Navratri: 9 avatars of Maa Durga
Nava means nine & ratri means night.
Festivals of Navaratri are celebrated as a nine feminine forms of Divine Nature. Day is arranged to work/active & night to rest & relax.
Generally, people use to take the night in negative sense that's not good. Actually night prepares one to do the good Karma with enthusiasm/passion/energy also with peace of mind. Night refreshes, nourishes, rejuvenates our whole system of body and mind...
Night is passive/feminine form of Mother Nature.
During the special nine nights of Navaratri, devotees use to workshop, meditate and pray of all the different forms of Mother Nature (Maa Durga).
These forms of nature have the 3 gunas (or 3 basic qualities of existence) tamas (inertia), rajas (activity, passion) & sattva (purity).
For Example: mother Kali has Tamas guna, mother Laxmi has rajas guna & mother Saraswati has sattva guna.
During these 9 nights, devotees are trying to cultivate the sattva & conquer the Tamas/rajas through special practices.
These practices involve specific medications, workships, prayers and also fastings & other things like observing the silence, non-violence, Brahmacharya...
Let's use these nights to conquer your Tamas & rajas guna...
Now, we will know little bit more about the 9 avatars of Maa Durga (the Divine felinine or Mother Nature)... That are celebrating during these 9 days festival...
1. Shailputri
One who is the daughter of mountain
Parvati, the daughter of the king of the mountains Himalaya is called Shailputri
Her two hands display a trident and a lotus and her mouth is a bull
2. Brahmacharini
One who practices penance
She personifies Love & Loyalty, also she is the store house of knowledge & wisdom
In one hand she is holding a water pot, and in the other hand, a rosary
3. Chandraghanta
One with the crescent moon on her forehead
This form of Durga is ever in a warring posture and is roaring in anger
She is golden in color, possesses 10 hands, 3 eyes and rides a tiger
4. Kushmanda
One who herself is the part of energy of the cosmic egg
All directions get light from her divine smile including the Sun God itself
She has 8 hands, her body shines like the glowing sun and her mount is the tiger
5. Skanda Mata
One who is the mother of Skanda
Her son Karttikeya is also called Skanda. By her one touch, even the fool becomes the ocean of knowledge
She displays 3 eyes and 4 hands and lion is her mount
6. Katyayani
One who is the daughter of sage Katyayana
Great sage Katyayana of dinasty of sage Kaatya asked Durga to be born as a daughter to him as born granted for austere penance to propitiate her
She holds chandrahaas sword in one of the 4 hands and rides a lion
7. Kalaratri
One who is the destroyer of darkness
She is the violent and dark side of Durga, she is cruel and excited to destroy evil
She has blue skin with bountiful hair, 4 hands and 3 eyes, she rides a donkey
8. Maha Gauri
One who is extremely fair
Purity is depicted in this form of Durga as Shiva himself bathed her from water of Ganga
She has teh fairest complexion of all the Durgas, 4 arms and her mount is a bull
9. Siddhidatri
One who is the giver of supernatural powers
She converted half the person of Lord Shiva into a woman, only then Brahma started creation.
She is seated on a lotus and is 4 armed, she holds a lotus, mace, discus and book
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Hari 🕉!!!