Navadurga or the 9 forms or manifestations of Durga are the nine Goddesses worshipped on nine festive nights during Durga Navratri. Though, the nine manifestations or avatars of Durga that are worshipped during Navaratri may differ from place to place, the standard or primary Navadurga Goddesses remain same for every region.
Goddess Durga is a form of Shakti, the Mother Goddess. Three main forms of Shakti – Mahakali, Maha Saraswati and Mahalaxmi are evolved from the Trimurtis – Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu respectively. Each of these three main Goddesses gave rise to 3 more manifestations, who are referred as Nav-Durga. On each day of Durga Navratri, one of the Navdurga Goddesses is worshipped.
- Shailputri Mata
- Brahmacharini Maa
- Mata Chandraghanta
- Mata Kushmanda
- Skandamata
- Katyayani Mata
- Kalaratri Maa
- MahaGouri Mata
- Siddhidatri Mata
According to some scriptures, in ancient times, Durga Navratri festival was a special festival for the Kshatriyas. The four-month long monsoon season was a critical time to perform any type of military activity. Hence, the Kshatriyas start their activities for new conquests. Kings worship Navadurga, nine manifestations of the Mother Goddess, before 9 days of beginning their army activities. The tenth day of the puja was considered as the day to begin their journey towards the battle field.
Durga or the Mother Goddess is the Goddess of War and courage as per Hinduism. As Kshatriyas or Kings give more preference to courage and war, Durga was considered as their Kul Devata. Ayudha Puja was one of the most celebrated events during Navaratri in ancient times of Kings and Kshatriyas. Kings perform Ayudha Puja on Durgashtami (eighth day) or on Mahanavami (ninth day) and moved forward to the battle field on Vijaya Dasami day.
In ancient times, during Durga Navarathri festival, animal acrifices were also performed to please Goddess Durga.
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