true ascetic, would not be attracted by her beauty but only by her ascetism. So, she started doing severe austerities for many years. Hence, she was given the name of Brahmacharini – a celibate seeker.

On the second day the seekers who are following the rituals of the nine nights should stop all the fripperies of life in the world and take to deep penance and spend this night in meditation alone. They should repeat her mantra and focus on her dhyana shloka. This applies to all the nine goddesses. 

We have been given a good description of her form and the mantra and shloka for mediation. She is fair and has three eyes. Her face is calm and she is dressed in white as befitting an anchorite and adorned with a necklace of rudraksha seeds. She walks barefoot carrying the japa mala (rosary) in her right hand and kamandalu (water pot carried by all ascetics) in her left.

Her planet is Mars or Mangal which is a malefic planet so devotion to her will reduce the ill effects of this planet. Her favourite colour is white and favourite flower, Chrysanthemum.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Brahmacharinnyai Nnamaha!”
ॐ देवी ब्रह्मचारिण्यै नमः॥

Her dhyana shloka which makes it easier to meditate on her form goes like this.

“Dadhana karapadmabhyam akshamala kamandalu,
Devi prasidathu mayi Brahmacharinnyanuthama.”

“May the unparalled Brahmacharini holding the japa mala and the kamandalu in her lotus-like hands, shower her grace on me.”

3rd Night – Triteeya
Chandraghanta 
Planet – Shukra – Venus

Chandraghanta represents Parvati on her wedding day. Parvati was given this title by Mahadeva himself, due to her wish to have Chandra, the Moon God, adorn her  forehead, as her Lord was adorned by the crescent moon upon his crown of matted locks, giving rise to his name Chandrashekhara.

After doing years of tapas as Brahmacharini, Shiva accepted her. Her mother was totally against her marrying him but she was persuaded by the rishis to accept him. However, Shiva in his usual quixotic fashion wanted to test her surrender to him and went to Himavan’s palace in his most wretched form with matted locks and three eyes and snake garlands. He was followed by a horrendous riff raff of ghosts and goblins! Parvati’s mother, Mena, was most upset to see this apparition and firmly refused to allow her daughter to marry him.

Parvati was not deterred and changed herself into Devi Chandraghanta.

She has a golden complexion and is dressed in bright red and adorned with very heavy ornaments. Like her Lord she has three eyes and her crown is decorated by the third-day moon which is shaped like a bell which gave her the name of Chandraghanta. Chandra is moon and ghanta is bell.

Goddess Chandraghanta has ten arms. She carries the trishul (trident), gada (mace), sword and kamandalu in her four left hands and a lotus, arrow, bow and japa mala in her four right hands. The other two hands have the abhaya mudra or the mudra which gives protection and the varada mudra or the mudra for bestowing boons.

She entered the wedding hall in this form, riding on a fierce looking tiger! Her parents had to bow down to her wishes and allow her to marry Shiva. 

Chandraghanta portrays a woman who is independent and is prepared to fight for her rights. Her fierce form is capable of destroying obstacles both on the inner path as well as the outside world. Her devotees easily achieve success in life. She bestows divine vision on them. Sometimes they hear divine fragrances and sounds. She is ever ready to destroy the wicked but is a compassionate mother to her devotees. During the battle with the asuras, the deafening sound of her bell is said to have made them drop down senseless.

Venus or Shukra is her planet. Her favourite colour is red and favourite flower, the lotus. Her other names are Chandika and Rannchandi.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Chandraghantaayai Namaha!”
ॐ देवी चन्द्रघण्टायै नमः॥ 

Her dhyana shloka is,

“Pindajapravaraarudha chandakopastrakaayudha,
Prasadam tanuthe mahyam Chandraghantethi vishruta.”

“I bow to that Devi known as Chandraghanta who carries fierce weapons and rides a fierce beast. May she surround me with her grace.”

4th Night – Chaturti
Kushmanda
Planet – Surya – Sun

Ku means little, ushma means energy and anda means egg. Kushmanda is the minute particle or egg from which creation takes place. She is the ultimate source of life.

After their marriage, Shiva revealed to Parvati the fact that she was none other than Mahashakti – the cosmic power. Mahadeva helped her realise the fact that she was not just a human, but the Supreme Goddess, who is the Mother of the whole of creation. This form of hers is known the world over as Kushmanda, as she holds within her, many endless worlds. She resides in the centre of the sun and liberates the energy that creates the universe. She is the one who produced the Cosmic Egg. The three planes came forth from her golden womb. Her story will surely remind us of the Big Bang Theory of creation.

