Being the longest and most comprehensive scripture in the Vedic body of teachings, the Mahabharata is often the first known source to speak of the multiple forms of the feminine energy of the Supreme, principally known as Durga.
Narayana is the Supreme Being, and Narayani is the name given to His feminine aspect, or energy. “Nava” means “nine,” and “ratri” means “night,” and so Navratri, is the series of nine nights that are dedicated to nine forms of the feminine energy, Durga.
The order of the nine nights, and the forms worshipped, has some semblance of chronology that depicts the development of Durga, culminating in her slaying the buffalo demon called Mahishasura, who was killed on the tenth night, known as “Vijayadashami,” where Vijay means Victory, and Dashami means the tenth day.
As we hear of the nine forms of Durga, their meanings and stories, the connectedness of the Vedic ecosystem becomes ever-more illuminated.
1. The first Durga form is known as “Shailputri,” who also goes by the names of Parvati, Himavati, and Sati Bhavani. The name Shailputri can be broken down into “Shaila,” meaning “mountain,” and “Putri” meaning “daughter,” and so she is known as the “Daughter of the Mountain.” Her father is King Himavat, the personification of the great Himalayas, and hence she goes by the name Himavati also. Shailputri is seen to be seated on a white bull, holding a trident and lotus flower. This type of symbolism features across many deities, signifying the existence of both peace and conflict within the material realm, characterised by self-centricity, hypocrisy and crooked behaviour, that cyclically requires re-balancing. Parvat also means mountain, and hence her other name is Parvati, or “One of the Mountain.”
Long ago, there was a woman called Sati, the beautiful and devout daughter of the revered progenitor Prajapati Daksha; and she was the consort of the great deity Shiva. One day Daksha and his counsellors in the heavens, decided to host a sacrifice and a celebration. They invited the presiding deities from all directions, and all places, including the planets, the Sun, the Sages, and the Celestials. It is indeed said that unless all the demigods are present, that no sacrifice is complete.
There was one whom they did not invite; and this was none other than the very son-in-law of Daksha, Shiva. Daksha, given his great material opulence, felt that he was somewhat hard-done-by given the marriage between his daughter Sati, and Shiva. Shiva had no interest in material opulence, and Daksha’s prime interest was such opulence. This divide became more and more stark over time. Shiva, although completely capable of exhibiting limitless material opulence, chose not to, for he knew such shows are ultimately futile. It is explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam, that Shiva’s opulence’s are therefore called “Avyakta,” or unmanifested; they are in the realm of renunciation, and not materialistic exhibition. The delicate and devout Sati remained completely dedicated to her husband Shiva despite of her father Daksha’s arguments and position.
On this occasion however, Sati was adamant that she would attend the sacrifice at her fathers home, despite her husband Shiva warning against it. On hearing Shiva publicly insulted by her Father, Sati felt unbearable pain. Prabhupada explains, that “because her body was related with Daksa, who is an offender to Lord Shiva's lotus feet, she felt herself to be condemned. Due to remembrance of this relationship, her body was always a source of unhappiness and thus Sati decided to give it up.” Sati therefore immolated herself in fire in the assembly for all, including her father, to see. Seeing the shocking act, the entourage of ghosts and ghouls that had accompanied Sati, immediately mounted an attack on the gods and guests. Bhrigu Muni on the other side, mounted a counterattack with the Rbhu demigods. On hearing the news of his wife, Prabhupada explains that the furious Lord Shiva bit his lip with his teeth and plucked a strand of hair from his head which then blazed like fire. He stood up at once, laughing like a madman, and dashed the hair to the ground. A terrifying black demon, as high as the sky and as bright as three suns combined, was thereby created. His teeth were very dreadful and his hair blazed like fire. He had thousands of arms equipped with various weapons, and he was garlanded with human skulls. This great demon, called Virabhadra, effortlessly beheaded Daksha.
Sati would go on to reincarnate, as none other than Parvati, or Shailputri. She is goddess of the root chakra, who, upon awakening, begins her journey upwards.
2. The second Durga form is Brahmacharini, where “Brahma” means knowledge, and “Charini,” means one who practises, or one who is in pursuit of. Brahmacharini is a devout ascetic, dressed in pure white, holding Rudraksha beads in one hand, and a water pot in the other. Her parents are Himavan and Mena.
Continuing from the story behind Shailputri, Brahmacharini being the next form of Sati, is resolved to reunite with Shiva, and is suitably an ascetic who is renounced from the material world. As Shiva‘s interest in her is eventually awakened, he approaches her in a disguised form, and begins to cite to her the shortcomings and criticisms of Shiva. Brahmacharini simply declines to hear these criticisms. She is one day attacked by demons, and the various goddesses come to help her, especially due to her being in a state of mediative emancipation. Ultimately Brahmacharini opens her eyes, and with fire emanating from them, burns them all to ashes.
