Seventh Night Of Navaratri : Godess Kalaratri

 -: मंत्र :-

!! गुरुर  ब्रह्म  गुरुर  विष्णु , गुरुर  देवो  महेश्वरः .!!

!! गुरुर  साक्षात्  परब्रह्म , तस्मै  श्री  गुरवे  नमः !!

"The Guru, the teacher, is like unto Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Guru is the visible supreme divinity incarnate, therefore I bend my knees to that Guru."

Kalaratri, also known as Kaalratri Navadurga, is worshipped on the seventh night of Navratri. Mother Kalratri destroys the demons, devils, daanava, daitya, asura and all other wicked. 

She is considered as the destroyer of darkness and ignorance. But she is always auspicious in her effect and hence she is also called as Shubhankari.

Apperance of Kalaratri nadvdurga mata is very frightening to look at. Kalratri mata has a dark and black body complexion and disheveled hair. A necklace adorned in her neck flashes like lightening. Kalaratri has three eyes and hence known as Trinetri.   She has three eyes which are round like universe and emit rays like lightning. Terrible flames come out when she exhales air through her nostrils. She rides on a donkey.

Maa Kalaratri has four arms hence called as Chaturbhuji. In her left upper hand she carries a sharp thorn-like iron weapon. Her lower left hand holds a dagger. The right two are in the mudras (gesture) of "giving" and "protecting" by which she makes her devotees fearless. .

There is a story that Goddess Kaalratri killed Raktabeej. Raktabeej was a demon who could multiply from every drop of his blood which fell on the ground. The Goddess Kaalratri killed him by licking the blood before it could reach the ground and hence conquered him. She endows her devotees with calm and courage.

Sixth Night of Navaratri : Maa Katyayani

-: मंत्र :-

!! ॐ  भद्रं  कर्नेबिह  श्र्नुयामा  देवाः !!
!! भद्रं  पश्येम  अक्ष्भिर  यजत्राः !!  
!! स्थिरैर अन्गैह स्थुश्तुवांग  सस्तानूभिर  !!
!! व्यशेम  देवहितं  यदायुः  !!
!! ॐ  शान्तिः शान्तिः  शान्तिः  !! 

"May we always hear what is good for all ;  May we always be able to see what is auspicious,
May we work together with sturdy body and mind; May we undertake only such acts which please the divinities.
Let there be peace, peace and eternal peace!!"

On the sixth night another divine form of goddess Durga - Katyayani is worshipped. Rishi Katyayan performed an austere penance to get the Mother Goddess as his daughter.  The Goddess acceded to his request and as a result she took birth as a daughter of Katyayan. Therefore her name is "Katyayani" .She has three eyes and four arms. In the left hand she holds a weapon and in the other a lotus. The other two hands respectively display defending and granting gestures. Her skin appears golden in colour. 

When army of the powerful demon Mahishasura, who could only be killed by a warrior Goddess,  reached heaven to overthrow the Gods from their abode, Maa Katyayani was worshipped by Lord Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma and all other Gods for three days – 7th, 8th and 9th day of Shukla paksha of Ashwin month – to demolish demon Mahishasura. Katyayani pleased with the puja of Gods demolished Mahishasura on Vijaya Dashami - the tenth day.

Her worship done with devotion and faith leads to four objects – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

Fifth Night of Navaratri : Skanda Mata

-: मंत्र :-

!! ॐ  नमो  रजो  जुशेई  श्रीस्ताऊ स्थिथोऊ  सत्त्वा  मायायाचा !!

!! तमो  मायया  सम -हरिनी विश्वरुपाया वेधासी ॐ  ब्रह्मंयेई  नमः !!

"Om is the name of He who created this cosmos with its three gunas (qualities of nature: positive, negative and quiescent) who brought all things to form and who is universal. He is Brahma whom I salute."

Fifth form of Durga is "Skanda Mata", also known as Padmasana.  Goddess Skanda mata is the mother of Lord Skanda or Subrahmanya, also worshipped as Kartikeya. Lord Skanda was chosen by Gods as their Chief Commander (Deva Senadhipathi) in the war against the demons. As Skanda Mata is the mother of Lord Skanda, she always carries him in her lap. 

She has three eyes and she is a four-armed Goddess, known as Chaturbhuji. She has bright complextion and Vehicle or vahanam of Skandamata is a lion (Simha vahini).

 Maa Skanda mata holds Skanda in her upper right arm. In her right lower and left lower hands, she carries lotus. The left upper hand is in a pose to grant boons (Varada Mudra) to her devotees.  Skanda Mata is a deity of fire.

There is an interesting story - demon Tarakasur pleased Brahma with extreme penance and asked for immortality. Brahma refused and asked him to wish for something else. Tarakasur being very clever asked for a boon that only the son of Lord Shiva could take his life. Tarakasur thought Lord Shiva would never discard his vow of celibacy, so there would be no son and he would never die.

