The Mother Goddess is well known in Hinduism. Almost every God in Hinduism either has a consort or a feminine counterpart. Shiva is Ardhanareeswara – both male and female; Ganapathi has Lakshmi for his consort, just as Krishna has Radha, and Rama has Sita. Divine forms take birth as human in order to overcome evil and restore righteousness to the Earth. Each year, there is a festival of the Mother Goddess – Navarathri (with a few spellings) which celebrates the victory of good over evil with the blessing of the Mother Goddess, who has many names and forms.
The nine-day festival of Navarathri in Hinduism celebrates the victory of good over evil – Dharma (righteousness, right conduct, goodness) overcomes adharma (that which is not right, deleterious, injurious to the human, evil,) with the blessing of Goddess Durga. We had mentioned that the Mother Goddess has many names and forms: there are Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Saraswati is manifest in man as the power of speech. Durga is present in the form of dynamism. Lakshmi is manifest in the form of will power.
Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi dwell in the human heart.
The nine-day festival begins on the first day of the bright half of Ashwin or Ashwayuja (September-October) as per traditional Hindu lunar calendar.
2020 Navarathri Calendar
Day 1 – October 17 – Ghatasthapana – Chandra Darshan – Shailputri Puja
Day 2 – October 18 – Brahmacharini Devi Puja
Day 3 – October 19 – Sindoor Tritiya – Chitrangada Devi Puja
Day 4 – October 20 – Upang Lalita Vrat – Lalitha Panchami – Kushmanda Devi Puja
Day 5 – October 21 – Skanda Mata Puja
Day 6 – October 22 – Katyayani Devi Puja
Day 7 – October 23 – Kalaratri Devi Puja
Day 8 – October 24 – Mahashtami – Mahagauri Devi Puja
Day 9 – October 25 – Maha Navami – Siddhidatri Devi Puja
Day 10 – October 25 – Dussehra
The tenth day is celebrated as Dasara or Vijaya Dashami. (October 25, 2020)
It is also said that each day has a colour, and that idols of the Gods worshipped on these days are clothed in sari and other clothing in the colours given. Several sources give several colours. We will be following the day colours as given by Drik Panchang.
Day 1 – October 17 – Grey – Shailputri Puja
Day 2 – October 18 – Orange – Brahmacharini Devi Puja
Day 3 – October 19 – White – Chitrangada Devi Puja
Day 4 – October 20 – Red – Kushmanda Devi Puja
Day 5 – October 21 – Royal Blue – Skanda Mata Puja
Day 6 – October 22 – Yellow – Katyayani Devi Puja
Day 7 – October 23 – Green – Kalaratri Devi Puja
Day 8 – October 24 – Peacock Green – Mahagauri Devi Puja
Day 9 – October 25 – Purple – Siddhidatri Devi Puja
We will be seeking to bring appreciations of the Mother Goddess using different sources along with the traditional Hindu names and forms of the Mother Goddess. There will be a devotional focus.
We append each day the 108 names of the Divine Mother. This commences with:
Om… I bow to SHE who is the Mother of the Universe.
Each of the Divine Names (in English) ends with ~ swaha.
When you use the Sanskrit word swaha you are invoking the God / Goddess, you are arousing the God / Goddess to come and witness your action, to come and receive your prayer.
We append these 108 Names of the Divine Mother and pray that you will be understanding the significance of the prayers, along with the efficacy of same.
Download the 108 Names of the Divine Mother
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