She is loving. She is giving. She is powerful as well as fierce. Maa Durga, in Her many\u00a0manifestations, is revered during the nine day auspicious period of Navratri. These nine days are dedicated to the nine forms of the Goddess. She is Durga, Gauri, Shakti, Kaali. These are only\u00a0some of Her many avatars. In every avatar, she embodies a woman\u2019s different emotion. Just like\u00a0a woman, the Goddess fulfills various roles.<\/p>\n
In Her first manifestation, She is a daughter. Devi Shailputri, who is worshipped on the first day\u00a0of Navratri, was the daughter of Lord Himalaya. She was born as Goddess Parvati in his home.\u00a0In Sanskrit, shail means mountain and hence She is called Shailputri.\u00a0On the second day of Navratri, Her maiden, unmarried form is worshipped as Devi\u00a0Brahmacharini. She did strict penance in order to marry Lord Shiva. She represents piousness.\u00a0She walks bare feet and holds a jap mala in one hand and a kamandala in the other.\u00a0In the form of Maa Chandraghanta, the Goddess represents a married woman. She is peaceful\u00a0and serene but can be fierce if provoked. She bears a half-moon on her forehead and hence called\u00a0Chandraghanta.<\/p>\n
Maa Kushmanda, the fourth manifestation of the Goddess, exudes radiance. She is the creator.\u00a0She resided within the Sun and dispelled light and energy in the entire universe. She is as\u00a0luminescent as the Sun.\u00a0The next form represents the mother. Skandamata, as the name suggests, means the mother of\u00a0Skanda (Lord Kartikeya). As a devoted mother, She carries Lord Kartikeya in Her lap, protecting\u00a0Him. She represents the motherly side of a woman and blesses those who worship Her. By\u00a0worshipping Her, the devotees get the benefit of worshipping Lord Kartikeya as well.\u00a0She took the form of a warrior Goddess to kill the demon Mahishasur as Goddess Katyayani. She\u00a0represents a fierce form of Maa Durga who takes it upon Herself to remove evil. She was born to\u00a0Katyayana Rishi and therefore called Katyayani. She represents courage, strength, knowledge\u00a0and the victory of good over evil.<\/p>\n
In Her seventh manifestation, Maa Durga is the most ferocious. In this avatar, she is worshipped\u00a0as Maa Kaalratri. She took this avatar to annihilate the demons Shumbh and Nishumbh. In this\u00a0form, Her appearance itself invokes fear. Her hair are open and complexion is almost black.\u00a0Even though She is fierce, She blesses Her devotees and makes them courageous. Her eighth manifestation is that of Devi Mahagauri. As the name suggests, Mahagauri means\u00a0extremely white. She is extremely fair complexioned in this form. She fulfills the desires of Her \u00a0devotees.<\/p>\n
In the ninth and final form, Maa Durga is revered as Maa Siddhidatri. She bestows all forms of\u00a0siddhis or powers to Her devotees and fulfills their desires.<\/p>\n
Navratri is the celebration of Devi. It invokes Her power and strength in various forms. She can\u00a0be a mother, a daughter, a destroyer or a giver. She is undefeated and invincible. She invokes\u00a0fear as well as blesses. She is concerned about the well-being of Her devotees and protects them.\u00a0She bestows upon them, health, wealth, prosperity and success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
She is loving. She is giving. She is powerful as well as fierce. Maa Durga, in Her many\u00a0manifestations, is revered during the nine day auspicious period of Navratri. These nine days are dedicated to the nine forms of the Goddess. She is Durga, Gauri, Shakti, Kaali. These are only\u00a0some of Her many avatars. In every<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[17,14,13,15,16],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astrology","tag-devi","tag-durga","tag-goddess","tag-navratra","tag-navratri"],"yoast_head":"\n