नवरात्रि व्रत कथा (चैत्र एवं आश्विन नवरात्रि) · Navratri Vrat Katha (Chaitra & Ashwin Navratri)

Durga Puja is performed twice a year — in the bright fortnight of Chaitra and the bright fortnight of Ashwin, from Pratipada through Navami. Because the Goddess's nine forms are worshipped across nine days, it is called Navdurga and Navratri; the Chaitra observance is called Varshik Navratri, and the Ashwin observance Shardiya Navratri. The observer bathes, wears clean clothes, decorates the puja site, installs the image of Durga together with a kalash, sows barley in soil, and places a lamp in the eastern corner of the mandap. Ganesh Ji is worshipped first, then Jagadamba, with water, sandalwood, roli, kalava, rice, flowers, garlands, incense, a lamp, naivedya, fruit, betel leaf, betel nut, cloves, cardamom, and the like. On Ashtami, Navami, or Ram Navami, Kumari Pujan is performed — girls between two and ten years of age, ideally nine of them, are worshipped and fed, after which rice is brushed from their heads and dakshina is given. It is believed that this pleases Bhagwati Mahamaya, who then fulfills every wish.

Once, King Suratha, defeated and driven from his kingdom by the treachery of his own ministers, wandered lost in the forest. There he came upon the ashram of the sage Medha, where he also found a Vaishya named Samadhi, who had been cast out of his home by his own greedy kin. Neither man could free himself from attachment to those who had wronged him, and it was this very confusion that led them to question sage Medha. Medha told them that the primordial power Bhagwati has two forms — Vidya, which liberates, and Avidya, which binds one to the world — and that this is the root cause of all worldly attachment. To explain this, the sage began to relate three great deeds of the Goddess.

When King Suratha asked how Mahamaya first came into being, sage Medha told him — at the dawn of creation, while Bhagwan Vishnu lay in yogic sleep, two demons named Madhu and Kaitabha arose from the wax of his ear and threatened to kill Brahma, who sat upon the lotus grown from Vishnu's navel. Brahma praised the power of Yoganidra dwelling within Vishnu — the Goddess herself — and begged her to withdraw so that Vishnu might wake. The moment she withdrew, Vishnu awoke and fought the two demons for a very long age, at last turning his own thighs into dry ground as the waters receded, and slaying them there. In this way it was shown that even Bhagwan Vishnu's own valor works through the power of the Goddess.

Sage Medha then told the story of Mahishasura — in a war between the devas and asuras that raged for a hundred years, the devas were defeated and Mahishasura seized Indra's throne. The defeated gods, led by Brahma, went to Shiv and Vishnu and told them of their sorrow. Hearing this, the faces of Shiv and Vishnu blazed with fury, and fiery energy burst forth likewise from the faces of Brahma, Indra, and the other gods. All this combined radiance coalesced into the form of a Goddess, whose splendor lit up every direction. Each of the gods offered her a weapon, ornament, or power of their own. Her tremendous roar shook the whole of creation. Mahishasura's army, hearing that roar, advanced toward her, and Mahishasura fought her with all his strength and every trick of his sorcery — but in the end, the Goddess slew him.

It is also told that this same Goddess, who had slain Mahishasura, later reappeared from the body of Mata Gauri herself, this time to destroy Shumbha and Nishumbha. As she wandered the Himalayas in matchless beauty, Shumbha's servants caught sight of her and told their master that, though he already possessed every jewel of the three worlds, this one he must have. Shumbha sent his minister Sugriva to her with a proposal of marriage, but the Goddess refused, saying she would marry only the one who defeated her in battle. Enraged, Shumbha sent his general Dhumralochan with sixty thousand demon soldiers to seize her by force. With a single sound — "hoon" — the Goddess reduced Dhumralochan to ashes, and her lion destroyed the rest of his army.

On hearing of Dhumralochan's death, Shumbha sent the demons Chanda and Munda with a vast army. Seeing them approach with swords drawn, the Goddess assumed the terrible form of Kali and destroyed the entire demon army, beheading both Chanda and Munda and sending them to Yamlok. It was for this that Kali came to be known ever after as "Chamunda" — a name formed from Chanda and Munda together. On hearing this, Shumbha sent his entire army to war. The twang of the Goddess's bow filled the whole space between earth and sky, and the demon army surrounded her and her lion on every side. For the welfare of the gods, powers resembling each deity emerged from their own bodies and joined the battle beside the Goddess. Surrounded by these divine powers, Bhagwan Shankar asked the Goddess to end these demons swiftly for his sake. From her own body then emerged a fierce power that howled like a jackal — the Chandika-shakti, called "Aparajita," the unconquerable — and she sent Shiv himself as her messenger to Shumbha and Nishumbha.

Shiv delivered this message to Nishumbha: if he valued his life, he should return the three worlds to Indra, restore the gods' share of the yajna offerings, and withdraw to Patala — but if pride still drove him to fight, he could come, for Shiv, having become the Goddess's own messenger, would thenceforth be known in the world as "Shivadooti." Drunk on the pride of their strength, the demons ignored this warning and renewed the battle, and the Goddess destroyed their weapons. When many demons had been destroyed, the mighty Raktabija advanced — his unique power being that every drop of his blood that touched the ground instantly gave rise to another demon just like him. Watching this multiplying army, the gods were struck with fear. Chandika then commanded Kali to open her mouth wide and swallow every drop of Raktabija's blood, and every demon born from it, before it could touch the earth. Kali struck Raktabija with her trishul, drew his spurting blood directly into her mouth, and devoured every demon born of it, while Chandika struck his body with her thunderbolt, arrows, and sword. At last Raktabija fell dead, and the gods rejoiced greatly.

Enraged by Raktabija's death, both Shumbha and Nishumbha themselves led their vast armies to battle the Mahashakti. The immensely proud Shumbha even fought against the Matrika-mothers. Very swiftly, every demon was slain, and the Goddess killed both Shumbha and Nishumbha as well. With this, peace was restored to the whole world, and the joyful gods sang hymns in praise of the Goddess. Having told this entire tale, sage Medha gave King Suratha and the Vaishya Samadhi a detailed teaching on the praise of the Goddess. Inspired by it, both went to a riverbank and immersed themselves in tapasya. After three years, Devi Durga appeared and granted each of them a boon — the Vaishya Samadhi was freed from worldly attachment and settled into contemplation of the self, while King Suratha defeated his enemies and regained his lost kingdom and splendor. Here the katha concludes.