The boon was granted and Tarakasur started tormenting the world thinking that he was invincible. All the Gods asked Lord Shiva for help. They requested him to get married. Lord Shiva was reluctant but agreed so that the terror spread by the demon could end. After taking human form, he married Parvati and had Kartikeya or Skandkumar who later killed Tarkasur.

Fourth Night of Navratri : Kushmanda

-: देवी मंत्र :-

!! आपत्सु  मग्नः  स्मरणं  त्वदीयं  करोमि  दुर्गे  करुनारना  वेशी  !!

!! नैताच्चा  तत्वं  मम  मेथः  क्शुधार्त्रिशार्ता  जनानिम  स्मरन्ति   !!

"O kindhearted goddess Durga, please forgive me if I recall your name after facing afflictions and not before it. 

Do not consider me a deceitful rogue as all children call out to their mothers when they are hurt and troubled."

Third Night Of Navratri :Chandra Ghanta On the fourth night Kushmanda - fourth form among Navadurga is being worshipped. The meaning of the name ‘Ku-shm-anda’ is as follows: ‘Ku’ = a little; ‘ushma’ = ‘warmth’; ‘anda’ = ‘the cosmic egg’. So she is considered the creator of the universe. The universe was no more than a void full of darkness, until her light spreads in all directions like rays from the sun. She resides in solar systems. She shines brightly in all the ten directions like Sun. 

Mother Goddess Kushmanda has a glowing face and her body shines in golden complexion. 

Kushmanda has eight arms, hence also named as Ashtabhuji. In her four arms, she carries weapons like bow, arrow, discus and mace. In other three hands, she holds a lotus, a rosary and a kamandal. In remaining hand, she carries a jar of nectar which gives health and long life to her devotees. Vehicle of Goddess Kushmanda is a lion. Rosery represents her power to bless her devotees with Ashtasiddhi (8 types of studies or wisdom sources) and Navanidhi (9 types of wealth). On worshipping her ailments and sorrows are eliminated and life span, name, strength and health improve. 

Third Night Of Navratri :Chandra Ghanta

-: देवी मंत्र :-

!! सर्व मंगला मांगल्ये  शिवे  सर्वार्थ साधके !!

!! शरण्ये  त्रयम्बके  गौरी  नारायणी  नमोस्तुते !!

"The one who is the auspiciousness of all that is auspicious (sarvamangalamangalye), the consort of Siva (Sive), who is the means of accomplishing all desires sarvarthasadhake), who is the refuge of all (saranye), the three eyed one(tryambake),the fair complexioned one(Gouri), Salutations to you, Narayani(narayani namostute)."

The third form of Goddess Durga is Chandraghanta, also known as Chandrakhanda. Maa Chandraghanta is worshipped on the third day (Maha Tritiya) This form of Durga represents bravery. Chandraganta has a bell-shaped half moon in her forehead. Hence, this form of Goddess is called Chandraghanta. She is bright and charmful. Her color is Golden. She has three eyes and ten hands holding with ten types of swords, weapons and arrows etc. Goddess is seated on Lion. Goddess  always looks like that she is ready for war against evil or devil demons. The frightful sound of her bell terrifies all the villains, demons and danavas.Her pleasant looks clears all sorrows and sadness of her devotees.

Second Night of Navratri : Brahmacharini

-: देवी मंत्र :-

!! शरानागता दिनार्ता !!

!! परित्राण परायाने !!

!! सर्वस्यारती हरे देवी !!

!! नारायणी नमोस्तुते !!

" Salutations be to you, O Mother,  You who are intent on saving the downtrodden

  and distressed that come under your refuge ,  Oh Devi! you remove the suffering of everyone"

The 2nd day signifies Durga Brahamcharini. Brahma is who observes penance(tapa) and good conduct. Here "Brahma" means "Tapa". The idol of this Goddess is very gorgeous giving the message of love to the whole world. Brahmacharini wears a white and baby pink saree and looks very calm in nature. There is rosary in her right hand and Kamandal in left hand. She is full with merriment. One story is famous about her. In previous birth she was Parvati Hemavati the daughter of Himvan. Once when she was busy in games with her friends. Naradaji came to her and predicted seeing her Palm-lines that, "You will get married with a naked-terrible 'Bhole baba' who was with you in the form of Sati, the daughter of Daksh in previous birth. But now you have to perform penance for him." There upon Parvati told her mother Menaka that she would marry none except Shambhu, otherwise she would remain unmarried. Saying this she went to observe penance. For undergoing strict meditation she was known as Brahmacharini or Tapasyacharini. From that time her name Uma became familiar.

This form of Durga gives the devotees everlasting success. Worship of this appearance enriches the faculties of sacrifice, honesty and self-discipline. In times of utter distress the worship of this form gives success and the willpower to come out victorious. 

On the third day of Navratri, Goddess Chandraghanta will be worshipped.

First Night of Navratri : Shailaputri

-: देवी मंत्र :-

!! असतो माँ सदगमय !!
!! तमसो माँ ज्योतिर्गमय !!
!!मृत्युर माँ अमृतम गमय !!

