Durga Ashtami — The Incarnation of Shakti
Durga Ashtami or Durga Puja is the eighth day of Shardiya Navratri in Shukla Paksha . Devotees seek blessings from Ma Durga and celebrate the Mahishasur Mardini Avatar of Maa Durga. This year Durga Ashtami is on 13th October .
Durga Ashtami 2021: Date and Time, Puja Vidhi , History, Significance
Mahashtami Tithi Starts-12 October, 2021 09:48 PM.
Mahashtami Tithi Ends -13 October, 2021 08:08 PM.
What should we do on Durga Ashtami?/Puja Vidhi
During Maha Ashtami several rituals are performed namely-
- Mahasnan
- Pushpanjali
- Sandhi Puja
- Kumari Puja
After the installation of the idol of Goddess in a pious place , the deity is invoked in it on Maha Saptami .
- MahaAshtami starts with Mahasnan of the Goddess followed by Shodashopachar Puja , worshipping Maa Durga with 16 different things.
- On this day nine small pots are installed and nine Shakti of Durga are invoked in the pot. All nine forms of Maa Durga are worshipped during Maha Ashtami Puja.
Pushpanjali — Floral offering at the lotus feet of Goddess
On Durga Ashtami in the morning hours all devotees render their prayers by offering a handful of flowers with Bel leaves after the chant of Chandi Path by the Brahmin. Three rounds of Pushpanjali are performed.
Sandhi Puja
The most auspicious ritual of Durga Ashtami is Sandhi Puja. At the end of ashtami tithi, the last 24 minutes of ashtami and first 24 minutes of navami tithi marks Sandhi.
On this day Devi Durga had emerged in her angry Chamunda form to kill the demons Chanda and Munda. 108 lamps are lit today. The Brahmins chant the mantra. Earlier Balidan was customary but now vegetables such as pumpkin , cucumber or banana are cut symbolizing sacrifice .
Kumari Puja
Another important aspect of Durga Ashtami is Kumari Puja or kanjak. 9 girls aged 2–10 are worshipped methodically. These girls represent the lively form of the goddess. Coconut is a must for the bhog on the day of Maha Ashtami.
Prernamurti bharti shriji worshiping kanyas
History / Durga Ashtami Vrat Katha
It is stated in Devi Bhagwat that-
A demon named Mahish devastated the kingdom of God . None of the Gods was able to kill him because of the boon being granted by Lord Brahma that, ‘he would be unaffected by all except women’ that is, the reason for his death would be a woman. The trinity , after deep contemplation showered all their power and created a beautiful woman named Durga. She was the manifestation of Shakti that is ‘Divine Power’.
The demon was constantly sending his warriors to fight with Ma durga but when his most trusted demons Asiloma and Vidalaksha were killed, he rode his chariot and faced Ma durga in a handsome human form to impress Her. Unaffected by it Ma Durga warned that, if he wanted to have a union then he must be in the form of a sincere devotee as She was Parashakti .
Furious Mahishasura denied this and started to fight by transforming himself into a lion and later on as an elephant , buffalo and finally in the form of man. Entire Universe shook up as the fight was in progress. Mahishasura kept on transforming his body so quickly that none could realise what was happening and every time he was using different weapons like arrows, swords, Trishulas, clubs, and maces. Angry Devi Durga finally lost Her cool and She along with her lion pounced upon him , stabbed with a trident and ripped him apart and this marked the end of the Mahishasura. All the Devas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Kimpurushas, Apsaras felt utmost relief and were ecstatic to see this and sages also rejoiced with celebrations.
Everybody hailed the Goddess and sung the glories of Maa Durga. For this She said,
Gods as well as the Demons are created by me and I am not partial with the two. The only fact is that the proportion of the Three Gunas-Satvik, Rajas and Tamasic-varies from human to human . The Eight Vices-Lust, Anger, Greed, Infatuation, Madness and Jealousy- exists in the same person as the mind and heart are at variance with each other; these are thus common enemies to both divinity and humanity in varying degrees; these common enemies should be minimised . Slaying of Mahishasura depicts victory over the Rajas attributes in us.
Why do we celebrate Durga Ashtami?/ Significance
In Devi Bhagwat it is mentioned that Ma Durga is epitome of divine potency and has the potential to keep this universe in decorum.
- It is believed that one, who observes the Durga Ashtami Vrat with utter dedication, will be bestowed with prosperity and happiness. As the Goddess is Prakriti , thus she is responsible for all the material things in the universe, therefore devotees who want to transcend the materialistic world must worship maa Durga.
- She is the giver of knowledge, fame, wealth, beauty, victory, glory as stated in Argala Stotram (17):
Vidyāvantaṅ yashasvantaṅ lakṣmīvantanch māṅ kuru.
Rūpaṅ dehi jayaṅ dehi yasho dehi dviṣo jahi.
Is Durga the wife of Shiva?
According to Devi Bhagwat , Durga is the Goddess of the universe, and Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva, is a form of Maa Durga. She has up to 64 different forms, with various names for each form.
Durga Ashtami Benefits
Prernamurti Bharti Shriji in accordance with Agni Purana states that- ‘one, who worships Goddess Durga on Ashtami tithi, triumphs over his enemies’.
- Devotees who are seeking the Absolute Truth and want to get rid of the materialistic world, must worship Maa Durga to gain immense strength to attain the ultimate goal.
- Devotees sail through the deep sea of despair (Bhavsagar) with ease as Maa Durga helps them to cross all odds.
- She liberates the souls from the dark mundane world and grants varieties of siddhis to Her devotees.
Which god was born on Ashtami? / Why does Durga sit on a lion?
According to Puranas ,the deities were extremely upset and sad by the tyranny of the Asuras. To find the solution they approached Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma told them that the demon king would be killed by a Kanya (small girl). After this, all the gods merged their forces in one place, which gave birth to Maa Durga.
The face of the Goddess was made with the brilliance of Mahadev , the arms by Shri Hari Vishnu, the two feet of the Goddess by Brahma. The hair of the head with the radiance of Yama, the breast with the glory of the Moon, the waist with the radiance of Indra, the thighs by Varuna, the fingers of both feet by Sun, all the teeth with the glory of Prajapati, with the brilliance of fire both the eyes, the eyebrows with the brilliance of the sandhya, the ears with the brilliance of the wind and the brilliance of the other gods created the different parts of the goddess.
After the birth of Maa Durga, she needed immense power to win over the demons. Then Lord Shiva gave Her his trident, Lord Vishnu the chakra, Lord Hanuman the mace, Shri Ram the bow, Agni a quiver full of power and arrows, Varun the divine conch, Prajapati a garland of crystal gems, Goddess Laxmi the lotus flower, Indra The Vajra, Sheshnag, a serpent adorned with pearls, Lord Brahma gave the four Vedas and the Himalaya mountain gave a lion to ride. Lion epitomizes strength, prowess and valor .
Also, it is also believed that the fierce and powerful form of Maa Durga, known as ‘Ma Bhadrakali’, had incarnated to devastate the ‘Yajna’ that was performed by Daksha Prajapati, the father of ‘Devi Sati’.
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Blog on Navratri 2021 :-
https://prernamurti.medium.com/शारदीय-नवरात्रि-07-से-14-अक्टूबर-2021-e2d1e9bc22ec