At the beginning of the dawn of time the universe was no more than a void full of darkness. Suddenly a ray of divine light, which was ever-existing, spread everywhere, illuminating each and every nook of the void. This sea of light was formless. Suddenly, it started taking a definite shape and took the form of the Goddess Kushmanda. The birth of the universe is said to have occurred because of the radiant smile of the goddess. Her smile dispelled the darkness and created a new universe. She gave light and life to the entire universe with her brilliant smile.

She’s that aspect of womanhood that brightens up the lives of those around her by her joy. Kushmanda is as radiant as the sun and has healing powers. She has three peaceful eyes and a calm face. She is adorned with many ornaments and dressed in blue and yellow clothes. She has eight hands. The four right hands hold the kamandalu, bow, arrow, lotus and the left hands hold the pot of nectar, japa mala, mace and spinning wheel. She is mounted on a lioness. She is capable of giving ashta siddhis, the eight kinds of miraculous powers and the nine kinds of riches. She gives her devotees the strength to create newer and newer worlds for ourselves, both physically and spiritually.

Her planet is Surya or the sun, her favourite colour is royal blue and favourite flower, jasmine.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Kushmaandaayai namaha!”
ॐ देवी कूष्माण्डायै नमः॥

Her dhyana shloka is,

“Surasaapurnakalasham rudiraplutameva cha,
Dadhana hastapadmabhyam Kushmanda shubhadastu me.”

“May the goddess Kushmanda who holds the full pot of nectar in her lotus-like hands, grant me good fortune.”

5th Night – Panchami
Skandamata
Planet – Mercury – Buddha

When Shiva became detached from the world, the mighty demon, Taraka was busy destroying it. The devas were very anxious that Shiva should get a child since it was said that only the son of Shiva would be able to kill this ferocious asura, who had usurped the heavens. However, Shiva’s seed could not be contained in any woman’s womb so it was caught by Agni, the God of Fire who threw it into the River Ganga to cool it. Ganga carried it down until it became lodged in a pond of reeds where the cluster of six stars known as the Krittikas or Pleiades came and nursed the infant who took on six faces in order to please all of them. Shiva and Parvati traced his whereabouts and took him off to Kailasa and anointed him as the general of the devas. Later he led the army of the gods and killed Tarakasura.

Parvati is known as the mother of Skanda or Kartikeya even though she never bore him in her womb nor nursed him. Shiva, merged the six babies into one infant with six faces, who came to be known as Shanmukha (six-faced). Since he was nursed by the Krittikas he was also known as Kartikeya.

The six faces represent the five elements together with the mind. The six faces also represent the six lower chakras which are the seats of Shakti or material power. The strange story of Skanda’s birth is also an allegory of the creation of the material world from the cosmic force – Shiva.

Parvati, in her role as the mother of Skanda or Shanmukha, came to be known as Skandamata. One who worships her also gets the benefit of worshipping Skanda. Her planet is Mercury.

Skandamata is the very epitome of maternal love. She has a golden complexion, three eyes and a calm face. She is seated upon the back of a lion and adorned with only a few ornaments. She is dressed in orange and yellow clothes and has the brilliance of the sun. In fact, yellow is her favourite colour and the yellow rose is her favourite flower. She has four hands, two of which hold lotuses, the third holds her son, the six-headed infant Kartikeya, seated on her lap and the fourth has the abhaya mudra to bless her devotees. She gives her devotees salvation, power and prosperity. She can grant wisdom even to the most illiterate person if she worships her with complete devotion. He who is selflessly devoted to her attains all the achievements and treasures of life.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Skandamathre Namaha!”
ॐ देवी स्कन्दमातायै नमः॥ 

Her dhyana shloka is,

“Simhaasanagata nityam, padmashritakaradwaya,
Shubhadastu sada devi Skandamata yashaswini.”

“May the glorious Skandamata, riding a lion with two lotuses in her hands, bless us with good fortune.”