"From untruth, lead me to the Truth, From Darkness, Lead me towards the Light, From Death, Lead me to Life Eternal."

Goddess Durga‘s first form among Nava-Durga divine form is Shailaputri. Shailaputri literally means the daughter (putri) of the mountains (shaila), she is the daughter of Himalaya. In previous birth she was the daughter of Daksha the son of Lord Brahma.. Her name was Sati - Bhavani. i.e. the wife of Lord Shiva. Once Daksha organized a big Yagna and did not invite his daughter and son-in-law. But Sati being restless, reached there.On going uninvited to the ceremony, she felt that everyone was giving her a cold shoulder except her mother who greeted her with a hug. Her siblings too were no exception and were sarcastic in their remarks. The guests too present in the function were uttering disrespectful comments about her husband. To her surprise her father too was harsh and rude in his approach. Sati could not tolerate the insult of her husband, and she was so dejected and heart broken that she burnt herself to ash in the holy fire. After burning herself to death, Sati was reborn as the daughter of the king of the mountains, Himalaya and became known as Shailaputri. She is worshiped in the first day of the Navratri celebrations.

In this mold the mother is seen holding a trident in her right hand and a lotus in her left and she is mounted on an ox.

One of the oldest known temple -- Tapeshwari Devi -- has the statue of Maa Shailputri. The Goddess Tapeshwari, supposedly originated due to the years of meditation done by Goddess Sita and thus the temple has its religious and mythological significance since time immemorial.

On the second day of Navratra, Goddess Bramhcharini will be worshipped.

Story of Navratri (Durga Puja/Dussehra)

-: देवी मंत्र :-

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु माँ रुपें संस्थिता

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्ति रुपें संस्थिता

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु बुद्धि रुपें संस्थिता

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु लक्ष्मी रुपें संस्थिता

नमस तस्ये नमस तस्ये नमो नमः

The festival Navratri is dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine forms.The literal meaning of navratri in Sanskrit is Nava (nine)+ Ratri (nights).

According to the Hindu lunar calendar, Navratri begins from the first day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin which usually coincides with the end of the rainy season. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/ Devi i.e. female divinity are worshipped. The Navaratri festival or ‘nine day festival’ becomes ‘ten day festival’ with the addition of the last day, Vijayadashami which is its culmination. On all these ten days, the various forms of Mother Durga (Mahisasura-mardini) is worshipped.

Navaratri is a conglomeration of various themes, with the common theme of the victory of good over evil.

• According to Puran, the mighty demon Mahishasura defeated the gods and their king -Indra. They then approached Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar, who decided to destroy the demon. So they all combined their energies, and gave rise to Shakti and appealed to Goddess Durga to come to their aid. The battle between devi Durga and demon Mahishasura ended on the 10th day, on which the goddess kills Mahishasura. This day is celebrated as Dusshera or Vijayadashami as the victory of good over evil.

• Ramayana says that when Rama was engaged in the fierce battle with Ravana, he wanted to secure the blessings of victory from Devi Durga. Rama held the puja to evoke the goddess during autumn, thereby worshiping Durga untimely (in Akal). Hence this puja is called Akalbodhon. Vijayadashami or Dusshera is celebrated on the day Lord Ram kills Ravana. Based on this two opinions, the celebrations vary from place to place.

Celebrations in India:

• In the eastern states of India (West-Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Tripura), Navaratri is celebrated in the form of Durga Puja. This festival is essentially religious in nature. Celebrated with true devotion, huge idols of the Goddess Durga posed as killing the demon Mahishasura are worshipped everywhere. Huge 'pandals' are set up and devotees in large numbers visit to worship Goddess Durga. Men, women and children all dress up in new clothes visit different ‘pandals’ to offer prayers to the Mother Goddess.
• In the western states of India (Gujarat and Maharashtra), traditional dances in the form of Dandiya and Garba take place almost everywhere. The dancers move around in a circle, with different steps around a lamp, which signifies the Eternal Light of the Durga.
• In the Kulu valley of Himachal Pradesh, the hill-folk celebrate Dasara with a grand mass ceremony. On the day of Dusshera, village deities are taken out in elaborate processions.
• In Tamil Nadu, the first three days are dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. During this time they perform puja every night and regular cleaning is maintained all throughout because it is believed that Lakshmi would not enter if the place is dirty. The next three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of learning and arts and the last three days to Shakti (Durga).
• Navratri is celebrated in Punjab by fasting for seven days. On the eighth day or Ashtami, the fast is broken by worshipping young girls who are believed to symbolize the Goddess herself. This festival is predominantly linked with harvest. The young girls are offered puris (sort of deep-fried Indian bread), halwa (a dessert primarily made of flour and sugar), chanas (Bengal gram) and red chunnis(long scarves).

Today it is being celebrated in all major cities of the world (USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, UAE etc.) In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum.