Durga nine Avatars

There are Durga nine avatars which we are going to discuss in this blog post. We are celebrating it as Navaratri festival.

The festival of Navaratri celebrated to cherish the victory of Dharma over Adharma. These nine days had associated with the battle that had fought between Goddess Durga and the demon king Mahishasura.

Durga nine Avatars

There are nine avatars of the Goddess throughout these nine days.

Durga’s Avatars known Navadurga, who worshiped, each day dedicated to one incarnation. Let us find out the story behind each avatars.

1. Shehlputri is the first Durga nine Avatars

Shehlputri, meaning the daughter of the mountains, was born to mountain king Himawan. She is also commonly known as Parvati and is the first of the nine Navadurga.

She depicted having two hands holding a trident on her right hand and a lotus on her left. Being the wife of Lord Shiva, she writes on his bull named Nandhi.

In her previous birth, the goddess was born as Sati. The daughter of Prajapati Taksha to eventually marry Shiva and fulfill her role as the Universal Mother to nourish all beings. Despite her father’s disapproval, Sati married Shiva.

When Taksha organized Ayagya, he invited all gods except Shiva and Parvati. Parvati, unaware of her father’s arrogance and hateful motives, reached there without an invitation, upon which Taksha began insulting Shiva.

Sati being a devoted wife could not tolerate this and sacrifice herself to the Ayagya Fire. To fulfill the superior motive of Universal Welfare. Shakti had to take birth again in the form of Parvati to marry Shiva again and bring him out of his ascetics life into the life of a krithast.

2. Brahmacharani

Brahmacharani is the second avatar; holding a rosary in her right hand and a Kamandala in her left, rahmacharani signifies tapasya or penance.

After the death of Sati, Shiva abstained himself from all material desires and went into a state of meditation that lasted for millions of years.

When Parvati grew up, sage Narada told her that the only way for her to attain Shiva was to perform severe penance that would exceed her husband. Determined to marry Shiva in this birth as well.

She began her tapasya giving up on food, water and air. Her penance lasted for thousands of years. In the end, Brahmma appeared in front of Parvati and said that no one had ever observed tapas the way she did.

Following this, Parvati came to be known as Mahabramacharani. Later, Shiva accepted her as his wife.

This avatar of Madhurga teaches penance, devotion, restraint and solitude.

3. Chandraganta is the third avatar of Durga nine Avatars

Chandraganta Upon seeing Parvati’s strong resolve to attain him, Shiva gives in and accepts to marry Parvati. On the day of the wedding, Shiva reached King Himawan’s palace in the most terrorizing form.

His body was mere an ash with snakes all over his body and in the matter locks of his unkempt hair. He bought with himself the strangest wedding procession; also known as Varad, consisting ghosts, agories, sages, ascetics and every being unimaginable. Upon seeing this sight, Parvati’s mother and relatives were left in shock, mostly out of terror.

To avoid any embarrassment to her family or to Shiva, Parvati transformed herself into a terrifying form, Chandraganta.

In this form, her complexion is golden. She came riding a lion and possessed ten arms. Nine of her arms carried weapons while the tenth hand raised to bless her devotees.

She married Shiva in this form and the day of their marriage is celebrated as Mahashivratri.

4. Kushmanda

Mahakushmanda is worshipped on the fourth day of Navratri. It is believed that Kushmanda is the ultimate source of life. When the universe was non-existent and darkness was everywhere, she created the universe with her smile.

The universe then filled with light and she began to live in the core of the sun. The gods she created then went on to create other universes and living beings.

Kushmanda possesses eight arms and rides a line that evokes fearlessness in her devotees. She bestows all pleasures and her worship brings prosperity, power and salvation.

5. Skanda Mata is the fifth avatar of Durga nine Avatars

The fifth avatar, Skanda Mata literally means the Madras of Skanda. Skanda is another name of Lord Kartikaya, often known as Murugan in the South. She rides a line and has four arms.

Two of her arms carry lotus. One is raised in blessing while the fourth holds her son Kartikaya. When Shiva became detached from the worldly affairs upon the date of Sati, demon Tarakasur had drecked havoc on the gods. The demon had a poon that only the son of Shiva could kill him.

