Believed to have appeared from the left side of Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga or Parvati attains her ninth embodiment in the form of “Siddhidatri”, meaning the giver of supernatural powers. On the 9th and final day of the Navrati festival, the “Siddhidatri” form of the Goddess is worshiped in full spirit and enthusiasm.
Being the one, who grants the ultimate wish of acquiring intuition, farsightedness, spiritual direction and likewise supernatural powers, Goddess Siddhidatri is worshiped by all gods, saints and demons across the heaven, earth and hell, with much devotion.
The “Siddhidatri” incarnation has four hands and is seen seated on a lotus or Her lion. With her peaceful and loving expressions, she holds a discus, a conch shell, a trident and a mace and blesses her devotees with spiritual enrichment.
After nine days of strict disciplinary lifestyle, fasting that majorly includes fruits as a primary diet, chanting the holy mantras and meditation for most others, the Ninth day is the rewarding day with the gift of self realization and the much needed connection with the inner self.
Following the regime of the worship, rituals and fasting, the 9th day of Navratri, marks the moment of rejoice and cultures across the Nation, have their own signature style for celebrating this moment.
Scattered Hindus all over the world dance to the tune of the colorful “Garba dance” with vibrant colored sticks as the prime prop, celebrating the ninth day of the holy Navratri. Predominantly, celebrated in the Northern & Western Indian states , the “Dandiya” or the “Garba” is a much popular and globalized festive dance and it is hard to resist the rhythm that it sets in your body.
For the Eastern India, and for the Bengalis who are crazy and overjoyed to celebrate the Navratri in the form of Durga Puja, it is their traditional “Dhunuchi Dance” holding an earthen pot with burning aromatic camphor and dried outer shells of coconut, done in the praise of the Mother Goddess.
For the Southern India, it is “Bathukamma” where women dressed in traditional attires and jewelry, decorate bountiful and colorful seasonal flowers with medicinal powers, are piled in the shape of a temple and is dedicated to the Mother Goddess, inviting Her and praising Her as the life-giver and the goddess of Motherhood.
With all the rejoice, festive spirit, awaited rituals and course of worship, the Navratri comes to a glorious end with “Goddess Siddhidhatri” on this 9th day of the festival.
However it is only the grandeur that comes to an end today, otherwise the entire stretch of these nine days are gentle reminder for all of us, to sit back from the usual run of regular chores and reconnect ourselves with the sweet change of the season as autumn sets in the stage of transition from the harsh summers to the cooler winters. It is also the dire need for the mind to breathe and rejuvenate, the time when migrated members of a family come back home to celebrate the festive spirit, the excitement of new clothes and an enjoyable break from the regular food.
Nevertheless, keeping rituals and ceremonial practices aside, it does reminds us the need for discipline not only in terms of clean eating but also clean thinking – one that sets the mind, body and soul to a detox or a purifying mode, enough to last another tough year until the “Sharad Navratri” arrives again.♥
♥ “Shubha Navratri” ♥
P.S: As adorable as the significance of “Goddess Siddhidatri”, is this pleasing feature image of the Mother Goddess done by Suchita. Thanks you so much. 🙂
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As per the Hindu Mythology, when the gods and saints were distressed and tormented by the demon “Mahisasura”, they made an appeal to the Super Gods for some respite. The audacity of “Mahisahura” had become so profound, that it enraged the patience of the Gods. The fury of Brahma(the creator), Vishnu(the preserver), Shiva (the destroyer) and of other godly spirits, erupted such dense flames from their eyes, that it is believed to have formed a mountain of radiance. It is from this light, said to be equivalent to the brightness of 1000 suns, that the true spirit and purpose of this avatar of Goddess Durga, as “Katyayani” was evolved.
Rising from the flames of fury, Goddess Durga emerged with three eyes, black hair and ten hands. Shiva gifted her the trident, Vishnu gave Her the discus, Brahma gave a rosemary, a water pot a sheild and a sword, Varuna (the Hindu God of the water & ocean) gave shankha or the conch shell, Agni (Hindu God of Fire) gave a dart, Vayu (the Hindu God of the winds) bestowed Her with a bow, Surya (the Sun God) an assortment of arrows, Indra(God of the Rains) – a thunderbolt, Kuvera (the lord of wealth) gifted her with the Gada or the mace, and Visvakarma (the lord of the community of metal smiths, gold smiths & carpenters) granted Her with a battle-axe and other necessary weapons needed to slay the demon.
