The festival of Navratri is one of the most sacred festivals in India. It is a period of joy, happiness and excitement. Every year, devotees from all over the country celebrate this festival in different ways.
During Navratri, we worship the nine forms of Goddess Durga. It begins with the worship of Maa Shailaputri and is followed by the worship of the other avatars of Goddess Durga.
The Worship of Maa Siddhidatri
The ninth day of Navratri is dedicated to the worship of Maa Siddhidatri. The word Siddhi means supernatural power and Dhatri means the awarder. Hence, it is believed that Maa Siddhidatri fulfils all divine aspirations.
Maa Siddhidatri is known to be the giver of perfection. She blesses her devotees with wisdom and grants them spiritual knowledge. Maa Siddhidatri is also worshipped by demons and is surrounded by all Gods.
History and Origin
The story of Maa Siddhidatri begins at a time when our universe was nothing more than a deep void. It was filled with darkness and there was no sign of life. This is when Goddess Kushmanda created the universe with the radiance of her smile.
Maa Kushamnda then went on to create the Trimurti of Lord Bramha – the energy of creation, Lord Vishnu – the energy of sustenance and Lord Shiva – the energy of destruction. Once they were created, Lord Shiva asked Maa Kushmanda to bestow him with perfection.
So, Maa Kushmanda created another goddess who bestowed Lord Shiva with 18 kinds of perfection. These included the Ashta Siddhi (8 primary forms of perfection) along with 10 secondary forms of perfection, described by Lord Krishna.
This goddess who had the ability to bestow these perfections on Lord Shiva is Maa Siddhidatri – the giver of perfection. Now, Lord Bramha was asked to create the rest of the Universe. However, since he required a man and a woman for creation, Lord Bramha found this task to be very challenging.
He prayed to Maa Siddhidatri and asked her to help him. Upon hearing Lord Bramha’s request, Maa Siddhidatri converted half of Lord Shiva’s body into a woman’s body. Therefore, Lord Shiva is also known as Ardhanarishwar (Ardh - half, Nari - woman, Ishwar - refers to Lord Shiva).
Lord Bramha was now able to create living beings along with the rest of the Universe. So, it was Maa Siddhidatri who helped Lord Bramha with the creation of the Universe and also bestowed perfection upon Lord Shiva.
Worship of Maa Siddhidatri
Maa Siddhidatri is depicted as being seated on a lotus or a lion. She has four arms and holds a conch shell, a mace, a lotus and a discus in each of these hands.
Worshipped on the ninth day of Navratri, Maa Siddhidatri possesses the Ashta Siddhi. It is believed that Maa Siddhidatri blesses her devotees with spiritual wisdom and she is also known to destroy ignorance.
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
Navratri (Day 5) – The Story of Maa Skandmata
Navratri (Day 6) – The Story of Maa Katyayani
