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| PIC: rampuri.com |
The
nine days of Navaratri Festivals in India are dedicated to nine divine forms of
mother Durga, the Goddess of Shakti, and all the forms are called Navadurga. The
sixth day of Navaratri, is dedicated to mother Durga’s form as Devi Katyayani.
As per the Hindu traditions of Yoga and Tantra, she is associated with the
sixth Chakra, the Agnya Chakra, located between the two eyebrows. This point is
also called the third eye also. The favorite color of Devi is red. To invoke her blessing, people pray to Devi Kayayani,
chant Mantras and concentrate on the Agnya Chakra.
A sage,
called Katyayan was blessed with a daughter who was named Katyayani and
was attributed as gift of God for his long years of penance. The purpose of her
birth was to help the sages & rishis to allow them to conduct their penance
peacefully and uninterrupted as demons used to come and destroy their worships
and rituals. The sage Katyayan brought up his daughter well to save the sages
from demons. He first worshiped her and since then she was known as Devi
Katyayani. As per Vaman Purana, Devi Katyayani was created to save the sages
from demons. To help the sages, all the Gods requested Lord Vishnu. As a
result, the Gods Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and other Gods emitted large flames from
their eyes which formed effulgence like a mountain from which manifested Devi
Katyayani. She was shining like thousand suns and had three eyes, dark black
hairs and eighteen arms. She received all her arms from Gods. Lord Shiva gave
her his trident, Vishnu gave her Sudarshan Chakra, Varuna gave her a conch
shell (shankha), Agni gave a dart, Vayu (Wind God) gave her bow, Sun God gave
her a quiver of arrows, Indra gave her a thunderbolt, Kubera gave her a mace,
Brahma gave her a rosary and a water pot, Kaala (Time) gave her a shield and
sword and Vishwakarma gave her an axe and other weapons. Armed with such mighty
daivy-ashtras (divine arms), Devi Kayayani went to the hills in southern part
of India. There she met many demons who after seeing her stunning beauty told
about this to their King Mahisasura. On hearing about her beauty, he wanted to
possess her. The king’s message was conveyed to Devi Kayayani. On learning
this, she put a condition that she must be won by Mahisasura through a fight.
Mahisasura consented and came to fight in the form of a buffalo. He fought with
her with all his weapons. Devi Katyayani mounted on a lion, jumped upon him.
Mahisasura fell on the ground and she cut off his head. Hence, the Devi Kayayani
became the Mahisasuramardini (slayer of Mahisasura).
In India, there
are many temples dedicated to Devi Katyayani. The main temples among them are;
Shri Katyayani Temple, Bakor, Mahisagar district in Gujarat, Shri Kayayani
Peeth Temple at Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Shri Katyayani Baneshwar Temple in
Aversa, Karnataka, Shri Katyayani Temple at Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kerala, Shri Katyayani Temple, Kolhapur Maharashtra,
Shri Katyayani Amman Temple at Tanjavur in Tamilnadu, Shri Katyayani
Shaktipeeth Adhar Devi Temple, Mount Abu, Rajasthan, and Chhatarpur Temple in
Delhi. People flock to these temples in large numbers to offer worship in these
temples on the sixth day of Navaratri.
On this day, the
devotees chant the following Mantra and meditate on it to offer salutations to
Devi Katyayani. This helps us in removing evil from within.
चन्द्रहासोज्जवलकरा शाईलवरवाहना।
कात्यायनी शुभं दद्याद्देवी दानवघातिनी।।
The essence of
the worship of Navadurga, the nine forms of Goddess Durga is to celebrate the
victory of good over evil forces. Devi Katyayani worship grants peace,
happiness and victory.
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