Goddess Durga Devi

The word Durga, itself is considered to possess, the Shakti (strength) to destroy asuras (demons) and remove obstacles, distress and fear. It also means She who is invincible or indestructible. In Shakti worship she is the main form of Goddess. According to Srimad Devi Purana, Durga is the manifestation of Aadishakti. She is considered as the Divine Mother of the Universe. She in fact is Mother Parvati (Aadi-Parashakti). She occupies the primary position in Shaktism. According to Skandha Purana, the Goddess Parvati was accorded the name Durga after She slayed the the asura Mahishasur. Durga is also identified by various names like Devi, Shakti, Bhavani and so on. According to Devi Purana, Mother Durga manifests in different forms as Kali, Ambika to destroy evil and asuras.

She is depicted as fearless woman riding a tiger or lion. She is depicted as having four to twelve arms. In each arm she carries weapons like sword, bow, noose, axe, shield, etc. She is portrayed in many Puranas as Parvati (wife of Shiva). In Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati) she is personified as Supreme Being who created the Universe. In Shakti worship there is mention of Durga Devi in different forms. In Rigveda there is sacred hymn call Shri Suktam. In Markandeya Purana, Devi Purana and Skandha Purana there are references to Durga worship. In Mahabharata war, Arjuna and Yudhisthira also prayed to Durga Devi for success. She is considered to be benevolent, lovable except when she fights evil and asuras. At that time She is considered to be ferocious and destructive. Hindus also worship her in Yantra form. The 2 dimensional yantra is known as Srichakra and 3 dimensional yantra is known as MahaMeru.

10 days long Navaratri festival is major annual worship of Durga Mata. During the nine days, nine aspects of the Devi are worshiped. In Nepal, during these 9 days, the worship of goddess Laxmi, Saraswati and God Ganesh, Shiva and Kartikeya are also worshiped. Navaratri festivals are held in the month of Ashwin (English month of September and October). There are in fact 4 Navaratri festivals observed in India and Nepal.

1. Sharada Navaratri – September and October i.e. month of Ashwin
2. Vasanta Navaratri (March-April) i.e. month of Chaitra
3. Shakambari Navaratri (Jan-Feb) i.e. Magh Navratri
4. Aashadha Navaratri (Jun - July)

Nine forms of Durga Devi worshiped during Navaratri are known as Nava-Durgas¹. They are as follows

1. Devi Siddhidatri – Devi Parvati (Aadi Parashakti) is supposed to have appeared from left side of Lord Shiva and is known as Devi Siddhidatri
2. Devi Kushmanda – After taking form of Siddhidatri, Parvati started living in Sun. Hence She is known as Devi Kushmanda.
3. Devi Bramhacharini – After taking form of Devi Kushmanda, Parvati took birth in Daksha Prajapati’s place and lived there. Before her marriage to Lord Shiva, she was worshiped as Devi Bramhacharini.
4. Devi Shailaputri – When Parvati took birth as daughter of Lord Himalaya, she was known as Devi Shailputri.
5. Devi Mahagauri – When Devi Shailputri was 16 years old, she was extremely beautiful and fair complexion. Hence She was worshiped as Devi Mahagauri.
6. Devi Chandraghanta – When Devi Mahagauri married Lord Shiva, She adorned a half moon and a bell on her head. Hence She was known as Devi Chandraghanta.
7. Devi Skandhamata – In this form She is worshiped as Mother of Skandha (Lord Kartikeya).
8. Devi Katyayani – When Parvati took form of warrior Goddess to destroy Mahishasur, she was known as Devi Katyayani.
9. Devi Kalaratri – When Goddess Parvati shed her outer skin to destroy demons Shumbh-Nishumbh. She was known as Kalaratri

It is customary to recite Lalitha Sahastranaam, Durga Ashtottara Namavali² (108 names of Goddess Durga) during Navaratri. People also read Durga Saptashati and Devi Mahatmya during Navratri to invoke blessings of Goddess Durga.

 1 Besides these NavaDurga, we come across a number of instances in Shiva Purana where Shakti manifests from Lord Shiva OR Goddess Parvati. These are considered as manifestations for Goddess Durga.

1. Vanadurga – When Vindhya parvat stood in the way of Sage Agstya’s journey towards South, Vanadurga helped him to overcome the obstacle.
2. Shoolinidurga – Lord Shiva sought the help of Shoolinidurga to annihilate demon Tripurasur
3. Durga Jataveda – In Kumarsambavam, it is stated that Durga Jataveda held the spark from the third eye of Lord Shiva and poured same in river Ganges.
4. Shantadurga – After Parvati immolated herself in the Yagnya fire of Daksha Prajapati, Lord Shiva got angry and performed Rudra Tandava. He was calmed down by Shantadurga who mediated between Him and Lord Vishnu.

