Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Nine Goddess Of Navarathri

Hi and Namaskar everyone. Im Shakthi and I hope this would be really interesting as today you will know who are the 9 Goddess of Navarathri. All we know or told is that the first 3 days is for Durga, then the next 3 days is for Laxmi and the last 3 days is for Saraswathi. Yes it is true but today I am going to tell you what are 3 shakthis that came from Durga and the 3 shaktis from Laxmi and the 3 shakthis from Saraswathi. Well they are the Dasamahavidhyas.

The first form from Durga.

Yes it is Mother ShailaPutri.
Shail’ means mountains and ‘Putri’ means daughter. She is also known as Parvati or Hemavati.
Shailaputri is believed to be the rebirth of Sati, the daughter of Daksha and the wife of Lord Shiva. In her second birth she is Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya and later she became the consort of Shiva. This is one of the very first forms of Shakti and is closely associated with Lord Shiva.
The second form is Mother Brahmacharini.
Here Brahma means ‘one who constantly meditates on the Supreme Being’. Brahmacharini is highly pious and is a peaceful form or is in meditation. She is also known as Tapashcharini, Aparna and Uma.
This form of Durga is related to the severe penance undertaken by Sati and Parvati in their respective births to attain Lord Shiva as husband. Some of the most important Vratas observed in different parts of India by women is based on the strict austerities followed by Brahmacharini.




 The third form is Mother Chandraghanta.
Her name Chandraghanta comes from the crescent moon worn by her on the head. This is a terrible aspect of Goddess Shakti and is roaring in anger. This form of Durga is completely different from earlier forms and shows when provoked she can be the terrible or malevolent.
The fourth form is Mother Kushmandha.
The name Kushmanda consists of three words. ‘Ku’ means ‘a little’, ‘Usma’ means ‘energy’ and ‘Anda’ means ‘the cosmic egg or universe.’ She is also known as Ashtabhuja. Goddess Shakti is very happy in this incarnation and it is believed that the eternal darkness ended when she smiled. And this led to the beginning of creation.





 The fifth form is Mother Skandha Mata.
Skanda is one of the names of Subrahmanya or Lord Muruga or Kartikeya – the General of the Army of the Devas and the most handsome God. Skanda Mata is the mother of Kartik. She is also known as Padmasana. This the motherly form of Durga and she is benevolent.


The sixth form is Mother Katyayani.
She is called Katyayani because she was born as the daughter of Sage Katya of Katya clan.
This is the daughter form of Durga. Here is she a loving daughter. She is epitome of love but won’t hesitate to rise up in anger to defend righteousness and Dharma.
 
 
 
 
The seventh form is Kalaratri.
Kalaratri is the one who destroys ignorance and removes darkness. She is also known as Shubhamkari.
In this form she is believed to have licked the blood of demon Rakta Beeja who had the capacity to bring out thousand demons from a drop of blood spilt from his body.
This is the most violent form of Durga. This form primarily depicts that life also has dark side – the violent Mother Nature and creates havoc and removes all dirt.
 
 
 
The eight form is Mahagauri. Mahagauri means one clean and bright like a ray of lightning.
This is the form of Mata Parvati when she did penance to get Shiva as her husband. It is believed that due to the intense Tapas performed by her without moving caused soil and dust to collect on her body. Lord Shiva cleaned her with water from Ganga. Purity is depicted in this form of Durga.
 
 
The Nineth form is Mother Siddhidatri.
In this form Mother Goddess provides ‘Siddhi’ or knowledge.
In this form Durga removes ignorance and she provides the knowledge to realize That or Brahman. She is surrounded by Siddhas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Demons and Gods who are worshipping her. The Siddhi that she provides is the realization that everything is Supreme Being or Brahman.
 
 
 
Then on the 10th day which is Vijayadhasami, all the 3 shakthis merged and took the form of Mahishasuramardhini or athi Parashakthi and killed the demon Mahishasura.
 
Well another important point or fact to know is that amman sitting on a tiger is the form of Durga and amman sitting on a lion is aathi Parashakthi.
 
 
Well Sooria I hope that I have answered your question.Hope to get more feedback from you soon.
 
With lots of love from
 
Shakthi Sathyanarayana.
 

2 comments:

  1. Hi Shakty,
    Your explanation is so superb and in details..
    The basic knowledge before was durga , lakshmy and saraswathy.. but now by going beyond that it's more understandable...This navarathiri is indeed something special for me..

    The pictures of amman is even better for understanding and to know them better ..

    before is sign out..
    Why some are saying that praying in brahma muhurtam is good ?


    Thanks shakty..
    Sooria..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Sooria. I am glad that you are a regular visiter to my Shakthi Sooria Skandha's Blog. All knowledge is from amman and I thank her for every moment in life. Well Sooria your question why Brahma Muhurtham is great will be answered soon.
    Thank you,
    With lots of love from
    Shakthi

    ReplyDelete