Navratri is a festival of joy, happiness and devotion. Celebrated over a period of nine days, Navratri is also one of the most anticipated festivals as people worship the divine goddess Durga.
Each day is dedicated to a particular form or avatar of Goddess Durga. The first day of Navratri is dedicated to the worship of Maa Shailaputri and is followed by the worship of Maa Bramhacharini and Maa Chandraghanta.
Maa Kushmanda is worshipped on the fourth day of Navratri and Maa Skandmata is worshipped on the fifth day. The sixth day is dedicated to Maa Katyayani, the daughter of Sage Katyayana, while the seventh day of Navratri is dedicated to…
The Worship of Maa Kaalratri
Maa Kaalratri is one of the terrifying forms of Goddess Durga and is also referred to as Maa Kaali. The word Kaal usually refers to time or death and the word Ratri means night. Hence, she is also known as the Goddess who brings an end to darkness.
Maa Kaalratri is known to destroy ghosts, evil spirits and demon entities. She is also referred to as Shubhankari, since it is believed that she brings about auspicious news.
History and Origin
Once upon a time, there were two wicked demons by the name of Shumbha and Nishumbha. Their brother, Namuchi was killed by the God of Heaven – Indra Deva. They both were devasted by this news and decided to take revenge upon the Gods.
Soon, they launched a fierce attack on the Gods and managed to defeat them. They were helped in this attack by Chandha, Mundha and Raktabeej. These three were old friends of the demon Mahishasura, before he was killed by Maa Katyayani. Together, all of them began to rule over the three worlds.
Indra and the other Gods went to the Himalayas and prayed to Goddess Parvati. She understood their fears and created another goddess - Chandi - to help them. Goddess Chandi was able to kill most of the demons sent by Shumbha and Nishumbha
However, demons like Chandha, Mundha and Raktabeej were too powerful and she was unable to kill them. So, Goddess Chandi created another goddess from her forehead, who came to be known as Kaalratri or Kaali.
Maa Kaalratri fought Chandha and Mundha and eventually killed them. Hence, she is also known as Chamunda. After this, Goddess Chandi and Goddess Kaalratri went on to fight the powerful demon Raktabeej.
Raktabeej possessed a special boon from Lord Bramha that if any drop of his blood fell to the ground, another lookalike of him would be created from that drop. So, as Maa Kaalratri fought and injured Raktabeej, several clones of him were being created.
Looking at this, Maa Kaalratri got immensely furious and started drinking the blood of every clone of Raktabeej. This prevented his blood from falling to the ground and eventually he was killed by Maa Kaalratri. Later, she also killed Shumbha and Nishumbha and brought peace back to the three worlds.
Goddess of the Seventh Day of Navratri
Maa Kaalratri is worshipped on the seventh day of Navratri. She is a ferocious manifestation of Goddess Durga and is feared by all demons and evil spirits.
She is known to have a very dark complexion and has long, untied hair. Maa Kaalratri is drenched in blood, wears a garland of skulls around her neck and has four hands. She holds a thunderbolt and a scimitar in two of her hands, while her other two hands are in the abhaya (protecting) and varada (blessing) positions.
Therefore, it is believed that Maa Kaalratri blesses her devotees and also protects them from all evil. She is worshipped and honoured during Navratri, as she can destroy all darkness and bring peace to the world.
Read More About Navratri:
Navratri (Day 1) – The Story of Maa Shailaputri
Navratri (Day 2) – The Story of Maa Bramhacharini
Navratri (Day 3) – The Story of Maa Chandraghanta
Navratri (Day 4) – The Story of Maa Kushmanda
