Story Behind The Nine Avatars Of Goddess Durga

Artwork courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.

Story Behind The Nine Avatars Of Goddess Durga

The festival of Navaratri is celebrated to cherish the victory of Dharma (Goodness) over Adharma (Evil). These nine days are associated with the battle that was fought between Goddess Durga and the Demon King Mahishasura. Throughout these nine days, the nine avatars of the Goddess known as Navadurga is worshipped, each day dedicated to one incarnation. Let us find the story behind each avatar.

Shailaputri: Shailaputri meaning ‘the daughter of the mountains’ was born to the Mountain King Himavan. She is also commonly known as Parvati and is the first of the nine Navadurga. She is depicted having two hands, holding a trident on her right hand and a lotus on left. Being the wife of Lord Shiva, she rides on his bull named Nandi.

Brahmacharini: In the second avatar, holding a rosary in her right hand and a Kamandala (water pot) in her left hand, Brahmacharini signifies Tapasya or penance.

Chandraghanta: When brought with himself the strangest wedding procession also known as Baraat, consisting ghosts, Aghoris, 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 – Chandraghanta.

Kushmanda: Ma Kushmanda is worshipped on the fourth day of Navaratri. It is believed that Kushmanda is the ultimate source of life.

Skandamata: The fifth avatar, Skandamata literally means the mother of Skanda. Skanda is another name of Lord Karthikeya, often known as Murugan in the South. She rides a lion and has four arms. Two of her arms carry lotus, one is raised in blessing while the fourth holds her son Karthikeya.

Katyayani: Being one of the most worshipped forms of Durga, Ma Katyayani is worshipped on the sixth day of Navaratri. This the form that is often referred to as Durga. She took birth as the daughter of Sage Katyayan, and hence came to be known as Katyayani.

Kaalratri: Kaal refers to death and Ratri means night. Hence, Ma Kaalratri is the one who brings an end or death to anything that is associated with evil or darkness. She is more commonly referred as Kali and is worshipped on the seventh day. Kaalratri is the most terrorizing form of Durga.

MahaGauri: Worshipped on eight day, the story of Mahagauri has many versions. Maha means great and Gauri means white or fair.

Siddhidatri: Siddhidatri, worshipped on the last day, is the Adi Shakti avatar of Durga. She existed as pure energy and had no physical form. Lord Rudra 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 masculine and feminine energies. They unite to form Ardhanarishwara.
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[yvngneptvne]

I am a black woman from the US and I’ve become so enamored with Hinduism and it’s stories. I’ve ordered the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharta and cannot wait to read and study the text. I’ve never really had a spiritual practice before but this path seems so enlightening and freeing. Blessings to all!

[joshuazertuche]

Hinduism is so beautiful 🤧 the goddess kali always stuck out to me because of how fierce yet beautiful she was. I truly appreciate the depiction of strong beautiful women

[marthaboahene]

I am from Ghana I really love Indian stories and their cultures

[ajoymajumder]

I am a stigmatized Hindu citizen of Bangladesh. On 13th October, in a puja mandapa in Comilla district of Bangladesh, the holy book of Muslims, Al-Quran, was found at the feet of our idol.This has started the persecution of our Hindus, vandalism of temples, breaking of idols, gold ornaments of idols, looting of temple donation boxes. They are not giving any concessions to us or our Mother, sisters.We Hindu community cannot do anything without help. Bangladesh government, media, administration are all silent. We need help from you now. Please help us so that everyone knows about the persecution of these Hindus internationally. The fault is in Comilla, but why should we blame the whole Hindu community for this whole fault.Please help us. We can't even get out of the house now, because if they know we are Hindus then the cruel oppression starts. The Bangladesh government is not helping us either. Where do we go then?
Is it our sin to be born a Hindu?
Now we will not get help anywhere else except you.
Please save the Hindu community in Bangladesh. Please.

[carlacruz]

I just recently became very interested in hindu culture and belifs. I think i’m going to buy books to know more about this complex and fascinating religion. Thanks for your work :), it really helps me to undertand (since i’m from the other side of the world, i was very unfamiliar with hinduism).

[abhisal]

The sacrifices that she made is just inspirational. ❤

[BB_bunny]

This video arrives at right time to me
In india 🇮🇳 It's 7th day of durga puja, whole area of me is filled with devotees, various form of Goddess Durga, music, foods, lights and manymore. 🖤

[noobraboy]

In bengal the last 4days r celebrated as durga puja. Durga puja is the pride of all the bengals . Again nxt year maa durga will come, HAPPY BIJAYA DASHAMI to u all

[eagleeyeskyview]

I am almost 60 years old .and I celebrate every Hindu festivals every year but must of the time just for the fun and party .I did not know about this story all of it, thank you very much for opening my brain knowledge and soul . with this such a fascinating story of mother mata Sakti.

[Miggy___Love]

Out of all those Avatars Maa Mahagauri is my favourite...when i started doing her mala jaap her energy which i felt it really felt so pure, filled with happiness and joy, I started smiling chanting her mantras. She purified my mind and i literally felt as if i was worshipping my own mother. I felt no difference between my mother and her. She's the sweetest devi and her energy is so sweet and pure 😭❤️

[dreamcatcher]

Amma give me strength....good body me more my all strugles amma...stay with me always amma...

[taven]

Always been a big fan of Hinduism and this was a really good video. Thanks for the upload!

[nigelcarty]

Thank you for this wonderful video. I'm learning more and more about Hinduism. I now am ready to fully embrace Hinduism after 6 years, and these videos help me and educate me to the peace and power of Hinduism . Thank you. 🕉 🕉 🕉 🕉 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[hiragummy]

I recently finished Kali: Call of the Darkness. It is a mystery, religious, and fanfiction story based on Hindu mythology. I'm a little confused about Sati and her incarnation, which is why I've been curious and interested in Hindu mythology these past few days. To be honest, learning about her has been a lot of fun.

[spooky_shubes]

I made a beautiful flower arrangement last night because my Intuition said so, I put a hibiscus in it for KALI and had no idea that it was durga PUJA today. Thank you to the person that made this video and furthering my understanding. 🙏🏻 Love, light, healing, and blessings to all. Thank you thank you thank you

[sashmitabariha]

Requesting you to start a new version of telling stories where you discuss each and every story of Ramayana and Mahabharata like episodes or chapters would love to hear ❤️

[VijaySingh-kygq]

I BOW ETERNALY TO THE GREAT MOTHER DURGA!JAI MATAJIE

[hiharini]

Fantastic version of the 9 forms of Durga

[Shiv.]

Sita ram i appreciate all your videos, can you do a video about the avatars of lord shiva?

[seanbrennan]

Another wonderful and informative video! Thank you.