Navratri

Navaratri, The Nine Days Dedicated to the Nine Forms of Goddess Adi Shakti. In different parts of India, the traditions of the Navratri are quite different from one another. But the celebration is the same. The celebration of the Mother Goddess, The Woman, The Protector, The Slayer of Evil. Durga Puja is celebrated for four days in Bengal during the same time.

Day 1: The worship of Goddess Shailputri

She, in this Avatar, is the Daughter Of The Mountains. Parvati, a reincarnation of Sati, was born to King Himalaya and his wife Meneka and was the sister of Goddess Ganga and Mount Mainak. In this avatar, she is unmarried and seen making a journey on Nandi, the Bull, Shiva's ride. This reflects the fact that she is making a journey from her Father to her Husband, thus from maidenhood to womanhood. Her white clothes are a symbol of the purity of her heart and soul. Nandi reflects the calm nature of this goddess; however, she also holds a trident as a mark of her power. She is calm, not weak. The Moon on her head establishes her as the better half of Shiva.

Traditionally, people should wear shades of Grey for her worship.

The traditional Prayer to Shailaputri is:

Vande Vancchit Labhaaya Chandrarda Krita Shekharam,

Vrisharudham Shuladharam Shaila- Putrim Yashasvinim.

Meaning:

I pay my obeisance to the Divine Mother, who bestows upon the devotees the choicest of boons. The moon in a crescent form adorns her forehead. She is mounted on the bullock, lance in hand. She is the Shakti.

Shailaputri temple is found in Varanasi, UP.

Day 2: Worship of Devi Brahmacharini

Brahmacharini, or Tapaswini, means One Who Practices Penance. She holds a Rosary in her right hand and a water vessel (Kamandul) in her left. She, in this Avatar, is also the daughter of Himalaya, unmarried, and wears white. She is devoid of jewellery as she sacrifices her royal ways and goes to the mountains to pray to Lord Shiva through her tough penance. She gives up food, water and everything and lives to eat dried leaves. Hence, she gets the name Aparna. Impressed by this penance, the Lord had come to test her love and devotion before marrying her. This Goddess is a symbol of peace and prosperity as she holds no weapons.

Traditionally, people wear saffron, the colour of sacrifice, to worship her. The prayer to her is:

Dadhanakara Padmavam Akshmala Kamandalam.

Devi Prasidhatu Mayi Brahmacharinya Nunthama.

Meaning: One with the Japmala, kamundala and standing on a lotus, that is Mother Brahmacharini, and we bow to you. There is no temple dedicated to this Goddess. In some parts of India, Devi Chamunda, a form of Goddess Kali, is invoked on this very day. She has a famous temple in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Day 3: Worship of Goddess Chandraghanta

Chandraghanta means One With The Bell-Shaped Moon. In This Avatar, the about-to-be-wed Parvati is in a red saree, a symbol of a fertile woman, and jewellery symbolising a householder. She is mounted on the Tiger, depicting her authority. Sometimes this avatar, like Ma Durga, has 10 Hands holding all the weapons she was gifted by the Gods, as a symbol of power. 

When Brahmacharini's prayers were answered, Lord Shiva told her that after the tragedy that took Sati, he had no hope for Love. Parvati was adamant about winning him. He tested her time and again, and she faced it all with a smile. Finally, he gave in, agreeing to marry her. Parvati went back home after a tearful, emotional promise to come back to him. Here, in this avatar, she is a happy bride, about to be married. But Shiva, in his simple form, tiger skin and smeared with ashes, appeared with his Ghosts and Spirits who scared her mother. To make her mother know the beauty in Shiva's simplicity, she, with the help of Vishnu, took the avatar of Chandraghanta and met Shiva a day before the wedding, against the traditional norms, to request him to dress as a traditional groom to her mother's happiness. When violent, this same form of the Goddess is called Chamunda.

People traditionally wear white to worship her. 

The traditional Prayer to her is:

Pindaajpravarodha Chandkopastra Kairyuta

Prasadham Tanute Maham Chandraghanteti Vishruta.

This is the earliest form of Maa Durga.

Day 4: Worship of Maata Kushmanda

Kushmanda means " A little warm, signifying the cosmic egg". Mata Kushmanda is the first married Avatar to be worshipped in the Navratri. She is mounted either on the tiger or lion and is a warrior, in pink. Pink is the colour of the protector goddess. She protects us like a mother protects her child. This form is traditionally worshipped for protection and prosperity. She is often worshipped in traditional red attire, and her most popular worship place is in Nepal.

She, in this Avatar, is the main deity of Sankranti and Hariyali Teej, where people (mostly women) pray to her for the health and prosperity of their husbands, as the goddess herself is the earliest married form of Parvati.

Day 5: Worship of Devi Skandamata

Skandamata means Mother of Skanda. Lord Kartik was the first child of Shiva and Parvati. In this avatar, she is depicted as a mother to her son. She rides a lion and holds her weapon in a protective posture, and holds her son in her lap. Here, the warrior god Kartik is depicted as a child. She wears green as a symbol of her wisdom. The story goes that Kartik, son of Shiva, was the only one who could kill the demon Taraka, as per a boon given by Shiva himself to the demon for his devotion when he was not a family man. Taraka considered the boon equal to immortality and started torturing innocents. When Kartik was born out of the union of Shiva and Parvati, Gaga acted as a carrier for the child, as Parvati couldn't. Then, to protect him, he was given to the seven Virgin Sisters, the Krittikas, who looked after him until he was old enough to protect himself. Going back to Kailash, where Shiva resided, he met his mother for the first time. This was when she became Skandamata and blessed him before he waged a war to defeat the demon. Childless people worship Kartik and Skandamata. The traditional attire for this day is peacock blue.

