Navaratri and Dussehra
By: Manasi Kudtarkar
Tags: India, History, Travel, Spirituality, Culture

If you were shocked by Ariana Grande’s “You’ll believe God is a woman,” I’ll have you know that most polytheistic religions conform to the belief of God as feminine and worship female deities. With more than 33 million Gods under its belt, it is little wonder that India worships goddesses, too.

Navaratri — literally nine nights — is an Indian festival that celebrates the feminine nature of the Divine, also called the Divine Feminine or the Divine Mother.

Just as an unborn baby takes nine months of gestation to develop and grow in the mother’s womb, these nine nights symbolize being born again. They are dedicated to seeking deep rest to rejuvenate our mind, body, and soul.

The Great Battle Between Durga and Mahishasura

Navaratri's nine days also commemorate the archetypal victory of good over evil in a terrifying battle that raged on for nine days.

Mahishasura and his superpower

Once, Rambha — the king of the demons — fell in love with a buffalo and married her. They had a son and named him Mahishasura (literally buffalo demon). Mahishasura was powerful and ambitious. He wanted to rule over the entire universe. But he knew that to succeed in his endeavors the demons needed to gain power over the gods — their bitter enemies.

Mahishasura prayed fervently to Brahma (considered to be the creator of the universe). Day and night, he was engrossed in his penance without care for food, water, or his body. Brahma couldn’t ignore his pleas anymore and appeared before him to grant him his wish.

The elated Mashishasura said, “I want to become immortal.”

Brahma replied, “That is an impossible boon to bestow on anyone. Whoever is born must die. Ask for anything else, and it’ll be yours.”

“Grant me a boon that no man or god can ever kill me,” replied the smug demon thinking that he had fooled Brahma into giving him exactly what he desired.

“Your wish shall be granted,” so saying Brahma disappeared.

Drunk with the power of his newly acquired boon, Mahishasura attacked humans on the earth and wreaked havoc. Violence tore through the entire world, and fear gripped humans and gods alike. The gods knew they would be his next targets.

Indra — the king of the Gods — pleaded with the Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu — preserver of the universe, and Shiva — destroyer of the universe) to join the gods in the great battle to ensue. The Trinity obliged.

One of the greatest wars between the demons and the gods followed. But the gods lost the battle because no one could kill Mahishasura despite their best attempts.

Realizing their predicament, the Trinity beat a retreat from the slaughter. They gathered together to brainstorm a way out of the dilemma.

The catch in the boon

Mahishasura’s boon safeguarded him from men and gods, but there was a catch. In his ignorance and conceit, he had forgotten to include immunity from women. For him, it was unimaginable that a woman could challenge him in battle, let alone defeat him. So, the only way he could be killed was at the hands of a woman.

The Trinity then joined forces to create a female super-god, called Durga. She was an incarnation of Goddess Parvati, the Shakti, Divine Feminine, or the energy that runs through our entire universe.

Shiva fashioned her face, Vishnu gave her arms, and Brahma provided her with legs. She was both breathtakingly beautiful and fiercely powerful. All the gods presented her with clothes, jewelry, and weapons to vanquish the evil demon.

The nine-day battle

Durga marched to the gates of heaven, where Mahishura stayed then and demanded that he confront her in battle. Hearing this, the demon king laughed. But bewitched by her beauty, he asked her to be his consort.

Durga, of course, refused, and war broke loose. Mashishasura kept changing forms every day. One day he was a man, the next day a lion, and then an elephant. But Durga fought him bravely for nine consecutive days. On the ninth day, when he was in his buffalo form, she struck him with a trident and killed him. These nine days and nights gave rise to the tradition of celebrating Navaratri.

Symbolism behind the battle

Mahishasura represents man's ignorance — his reptilian brain — or his baser instincts like greed, aggression, dominance, and territorialism. Durga represents Shakti — or energy, life-force — prevalent throughout the universe and governs its proper functioning. She symbolizes the higher qualities in humans, such as knowledge, transcendence, spirituality, seeking the truth.

Durga’s defeat of Mahishasura is not only a symbolism of the triumph of good over evil but also that of man’s higher nature over his baser instincts. The tenth day after the battle is as celebrated as Vijayadashami or Dussehra.

The Significance Behind Each of the Nine Days of Navaratri

Tamas, rajas, and sattva are three Gunas or the qualities of the world and everything in it. Tamas means inertia, rajas refers to activity, and sattva is transcendence. The first three days of Navaratri denote tamas and are dedicated to Durga (or Kali); the next three days are rajas devoted to Goddess Lakshmi (the gentle goddess of money). The last three are sattva and belong to Goddess Saraswati (goddess of knowledge and enlightenment).

The nine forms of Durga

Each day of the festival represents the nine forms or aspects of Goddess Durga:

Devi Shailaputri — Shaila means mountain or a peak, and Putri means daughter in Sanskrit. So, Shailaprutri translates to the daughter of the mountain. This name refers to Goddess Parvati since she was the daughter of Lord Himalaya (Himalaya is a mountain range in the north of India). Shaila also means extraordinary or the peak of any experience. Devi Brahmacharini — Brahmacharini means unmarried and celibate. She is the pure form of divine energy, new and fresh every day like the sun. She is the form of the Goddess Parvati, born to Daksha Prajapati. Devi Chandraghanta — She represents that aspect that charms the mind, which is beautiful, like the moon (Chandra). After marrying Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati started adorning her forehead with a half-moon bindi, and so came to be known as Chandraghanta. Devi Kushmanda — She is the form that’s full of energy and prana (life-force) Devi Skandamata — She represents the motherly nature of God or Divine Mother. She’s considered the mother of the six systems of knowledge — Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta. Devi Katyayani — This is the form Goddess Parvati took to destroy the demon Mahishasura. It’s considered the most violent form of her. Devi Kalaratri — It is the deep dark energy form that houses the universe within it and brings solace to every heart and soul. Devi Mahagauri — The most beautiful form of the Goddess and one which gives liberation. Devi Siddhidaatri — It is the Goddess's ultimate form that bestows the fruits of actions on everyone.

The nine colors of Navaratri

Each of the nine days represents a particular color, and people wear clothes and accessories of that specific color. The Navratri's first color is decided based on the day the festival begins, and the remaining eight days follow a fixed cycle of colors.

Image by Author.

How is Navaratri celebrated?

Dance forms

In the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, people play Garba and Dandiya at night. Garba is a dance form in which men and women adorn colorful clothes and ornaments and dance in a huge circle. It is a very exuberant form of dancing involving clapping with both hands as they move and turn around in circles with and around their dancing partners.

Dandiya is a dance form similar to Garba, but instead of clapping, people use wooden sticks held in both hands to strike each others’ sticks (literally dandiya). On the ninth day, the festivities and dancing continue throughout the night till the dawn of the tenth day.