2 Durga Ashtottara Namavali

१. ॐ श्रियै नमः।	२१. ॐ चण्डयै नमः।	४१. ॐ सुमुख्यै नमः।	६१. ॐ त्रिलोकपालिन्यै नमः।	८१. ॐ मालिन्यै नमः।	१०१. ॐ भुवनेश्वर्यै नमः।
२. ॐ उमायै नमः।	२२. ॐ कुण्डल्यै नमः।	४२. ॐ मैत्र्यै नमः।	६२. ॐ उद्भूतायै नमः।	८२. ॐ चर्चायै नमः।	१०२. ॐ नित्यायै नमः।
३. ॐ भारत्यै नमः।	२३. ॐ वैष्णव्यै नमः।	४३. ॐ त्रिनेत्रायै नमः।	६३. ॐ त्रिसन्ध्यायै नमः।	८३. ॐ क्रव्यादोप निबर्हिण्यै नमः।	१०३. ॐ सानन्दविभवायै नमः।
४. ॐ भद्रायै नमः।	२४. ॐ क्रियायै नमः।	४४. ॐ विश्वरूपिण्यै नमः।	६४. ॐ त्रिपुरान्तक्यै नमः।	८४. ॐ कामाक्ष्यै नमः।	१०४. ॐ सत्यज्ञानायै नमः।
५. ॐ शर्वाण्यै नमः।	२५. ॐ श्रियै नमः।	४५. ॐ आर्यायै नमः।	६५. ॐ त्रिशक्त्यै नमः।	८५. ॐ कामिन्यै नमः।	१०५. ॐ तमोपहायै नमः।
६. ॐ विजयायै नमः।	२६. ॐ ऐन्द्रयै नमः।	४६. ॐ मृडान्यै नमः।	६६. ॐ त्रिपदायै नमः।	८६. ॐ कान्तायै नमः।	१०६. ॐ महेश्वरप्रियंकर्यै नमः।
७. ॐ जयायै नमः।	२७. ॐ मधुमत्यै नमः।	४७. ॐ हींकार्यै नमः।	६७. ॐ दुर्गायै नमः।	८७. ॐ कामदायै नमः।	१०७. ॐ महात्रिपुरसुन्दर्यै नमः।
८. ॐ वाण्यै नमः।	२८. ॐ गिरिजायै नमः।	४८. ॐ क्रोधिन्यै नमः।	६८. ॐ ब्राह्मयै नमः।	८८. ॐ कलहंसिन्यै नमः।	१०८. ॐ दुर्गापरमेश्वर्यै नमः।
९. ॐ सर्वगतायै नमः।	२९. ॐ सुभगायै नमः।	४९. ॐ सुदिनायै नमः।	६९. ॐ त्रैलोक्यवासिन्यै नमः।	८९. ॐ सलज्जायै नमः।
९. ॐ गौर्यै नमः।	३०. ॐ अंबिकायै नमः।	५०. ॐ अचलायै नमः।	७०. ॐ पुष्करायै नमः।	९०. ॐ कुलजायै नमः।
११. ॐ वाराह्यै नमः।	३१. ॐ तारायै नमः।	५१. ॐ सूक्ष्मायै नमः।	७१. ॐ अत्रिसुतायै नमः।	९१. ॐ प्राज्ञ्यै नमः।
१२. ॐ कमलप्रियायै नमः।	३२. ॐ पद्मावत्यै नमः।	५२. ॐ परात्परायै नमः।	७२. ॐ गूढ़ायै नमः।	९२. ॐ प्रभायै नमः।
१३. ॐ सरस्वत्यै नमः।	३३. ॐ हंसायै नमः।	५३. ॐ शोभायै नमः।	७३. ॐ त्रिवर्णायै नमः।	९३. ॐ मदनसुन्दर्यै नमः।
१४. ॐ कमलायै नमः।	३४. ॐ पद्मनाभसहोदर्यै नमः।	५४. ॐ सर्ववर्णायै नमः।	७४. ॐ त्रिस्वरायै नमः।	९४. ॐ वागीश्वर्यै नमः।
१५. ॐ मायायै नमः।	३५. ॐ अपर्णायै नमः।	५५. ॐ हरप्रियायै नमः।	७५. ॐ त्रिगुणायै नमः।	९५. ॐ विशालाक्ष्यै नमः।
१६. ॐ मातंग्यै नमः।	३६. ॐ ललितायै नमः।	५६. ॐ महालक्ष्म्यै नमः।	७६. ॐ निर्गुणायै नमः।	९६. ॐ सुमंगल्यै नमः।
१७. ॐ अपरायै नमः।	३७. ॐ धात्र्यै नमः।	५७. ॐ महासिद्धयै नमः।	७७. ॐ सत्यायै नमः।	९७. ॐ काल्यै नमः।
१८. ॐ अजायै नमः।	३८. ॐ कुमार्यै नमः।	५८. ॐ स्वधायै नमः।	७८. ॐ निर्विकल्पायै नमः।	९८. ॐ महेश्वर्यै नमः।
१९. ॐ शांकभर्यै नमः।	३९. ॐ शिखवाहिन्यै नमः।	५९. ॐ स्वाहायै नमः।	७९. ॐ निरंजिन्यै नमः।	९९. ॐ चण्ड्यै नमः।
२०. ॐ शिवायै नमः।	४०. ॐ शांभव्यै नमः।	६०. ॐ मनोन्मन्यै नमः।	८०. ॐ ज्वालिन्यै नमः।	१००. ॐ भैरव्यै नमः।