6th Night – Shashti
Katyayani
Planet – Jupiter – Brihaspati or Guru

Once there lived a sage called Katyayana who prayed to the goddess to be born as his child in order to kill Mahishasura. She agreed and was born as his daughter and thus was called Katyayani. When the gods invoked Mahashakti – the primordial feminine power to protect them from the demon, Mahisha, she emerged from the sacrificial fire of the sage Katyayan. All the male gods bestowed their special powers and weapons on her. She is the avatara of Parvati in the form of the warrior goddess and is one of the most well-known and beloved of her forms.

Riding a lion, she proceeded towards the Vindhya mountains where the demon lived and killed him. Hence, she is also known as Mahishasuramardini. Skandamata gives the devotee success in the material plane but from the sixth night she starts to nudge us towards the spiritual. 

Her planet is Jupiter. Her favourite flower is the marigold and favourite colour – green.

She is the virgin goddess, completely capable of protecting herself without the help of any of the male gods. She is actually a great example to all women that they can protect themselves if need be. She has a beautiful golden colour, three eyes and a calm face even though she is a warrior. She is dressed in green and pink clothes. Her four hands hold a sword, shield, lotus and trident. Her vehicle is a fierce looking lion.

The gopis of Vrindavan are said to have worshipped her for forty-one days in order to procure Krishna as their husband. Even now unmarried girls pray to her to get a good husband. She is said to be able to remove all obstacles in a girl’s horoscope that stand in the way of a happy marriage.

She has four arms carrying a shining sword in one hand and a lotus in the other. The other two hands show the abhaya and varada mudras.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Katyayanyai Namaha!”
ॐ देवी कात्यायन्यै नमः॥

Her shloka is,

“Chandrahasojjwalakara shaardulavara vahana,
Katyayani shubham dadyath devi danavaghatini.”

“May the goddess Katyayani, riding on a tiger, her hand shining with the sword chandrahasa, the destroyer of demons, shower auspiciousness on me.”

7th Night – Saptami
Kalaratri
Planet – Saturn – Shani

Kalaratri represents Parvati in her phase of destruction. Kaala is Time, ratri is darkness. She is the goddess of time and death. Time – relentless, all-consuming and indomitable.

Everything in creation falls a prey to Time. Time is the only killer!

All of us fear Death in its aspect of Time, so Kali’s form is frightening to behold. It is meant to intimidate those who are not ready to accept the fact that life is a coin with two sides – birth and death, good and evil!

Kali and Kaaleshwara represent the void of existence. She is the most terrorising form of Durga known as Bhadrakali. She is the one who killed Raktabija, the ferocious demon whose every drop of blood changed into a clone as soon as it touched the earth. Durga asked Kalaratri to drink his blood before it touched the earth so that he could not multiply.

She is the goddess of Night. This form primarily depicts that life also has a dark side – the violence of Mother Nature that encompasses death and destruction. It is she who controls the time of both the birth and death of a person and she is the one who takes us beyond Time and therefore beyond death. She spells the death of Time!

She is the prototype of the modern feminine activist who gets enraged when she sees injustice meted out to women and fights to preserve their independence. Kalaratri is pitch dark in colour like Kali and has a ferocious expression. She is clothed in red and black robes and sports a necklace studded with iron thorns. She has three bloodshot eyes, long, unkempt hair hanging like a mantle on her back, and wears a garland of skulls. She is fierce when it comes to removing our negative traits.

She wears a girdle of severed arms and a necklace of freshly cut heads. She has a cavernous mouth dripping with blood from her lolling tongue. She has long sharp fangs and claw-like hands with hooked nails. Her four hands hold a trident, scimitar, vajra, and a cup to catch the blood dripping from a freshly decapitated head which she holds in one hand. Her vehicle is a dark, black donkey.

She portrays one of the many masks of Prakriti – of nature giving birth to all beings from her womb, feeding them at her breast and then devouring and assimilating them back into herself.

Regular chanting of the Kalaratri Mantra can remove all the fear from the heart and make the devotees bold and self-confident. If you suspect that some evil spell or force is pursuing you, you can free yourself by chanting the incredibly powerful Kalaratri Mantra. She will cover her devotee with her protective mantle and bestow peace. Yogis and occult practitioners chant this mantra to attain mystic powers.

Her favourite colour is grey and her favourite flower is the Krishna Kamal (black lotus)! Her planet is Saturn.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Kalaratryai namaha!”
ॐ देवी कालरात्र्यै नमः॥

Her shloka goes like this,

“Vamapadollasat lohalata kandaka bhushana,
Vardhanaamurdhaja krishna Kalaratrirbhayankari.”