Some time after her marriage to Shiva, there arises problems caused by the demon Tarakasura, who had been given a boon by Lord Brahma that save and except the child of Shiva, no being would be able to kill him. This boon was given thinking that Shiva will never marry again or bear a child after his wife Sati had left her body. And so Brahmacharini attracted Shiva to her, paving way for offspring, and in turn the destruction of the demon.
3. Chandraghanta is the third devi form, and her name is a combination Chandra, meaning moon, and ghanta meaning bell. She is also known as Chandra-khanda, Vrikah-vahini, the one who rides on the wolf, or Chandrika, or moonlight. She carries weapons including a trident, sword, mace, bow and arrow, and a shield.
After Shiva & Parvati had been married, the demon Tarakasura who was inimical towards this divine couple, sent a demon aide of his called Jatukasura to cause a disturbance of sorts to them. One day in the peaceful and tranquil land of Mount Kailash, Jatukasura the bat-demon, came with an army of bats to attack Parvati as she was engaged in her daily activities. Shiva happened to be engaged in penances in deep meditation, and as the bats swooned upon the hermitage of Parvati, whilst her initial reaction was anger, she was too fearful to act, and remained therefore helpless. She immediately sought the shelter of their powerful cow Nandi who was usually grazing in their grassland, however Nandi was nowhere to be seen.
Parvati then found Shiva, however he was not able to leave his spot due to being committed to his penance. Shiva stopped and explained to Parvati, that she was none other than Shakti, or power personified, she is prakriti, or nature, and she is the mother of the Universe and material creation, and that simply on contemplating this, realising it, and then living it, she was more than capable to overcome the army of bats. Conjuring her courage, Parvati came out of her enclosure in the darkness of the night, and she called for the Moon god, Chandradeva to assist her by lighting her path. Chandradeva then took a spot on her head to continue to light the path for her. A pack of wolves also came to the aid of Parvati. Using a loud bell to frighten the evil-hearted demoniac bats with auspicious sounds, she also used her sword to fight the army of bats. And so she became know to Lord Brahma, who was witness to all of this, as Chandraghanta, or the one with the Moon, and a Bell.
Chandraghanta resides in the Manipura chakra of the body, and her third eye is always open, signifying her perpetual readiness to stand in battle against evil.
4. Kushmanda, is the fourth form of the devi, and is often depicted with 8 hands, and so also known as Ashta-bhuja Devi, where Ashta means 8 and Devi is a goddess. She is seen holding a water pot, bow, mace, disc, and Japa mala, and she is attributed with creating the material cosmos with her smile, and her abode is in the Anahata chakra. “Ku” means little. “Ushma” means warmth or energy, and “Anda” is a cosmic egg. And so the amalgamation of these means “Small energetic, or cosmic egg.”
At one time, two demons, named Mali and Sumali were conducting a grave penance and accumulating great powers. Being concerned with the result of this penance by the demons, the Sun god, Surya, approached them, and as Suryadeva got closer, he burned the two demons to ashes. Shiva, who is often favourably inclined towards the ghosts, ghouls, and demons, became enraged at this incident. Swiftly grasping his trident, he threw it with his full force, striking the Sun god, making him fall down immediately unconscious, and hence causing the world to fall into a perpetual darkness.
The Sage Kashyap, the father of Surya, becoming angered and upset, cursed Shiva that he would one day kill his own son also. To try to remedy the situation, Shiva’s dear wife, Parvati quickly approached the spot where Surya had fallen from, and placed herself in his previous place, emanating the same heat and light as Surya previously did. After this, the Sage Kashyap along with his wife Aditi, and Shiva arrived, and they extracted into one pot, blood of theirs, and in another pot nectar, or amrita in an effort to help to revive the fallen Surya. Giving this to him, he rose once again, and combined with Kushmanda, the expansion of the energy of Parvati as a “cosmic egg”, who then powered the world with her rays along with Suryadeva.
5. Skandamata, is the fifth form of Durga, and is a four-handed form, whose name means the mother of Skanda, the god of War. The Mahabharata, in the Vana and Salya Parvas speak of the birth of Skanda. One account has the falling of the semen of Lord Shiva into Fire, Agni, and the transfer of the child to the Ganges, who is then found by six sonless Kritikas, ladies who represent the lunar mansions, Pleiades, and Skanda develops six heads to take milk from each of his mothers. The Skanda Purana say Skanda is the offspring of Parvati and Shiva, in response to the demon Tarakasura only being defeatable by the son of Shiva. Skandamata is the depiction of maternal love and affection.
6. The 6th form of Durga is Kātyāyani, who is also known as Mahishasura-mardini, or the slayer of the buffalo demon. Kātyāyani was said to be born of the combined energies of Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva created in anger to slay the demon Mahisa-asura. This energy took the form of rays, which crystallized in the hermitage of the Sage Kātyāyana. The Sage gave her a form, and therefore she is also called Katyayani or "Daughter of Kātyāyana ".