Day 6: Worship of Devi Katyayani

This is the traditional version of Maa Durga, the slayer of Mahisasur. Rishi Kattayana first worshipped her idol before it became popular in the East, and even Lord Ram worshipped this form of the Goddess as the slayer of evil. When Mahisasur was given the boon that no man, no animal or thing could kill him, Brahma was considered immortal by the Devas. He attacked Indra's palace and took his throne. Seeing the Devas distraught, the Trinity decided to call upon Adi Shakti. Now, only a woman could kill the demon. Thus Katyayani descended to help. Rishi Katyayan, who started her worship as a mark to thank her, gave her the name of his daughter. She holds a sword to slay the evil. There are popular temples in Vrindavan, Delhi, Karnataka, Tanjore and Mewar, Rajasthan. The popular colour to be worn on this day is yellow. 

Day 7: Worship of Devi Kalratri

Kalratri removes the Darkness of Ignorance. She is the slayer of Shumbha and Nishumbha, two brothers who wanted to marry the already-married Parvati. She is also the slayer of Durgasur, who attacked Kailash in the absence of Shiva. Mounted on a Donkey with a thorn and Dagger in hand, she is compared with the night because of her complexion. It is said that her anger made her turn dark and fierce. This is a feared avatar of Parvati, one of the most violent ones, too. She is an important deity to yogis, Tantriks and Aghoris. She is the remover of Evil as well. She is worshipped in green or black and is not worshipped by householders.

Day 8: Worship of Devi Gauri

Gauri is the sixteen-year-old, unmarried form of goddess Parvati before she started the penance for her Lord. She is the goddess of purity, most worshipped amongst the nine forms, by the householder seeking peace and prosperity. She is depicted as a princess, with jewellery and white attire as a mark of her Chastity. She is the earliest form of the Goddess before she knew the purpose of her being. She is worshipped wearing Green.

Day 9:Worship of Maata Siddhidatri

She is the last worshipped Devi in the Navratri; she is the giver of meditative abilities and skills. She is the holder of the eight supernatural powers namely, Anima( ability to reduce a body to the size of an atom), Mahima( increase to large size), Garima (make something infinitely heavy), Laghima (almost weightless), Prapti (unrestricted access), Prakambya (realization of desires), Ishitva (being Godly) and Vastitva (power to subjugate all). She is one-half of Shiva's Ardhanarishwar form. 

The devotees should wear purple for their worship. 

Day 10: Dussera

On this very day, Lord Rama emerged victorious after a battle with the King of Lanka, Ravana. His Dharma won over Ravana's Adharma and good over evil. Thus, Dussehra is celebrated across India on this day to remind us that Good always wins over Evil. The festivities of Dussehra also signify the establishment of Rama as Lord Rama. 

In Traditional Mythology:

The Mother Goddess, Adi Shakti, first appears in the Puranas. When the universe did not exist, there was a vacuum. Then the source of all energy arrived. She was Adi Shakti, the Mother. Adi Shakti means endless energy. She is personified as a mother and a woman. The ultimate power. From her came the trinity. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the Protector and Shiva the destroyer. To help the Trinity, Adi Shakti became Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, and consort of Brahma, helping him in his creation. She became Laxmi, the goddess of luck and prosperity, helping Vishnu protect the good, and she was Parvati, the consort of the Destroyer of Evil, helping him with her powers. Adi Shakti is considered the power behind every goddess in Hinduism.

In History:

In early Indian History, during the Indus Saraswati Valley Civilisation, the Mother Goddess first makes her appearance. The Indus people worshipped nature as personified Gods and Goddesses. In their tradition of early Hinduism, she was depicted as the Goddess of Fertility, with grains in her hand, as proof that Agriculture was one of the main aspects of living. She is depicted in jewellery and royal attire of the time with no weapons, clearly indicating the fact that the people had no outside threat. The hymns in the early Vedas are to the River Saraswati, depicting her as a mother and giver of life and the Samaras. In the later Vedic ages, with the coming of the Puranas, the present-day goddess made her appearance. 

Parting words...

The facts and traditions of the Mother Goddess clearly indicate that women were respected as the ultimate power, nurturer, life-giver and protector in the earliest of traditions. The Indus Valley being assumed to be a Matriarchal Society gave immense respect to the women that were also later continued till the time of the Early Vedic age, however, as the Itihasa of India ( doesn't mean history. Itihas is a word used in Puranas for Ramayana and Mahabharata which means something that keeps happening or repeats itself i.e. eternal truth) came forward in the later Vedic age in the form of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, they clearly indicated towards the downfall of the position of women in the society. Amidst the festivities, we forget that the true essence of the festival was always to support women's power and respect. We should remember that as we pray to the Goddess and bow before her for our peace and prosperity.

Colours related to Navratri:

Prathama:  Shailputri (Grey)

Dwitiya: Brahmacharini (Orange)

Tritiya: Chandraghanta (White)

Chaturthi: Kushmanda (Red)

Panchami: Skandamata (Blue)

Sosti: Kattyayani (Yellow)

Saptami: Kalratri (Green or Black)

Ashtami: Gauri (Peacock Green)

Navami: Siddhidatri (Purple)