Navadurga ( sa, नवदुर्गा, translit=Navadurgā), also spelled Navdurga and Navadurgas, are nine manifestations and forms of
Durga in
Hinduism,
especially worshipped during
Navaratri and
Durga Puja. They are often considered collectively as a single deity, mainly among the followers of
Shaktism and
Shaivism sect of Hinduism.
According to
Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...
, the nine forms are considered the nine stages of Durga during the nine-day long duration of the war with demon-king
Mahishasura, where the tenth day is celebrated as the
Vijayadashami () among the
Hindus and is considered as one of the most important festivals.
Background
During the festival of Navratri, nine unmarried virgin girls up to the age of nine years are worshiped and fed as they are considered to be the incarnations of these nine goddesses. Then, the Nabapatrika ritual during Durga Puja involves tying the branches of eight plants with their leaves with a banana plant (''naba'' meaning 'nine', and p''atrika'' meaning 'leaves').
The nine forms
Main forms
Other forms
According to traditions and Hindu scriptures Navadurga has different forms. The
Agni Purana
The ''Agni Purana'', ( sa, अग्नि पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also co ...
lists them as:
# Rudrachanda
# Prachanda
# Chandogra
# Chandanayika
# Chanda
# Chandavati
# Chandarupa
# Atichandika
# Ugrachanda
Nine forms of
Rajarajeshwari are worshiped as Navadurga forms on the nine days of Navaratri at the famous
Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada,
Andhra Pradesh.
# Swarna Kavachalankrita Durga
#
Bala Tripurasundari
Devi Bala Tripurasundari, also known as Bala-Ambika, is the younger aspect of the Hindu Goddess Tripura Sundari one of the ten forms of the Supreme Goddess Mahadevi.
There are 64 forms of Devi Bala and her Bala Tripurasundari form is widely worshi ...
#
Annapurna
#
Gayatri
# Lalitha Tripura sundari
#
Saraswati
#
Mahalakshmi
# Durga
# Mahishasuramardhini
See also
*
Mahavidya
The ''Mahavidya'' ( sa, महाविद्या, , lit. ''Great Wisdoms'') are a group of ten Hinduism, Hindu Tantra, Tantric Devi, goddesses. The 10 Mahavidyas are usually named in the following sequence: Kali, Tara (Devi), Tara, Tripura Su ...
*
Navaratri
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{Shaktism
Hindu goddesses
Forms of Parvati
9 (number)