The Srimad Bhagavata Purana in 10th Canto, and 22nd Chapter, it is described the legend of the Katyayani Vrata, or Vow where the Gopis or daughters of the cowherd men of Gokula in Braja, worshipped Goddess Katyayani and took a vow, to get Lord Krishna for their husband. The Bhagavatam explains that “All of the unmarried gopīs in Vṛndāvana used to daily worship goddess Kātyāyanī early in the morning after taking a bath in the river Yamunā. The goddess is worshiped by preparing a doll made of sand from the bank of the Yamunā.” The unmarried girls used to pray with great devotion to goddess Kātyāyanī, addressing her as follows: "O supreme external energy of the Personality of Godhead, O supreme mystic power, O supreme controller of this material world, O goddess, please be kind to us and arrange for our marriage with the son of Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa." The Bhagavatam purports explain that “Vaiṣṇavas, or followers of Vishnu, generally do not worship any demigods. Yet the gopīs, who are beyond compare in their affection for Kṛṣṇa, were seen to worship Durgā. Generally, people worship goddess Durgā for some material benediction. But here, the gopīs prayed to the goddess to become wives of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
And so despite of her often ferocious-looking form, Katyayani Devi reciprocates kindly with those who approach her without ulterior motive, and particularly here with those with a motive of devotion.
7. The seventh form of Durga, is Kalaratri, of dark hue, dishelved hair, and three bloodshot eyes, garlanded with skulls. She often rides on a donkey, and holds a scimitar, a Vajra, or thunder bolt, and a cup. Often the name Kali and Kalaratri are used interchangeably for her. She is considered the most fearsome form of Durga, and her name is composed of Kaal, meaning the “Devourer of all things,” or Time, and “Ratri” meaning Night, and she is associated with the crown chakra.
The Mahabharata is indeed one of the first known places to have cited Kali, and she appears in the most deadly parva, the Sauptika Parva, meaning “one of terrible incidents,” where Ashwatthama massacres at night the sleeping Pandava children along with Dhrishtadyumna. It is described in the Mahabharata that, “in her embodied form, Kali, a black image, of bloody mouth and bloody eyes, wearing crimson garlands, attired in a single piece of red cloth, with a noose in hand, and resembling an elderly lady, employed in chanting a dismal note and standing full before their eyes.” In this way, she personified the terrors of war.
In another story, about Shumbha and Nishumbha, two demons who defeated by force the demigods, and occupied their lands, Lord Shiva recommended to the demigods to pray to Goddess Parvati for their reclamation plan. Parvati heard their prayer while she was bathing, and so created another goddess, Chandi for the destruction of the demons. Chanda and Munda were two demon sent by Shumbha and Nishumbha, and on coming to fight against the gods, the goddess Chandi created another goddess, the dark goddess, Kali, who would kill them, thereby acquiring the name Chamunda. In this way, she reduced the enemies of the gods.
One day a demon called Raktabija, meaning “blood seed” arrived at the scene, who was given the boon that should even a drop of his blood fall on the ground, a replica of him would emerge. And so when Kalaratri attacked him, his blood would give rise to several new embodiments of him, and it became impossible to defeat him. Realising this perpetual cycle, Kalaratri continuing to battle, and drank his blood directly, avoiding any spillage onto the ground. Getting carried away with her devastating mood, she began killing everyone who came before her. The gods prayed to Shiva, her husband, that this annihilation may stop. As Kalaratri continued, she, not seeing Shiva, stepped on him, and upon soon realising she had done this, she hung out her tongue in a mood of shock and remorse. In this way, Kalaratri whilst fearsome, is ever-devoted to her husband of great honour Shiva.
8. Mahagauri, is the eighth form of Durga, and in this is endowed with a beautiful white form, sitting on a handsome white Ox, with a trident, a drum, a lotus flower and a noose. The name Maha-Gauri means “Extremely Fair One,” and she is said to be the goddess of purity, peace, and tranquillity.
Once upon a time, it was known that the duo of demons Shumbha and Nishumbha could only be killed by a virgin, unmarried form of Parvati. Knowing this, Shiva teasingly repeatedly called Parvati as "Kali" owing to her representing darkness even though she was so innocent and pure. Parvati being irate at this, performed severe penance to Brahma so as to get a golden complexion, and not a dark one. Brahma said he was unable to grant this boon, but requested her to stop her penance, and slay the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. Parvati agreed to Lord Brahma, and went to take a bath in the Ganges first to cleanse herself before war. As she entered the sacred Ganges waters, her skin washed off, to reveal a beautiful golden complexion, wearing white garments and apparels, and hence became known as Mahagauri.
9. The ninth form of Durga is Siddhidhatri, meaning “The awarder of mystic potencies,” is her highest form of the Maha-shakti, or Great Energy. It is understood that she is one side of the body of Lord Shiva, thereby also going by the name Ardhanarishvara, or “half of the body of his.” Siddhidhatri sits on a lotus flower, holding a discus, conch shell, mace, and a lotus flower.
And so the forms of Durga, the feminine energy have played a role in the affairs of the gods, demons, and the material world, as described many a time, in the pages of the Mahabharata.
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