Navratre itself means nine days. Its the festival of worshipping Goddess Durga Mata in her nine swarups. Each day of Navatri represents one of the following nine swarups of Durga Mata.
Day 1 – Mata Shailputri
“Shail” means mountains and “putri” means daughter. Ma Shailputri means daughter of mountains and this swarup refers to Goddess Parvati who was the Daughter of King Himavan
(the King of the mountains). Ma Shailputri is depicted with two hands, one with a trident and the other with a lotus. She is seated upon a bull. She is believed to be an embodiment of the power of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. In her previous incarnation, Shailputri is believed to be Sati, the daughter of Daksha and the wife of Lord Shiva. Once Daksha had organized a big Yagna and did not invite Shiva. But Sati being obstinate, reached there. Thereupon Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati could not tolerate the insult of husband and burnt herself in the fire of Yagna. In other birth she became the daughter of Himavan, the king of the Himalayas in the name of Parvati – Hemvati and got married with Shiva once again. Mata Shailputri or Ma Parvati can be worshipped at any temple of Shivji where her deity is always present next to her consort God Shiva.
“Shail” means mountains and “putri” means daughter. Ma Shailputri means daughter of mountains and this swarup refers to Goddess Parvati who was the Daughter of King Himavan
(the King of the mountains). Ma Shailputri is depicted with two hands, one with a trident and the other with a lotus. She is seated upon a bull. She is believed to be an embodiment of the power of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. In her previous incarnation, Shailputri is believed to be Sati, the daughter of Daksha and the wife of Lord Shiva. Once Daksha had organized a big Yagna and did not invite Shiva. But Sati being obstinate, reached there. Thereupon Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati could not tolerate the insult of husband and burnt herself in the fire of Yagna. In other birth she became the daughter of Himavan, the king of the Himalayas in the name of Parvati – Hemvati and got married with Shiva once again. Mata Shailputri or Ma Parvati can be worshipped at any temple of Shivji where her deity is always present next to her consort God Shiva.
Day 2 – Mata Brahmacharini
She is the one who practices devout austerity. Filled with bliss and happiness, she is the way to emancipation – Moksha.
The second Durga Shakti is Brahamcharini. Brahma that is who observes penance(tapa) and good conduct. She is depicted with prayer beads in her right hand and Kamandal in left hand. Legend states that in a previous birth she was Parvati /Hemavati the daughter of Himvan. Once when she was busy in games with her friends,Naradaji came to see her and on reading her hand/palm-lines Narad Muni stated that, “You will get married with a naked-terrible ‘Bhole baba’ who was with you in the form of Sati, the daughter of Daksh in previous birth. But now you have to perform penance for him.” There upon Parvati told her mother Menaka that she would marry none except Shambhu, otherwise she would remain unmarried. Saying this she went to observe penance. That is why her name is famous as tapacharini – Brahmacharini. From that time her name Uma also became familiar.
‘Brahma’ here refers to the meditative aspect of Brahmacharini and is always depicted as pious women or Sannyasin. She is also worshipped as goddess Tara and is associated with the pious form of Goddess Shakti. She is believed to be that aspect of Mother Goddess, which was present in Sati and Goddess Parvati, when they both did intense austerities to get Lord Shiva as husband. During the penance Mata Parvati did in order to gain Lord Shivji as her consort for thousands of yrs. without eating even leaves she penance so she was called ‘Aparna’. Seeing her body her mother uttered U-ma and so she is also called ‘Uma’. Her worship increases sacrifice,good deeds & restraint in humans. Rudraksha is her most adorned ornament.
In some regions, Goddess Chamunda swarup of Durga is worshiped on the second day of Navratri. In this form she is believed to have killed the demons Chanda and Munda.
There is a famous Chamunda Mata temple at Jodhpur.
Day 3 – Mata Chandraghanta
Chandraghanta Ma is known and named Chandraghanta or Chandra-Khanda for the semi-circular moon (Chandra) which appears like a bell (Ghanta) on her forehead. Durga is also worshipped as Ashtamukhi and Shorashi in different parts of India on this day. She is depicted as having three eyes and ten hands holding with ten types of swords – etc. weapons and arrows etc. and is seated on a lion (in some photos on a tiger) and shown as ready for going to war. She is the image of bravery. The frightful sound of her bell terrifies all villains and demonic incarnations. She is also the giver of supreme knowledge and bliss and is depicted as having golden skin with the half circular moon on her forehead, glowing. Her ten hands hold ………
She is worshipped in this form in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) India.Srisailam Devasthanam also is a temple of Ma Chandraghanta.
A very popular legend associated with Ma Chandraghanta is the story of Raja Harischandra her devotee.
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Kangra Hills - Magic Of The Himachal Himalayas
Once known as an important seat of administration, Kangra the capital city of Chand dynasty tells a story of glory, which has faded into history. One of the most picturesque valley of lower Himalayas, the valley, sheltered by the sublime Dhauladhar hills, is green and luxuriant.The temple of Brajeshwari Devi is very famous in the area. It is believed that in the bygone era this temple was very rich and each time it was plundered it was always able to restore itself. The valley also comprises of the famous Kangra valley fort, which was taken over by the British in 1846 on clause of a treaty. In 1905 an earthquake destroyed both the temple and the fort, but the temple was rebuilt.
One must remember, the Kangra valley is not one place in particular. It happens to be the name given to the entire region that lies between the Dhauladhar ranges of the Himalayas to the north and the last strangling foothills to the south. So, roughly speaking, this talk is about a slim rectangular belt running 90 miles in length and 30 miles in breadth through the mountains. To the north, the peaks rear skyward: first a low chain of ridges followed by an extensive line averaging between 7,000 and 9,000 feet. Directly behind those are massifs rising from 13,000 to well over 16,000 feet. Then the snows.
Come any time! The Kangra Valley Himachal Pradesh Awaits you!