“The ferocious Devi Kalarati who is dark and adorned with an anklet of metal thorns on her left ankle, is born out of an evolved mind.”

We have to understand the ideology of the Sanatana Dharma if we want to understand why it abounds with such ferocious goddesses. We consider that everything in this cosmos is holy since everything comes from that one source in which everything is contained. Of course most modern people in Bharat have been affected by the prudish viewpoint of the Abrahamic religions so we have been brought up to think that evil and good are totally disconnected and different. Whereas from the beginning, the Sanatana Dharma taught us that this world is dualistic and we have to accept both sides of the coin of life if we want to live a happy and contented life. All other religions decided to accept only one side of the coin which they thought was the so-called “good” side but then they didn’t know what to do with the bad side which they could not ignore. So they created a Devil on whose poor head everything negative was thrown. They failed to realise that by doing this they were actually depriving God of his unlimited powers. God is supposed to be omnipotent but has no control over the Devil who appears to be stronger than him!!

In Bharat, however, we had no such problem since we accepted the fact that everything in the dualistic world had only one origin and that was the Brahman – the Pure Consciousness. Prakriti was his shakti or power which was like a catalyst which gave an impetus to everything to work. She is the dynamo that makes the motionless engine move! So we find that worship of the Mother as Kali or Chandi is as common as worship of the Mother as Lakshmi or Saraswati. In fact, these forms of the Mother are given to us to allow us to rise above the opposites of this dualistic world and reach the state of the motionless, qualityless Brahman or Super Consciousness which is above both. Kali, Kalaratri, Chandi, Bhairavi all come into this category of the so-called fearful aspects of life.  

We even have one group of Mother worshippers called Aghoris who see everything as holy since everything is permeated by the Divine Mother. “Ghora” means “terrible” and “aghora” means “not terrible.” To them flower and filth are the same since they come from the same source. In fact, without the filth the flower would never bloom. Silence and sound are both opposite sides of the same coin of life. The symbol of Bharat is the lotus flower that is born in the filth and muck at the bottom of the pond and rises above it and raises its head to the sun! So it is said that only the one who can accept the seamy side of life with equal exuberance, is capable of arriving at the beautiful confluence of these opposites in the divine ocean of nectar. It is the greatness of our culture that has given us these beautiful concepts which are essential to live a life that reconciles both joy and pain, beauty and ugliness.

This is why in her shloka it is said that her concept comes only from a truly “evolved mind.” The immature mind can never understand, far less accept this concept.

What exactly does this mean? The immature concept of God is that of an anthropomorphic Father in Heaven who does only good and only accepts those who see him alone as the Supreme and obey his commands implicitly. Everyone else is thrown into a Hell of eternity. It is only the truly evolved mind that can envisage a Supreme Power that encompasses within itself everything in this dualistic world. This is the mature mind that realises that if there is a God, who is a Supreme Power, He has to accept everything – good and bad because everything is His creation. To such a mind worship of Kali is as evolving as the worship of Lakshmi. In fact, many of our great saints have proved that this is possible. 

8th Night – Ashtami
Mahagauri
Planet – Rahu

Durga had taken on the form of Kali to kill the asuras Raktabija, Chanda and Munda. Later she returned to her form as Parvati but her skin was still as black as night. Brahma advised her to immerse herself in the lake known as Manasarovara. When she came out she was as radiant as the moon. This form of Parvati is known as Mahagauri. “Gauri” means “fair” and “maha” means “great.” Mahagauri is the ultimate light. We can scarcely imagine such brilliance. She is also known as Kaushiki.

She is very fair with three eyes brimming with compassion. She wears white clothes and delicate jewellery. She has four hands, two of which carry the trident and mini drum. The other two hands are raised in the “abhaya mudra” and the “varada mudra,” giving protection and boons to her devotees. Her vehicle is a pure white bull. We can appreciate her fully only after worshipping her form as Kalaratri!

Her favourite colour is purple and favourite flower is the mogra – jasmine. Her planet is Rahu.

