Navratri 2025: Stories behind each of the nine forms of Goddess Durga – Navadurga

Navratri 2025: Stories behind each of the nine forms of Goddess Durga – Navadurga

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Sep 27, 2025: Navratri, the nine-day Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Durga, celebrates her nine divine forms collectively known as Navadurga. Each day honours a unique manifestation of the Goddess, symbolising different virtues, powers, and aspects of life.

Here are the stories behind these forms that reflect the eternal triumph of good over evil:

Maa Shailaputri: The Daughter of the Himalayas

After Goddess Sati immolated herself during her father Daksha’s sacrificial yagna, Lord Shiva withdrew into deep meditation. To reunite Shiva and Shakti and restore balance, Sati was reborn as Parvati, the daughter of King Himavat and Queen Menavati.

Known as Maa Shailaputri, “daughter of the mountain,” she embodies courage and purity. Her marriage to Shiva marked the beginning of divine creation, as Shiva was incomplete without Shakti.

Maa Brahmacharini: The Goddess of Penance

In her Parvati form, she undertook severe penance to win Shiva’s heart. Legends say she survived on fruits, then leaves, and finally on air alone for thousands of years. Her unwavering meditation moved Shiva, who accepted her as his consort.

Maa Brahmacharini thus symbolises devotion, inner strength, and the power of spiritual austerity.

Maa Chandraghanta: The Warrior Bride

When Shiva came to marry Maa Parvati, his appearance—ash-smeared, with snakes and ghosts—terrified her family. To protect their honour, Parvati manifested as Chandraghanta, adorning a crescent moon on her forehead and riding a lion.

Later, when demons like Shumbha and Nishumbha attacked, she fought fiercely, using the sound of her bell (ghanta) to terrorise evil forces.

Maa Kushmanda: The Cosmic Creator

Before creation, the universe was shrouded in darkness. It is believed that Maa Kushmanda, with her radiant smile, created the cosmic egg and generated the sun’s energy, giving life to the universe.

She resides at the centre of the solar system, nourishing it with her divine power.

Maa Skandamata: The Mother of the War God

When the demon Tarakasura became invincible, it was prophesied that only Shiva’s son could defeat him. Through years of penance, Parvati gave birth to Kartikeya (Skanda), who later slew Tarakasura.

As Maa Skandamata, Parvati rides a lion, carrying her son on her lap, representing motherly strength that nurtures and protects righteousness.

Maa Katyayani: The Slayer of Mahishasura

Sage Katyayan performed great austerities to seek the Goddess’s blessings. She was born as his daughter to fulfil the gods’ prayers when Mahishasura, the buffalo demon, wreaked havoc on heaven and earth.

Riding a lion and armed with weapons from the gods, Maa Katyayani fought Mahishasura for nine nights, finally slaying him and restoring cosmic order.

Maa Kalaratri: The Fierce Destroyer of Evil

When the demon Raktabija fought the gods, each drop of his blood that touched the ground produced another demon like him. The Goddess assumed the terrifying form of Maa Kalaratri, with a dark complexion, dishevelled hair, and fire in her breath.

She drank his blood before it fell, ending his reign of terror and symbolising the destruction of ignorance and darkness.

Maa Mahagauri: The Goddess of Purity

Years of penance had turned Parvati’s complexion dark due to dust and austerities. When Lord Shiva bathed her in the sacred Ganga, her radiance shone forth as Maa Mahagauri, the embodiment of purity, serenity, and compassion.

She blesses her devotees with peace, removing all suffering from their lives.

Maa Siddhidatri: The Bestower of Mystical Powers

On the final day, Goddess Durga appears as Maa Siddhidatri, granting ashta siddhis (eight supernatural powers) to gods, sages, and devotees. Even Lord Shiva worshipped her, and it is believed she gave him half her body, forming Ardhanarishvara—the union of masculine and feminine energies in one form.