Fearing that Shiva may never have a child, the gods rushed to Vishnu for help. Vishnu ashya that Parvati is destined to be the wife of Shiva. Upon the severe penance of Parvati, when Shiva agrees to marry her, they combine their energies to produce a fiery seed. Agni, the God of Fire, was given the responsibility to carry the seed to lake Saravana; but Agni could not bear the heat of the seed.

Durga, taking the form of water, carries the seed to the lake in the Saravana forest.

Later, the sixth face Kartikaya takes birth and grows up to be the commander in chief of the army of gods, killing Tarakasur in the battle.

6. KatiyaIni

KatiyaIni Being one of the most worshiped forms of Durga, Ma Katiya Ini is worshiped on the sixth day of Navratri. This is the form that is often referred to as Ma Durga. She took birth as the daughter of the sage Kartiyan and hence came to be Nuna SkaatiyaIni.

When the demon Mahishasur was creating trouble for the gods, the Triniti, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, along with other gods, combined their powers and weapons and summoned KatiyaIni.

Thus, the Amtkatiya Ini proceeded towards Vindya mountains where Mahishasur had lived and killed him. She also known as Mahishasuramardini, the one who killed Mahishasuram.

7. Kalratri is the seven avatar of Durga nine Avatars

Kalratri refers to death and Ratri means night. Once, Ma Kalkratri is the one who brings an end or death to anything and associated with evil or darkness.

She is more commonly referred to as Kali and who worshipped on the seventh day. Kalratri is the most terrorizing form of Durga.

The most common form shows Kali as black, naked, with angry red sunken eyes, wearing skulls around her neck as jewellery and limbs around her waist.

Ratthapich was a demon or Asura who had given a boon by Lord Pramha that every time a drop of his blood fell on the ground, a new version of his own would be created.

Having received this boon, he made the life of people and gods miserable. Hence the gods reached out to Goddess Durga or Shakti for help. And with all the weapons, the goddess charged at the demon.

But Asuna she wounded him with her sword and his blood fell on earth, the demon multiplied. With more attempts at killing Ratthapich, the demon kept on multiplying. Huge armies of Ratthapich were formed by the drops of blood which fell on earth.

Enraged by this, the Devi took the infuriating form of Kali. She went on to slay each demon with the sword in her hand and collected their blood in her bowel and drank it immediately.

So, when she finished the whole army of Ratthapich and only the real Ratthapich left. hen she slayed him down and drank his blood till he fell down lifeless.

8. Mahagori is the eight avatar of Durga nine Avatars

Mahagore worshiped on the eighth day, the story of Mahagore has many versions. Maham means great and Gauri means white or fair. In the first version, upon killing Ratthapich, Parvati left with a skin as dark as night that lasted a long time.

Parvati went through pendants to attain her old form of feminine beauty; and advised by Paramhans to take bath in the Mansarover River in the Himalayas.

When she did so, she shed her dark skin and this skin took up a female form named Koshiki that went on to kill the demons, Shrmbha and Nishmabha. Parvati regained her beauty, this time with a complexion so fair that led to everyone referring to her as Mahagore. In the second version, as a result of Parvati’s severe penance for over thousands of years that led to Shiva marrying her. Her body covered with dirt, mud, insects and she down to penis skeleton with no flesh.

At least by her devotion, Shiva bathes her in the holiest Ganga that flew from the locks of his matted hair that nourished her body. She emerged as Mahagore, as white as the jasmine flower, to know the story of how Ganga flew from Shiva’s hair, watch the video linked above.

9. Siddhidhatri is the nine avatar of Durga nine Avatars

Siddhidhatri worshipped on the last day is the Adi Shaktiya Vatara of Durga. She existed as pure energy and had no physical form.

Lord Rudra and Adi Shaktiya Vatara of Shiva worshipped her for creating the universe and she appeared from the left half of Shiva. That is why she and Shiva represent the duality of the universe in the form of Mashillan and feminine energies.

They unite to form Ardhanari Shwarar, Devi Siddhidhatri sits on a lotus and rides a lion.