She portrays the devoted wife, homemaker and nurturing mother who is the very foundation of a family. Goddess Mahagauri is known to be very forgiving. She easily forgives sinners and purifies them. She is the goddess who denotes peace and endurance. It is said that by worshiping her the devotee’s heart will become pure. Her puja is performed during Ashwin Shukla Ashtami.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Mahagauryai Namaha!”
ॐ देवी महागौर्यै नमः॥

Her shloka is,

“Swete vrishe samaarudha, svetambara dhara, shuchihi,
Mahagauri shubham dadhyath, Mahadeva pramodada.” 

“May that pure goddess, dressed in white and riding a white bull, who is the delight of Mahadeva, grant us all auspiciousness.”

9th Night – Navami
Siddhadhatri
Planet – Ketu

Siddhadhatri is pure energy – the first and purest form of energy. Modern science has only recently understood the concept of pure energy! She was formless but Shiva supplicated her and she became Adi Shakti. He made her a part of himself and this form is known as Ardhanarishwara. This is the half male, half female form of Shiva. She was called Shiva Shakti or Siddhadhatri. In her, Parvati attained her supreme form as a complete manifestation of Mahashakti or the primeval power. Siddhi means supernatural power and dhatri means the giver. So she is the sole source of all power – both material and spiritual. She is capable of giving us all the eight siddhis – ashta siddhis or supernormal powers. She is the one who will lead us to the fulfilment of all human desire on the tenth day of victory – Vijayadashami.

On the ninth day of Navaratri, devotees should put all their attention towards the Nirvana chakra which is located in the middle of our skull. By doing so, devotees will receive the highest power by the grace of Maa Siddhadhatri.

The siddhis are eight in number and are known as “anima, mahima, gharima, laghima, prapti, prakamya, ishitwa and vasitva.”

The first, Anima, gives us the ability to shrink the body to the size of an atom if  needed. Becoming smaller than the smallest.

The second, Mahima, is the ability to expand one’s body to infinite size – becoming bigger than the biggest.

The third, Gharima, is to become extremely heavy – becoming heavier than the heaviest.

The fourth, Laghima, is to become weightless like a feather – becoming lighter than the lightest.

The fifth is Prapti. It is the ability to be anywhere you want to be – to be omnipresent. 

The sixth is Prakamya. This is the ability to read the thoughts of others and thus obtain control over everyone and everything.

The seventh is Ishitwa. This is the ability to have lordship over the whole of creation. All the five powers of the Supreme Lord of all creation, like power to protect, destroy, conceal and give grace, will be available to the one who has ishitwa.

The eighth is Vasitva which is the ability to have total control over anything made up of the five elements. It gives control over celestials, humans, demons, animals, birds, reptiles and even trees.

Siddhadhatri is thus the avatara of the goddess that throbs with power and represents the controller of life.  

She is seated upon a fully bloomed lotus. She has a fair complexion, with three beautiful eyes and a calm face. She is adorned with some delicate ornaments and dressed in red and blue clothes. Her four hands carry the discus, conch shell, mace and lotus. Her vehicle is the lion. Her favourite colour is peacock green and favourite flower is the Champa. She rules over the planet Ketu.

Her mantra is,

“Aum Devi Siddhidhatrayai Namaha!”
ॐ देवी सिद्धिदात्र्यै नमः॥

Her dhyana shloka is,

“Siddhagandharva yakshadhyaasurayamarayai api,
Sevyamana sadabhuyath siddhida Siddhidayini.”

“May she, who all siddhas, asuras, gandharvas and devas supplicate,
Provide us with all siddhis always.”

This completes the nine days of worship of the nine aspects of the Supreme Goddess which will give us victory over our lower selves. This in turn will lead us to the glorious aspect of the Devi known as Mahishasuramardini on the tenth day of Vijayadashami, when we will gain complete control over our lower tendencies. In fact, they will be totally wiped out, allowing the radiance of the ninth day moon to shine with all glory in our purified minds.

The names of the Nava Durgas are mentioned in the Devi Kavacham of the Durga Saptashati or the Devi Mahatmyam. Each of them individually as well as collectively are capable of taking us to the highest pinnacle of human excellence. They control the planets that influence our lives as well as the first six chakras. Therefore, the Devi Mahatmyam says that by worshipping them we can make a positive change in our own lives. This is why our tradition insists on all of us worshipping them at least twice a year.

Since they also have a great connection to the digits of the moon, we are advised to worship them at night as the moon rises in the east and sets in the western horizon.

May the Nava Durgas bless all who read this and grant them liberation.

Aum Navadurgaayai Namaha!