A Critical Study on the Nine Forms of the Goddess Durga and Their Mythological Narratives in the Markandeya Purana

Abstract

This paper will  focus on the nine forms of the Goddess Durga ( also called Shakti) and their mythological narratives in the ‘Markandeya Purana' that describes  the battle between the Goddess Durga  and the demons in its subsection titled-  "Devimahatmya.” In the battle, the Goddess vanquished all the evil forces in the universe, which were personified as the demons (the asuras). This led to the celebration of ‘Navratri,' a religious-ritualistic festival in India, every year to mark the victory of the good over the evil. The word Navaratri is a compound word, made up of Nava meaning nine and Ratri meaning night in Sanskrit. This festival of nine nights comes twice a year, once in spring and another time in autumn. The autumn Navratri marks the occasion when the 9 forms of the Goddess Durga slew the various demons in the Hindu mythology, who had oppressed the Gods in the heaven. The male Gods who were ousted from their kingdom in the heaven united their powers to create a female deity called Shakti. She is the personification of their divine powers. She is identified as the Goddess Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva and the mother of Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya. ‘Markandeya Purana' provides the cause of the origin of the Shakti. The Vedic text describes the source of Durga's powers; her forms and  her actions.  Each of the nine forms of the Goddess Durga symbolises the life cycle of a female from childhood, matrimony to motherhood. The nine forms of the Durga are Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kaalratri, Gauri, and Siddhidatri. Each of the Navratri day is devoted to a Goddess in the above given sequence. Each form of Durga has a distinct origin, name, physical attributes, colour of garments, a different animal on which she mounts, identity, power and functions. Each form of the Goddess bestows a unique blessing on her devotee. The method and time of worshipping differs for each of the Nav-Shaktis. There are different set of Sanskrit chants addressed to each of the Goddesses. Even the flowers and the food (bhog) to be offered differ for each of the Shaktis. The paper will describe the ritualistic practices for worshipping each of the nine forms of the Goddess Durga. The paper will interpret the cultural and the symbolic connotations of these ritualistic practices. It will also trace the origin of worshipping a single, supreme mother deity, and the unification of the indigenous deities with an Aryan- Vedic deity for the purpose of building a Vedic canon of Gods and Goddesses to mark the superiority of the Aryan culture over the other marginalized cultures of India.