On the ninth day of the nine-day long Hindu festival of Navratri, we worship the ninth form of Devi Durga. The ninth form of Devi Durga is Maa Siddhidatri.
It is said that at the beginning of time when there was nothing in the universe there was only darkness then Maa Kushmanda created the universe using her radiant smile. Maa Kushmanda also created the holy trinity. She created Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu and each one of these gods was given a job to do. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. Once all these gods were created, Shiva went and prayed to Maa Kushmanda and asked her more perfection. He asked Maa Kushmanda to bestow him with lots and lots of blessings, to bestow him with more perfection. And that’s when Maa Kushmanda created another goddess. She created Maa Siddhidatri.
Maa Siddhidatri blessed Shiva not just with eight or ‘ashtasiddhis’ but with 18 siddhis or 18 perfections. These 18 comprised not just the ‘ashtasiddhis’ or the eight perfections but also ten more siddhis which are the secondary perfections as defined by Lord Krishna. And then something amazing happened, half of Lord Shiva’s body became one with Maa Siddhidatri. She became half of Shiva and that form of Shiva where he is half female and half male is called Ardhanareshwar.
Maa Siddhidatri also blessed Brahma and Vishnu with eight perfections or the ‘ashtasiddhis’ and these eight Siddhis (perfections) are:
And that is why Maa Siddhidatri is worshipped on the ninth day of the Navratri which is also called Ram Navmi or Naumi.
Maa Siddhidatri sits on a lotus and her ride is a lion. She has four hands. In one hand she carries a Gada, in one a chakra, in one a lotus, and in one a Shunk. Maa Siddhidatri is not just worshipped by humans she is worshipped by the devas, by the Gandharvas, by the asuras, by the yakshas, and by the Siddhas.
Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.
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