Ghatastapana, the ritual of welcoming the goddess Durga to Navratri, begins the festival. It signifies victory between good and evil. The first form of Maa Durga is Maa Shailaputri. Goddess Durga is worshipped on this auspicious day along with Maa Bramhacharini, Maa Chandraghanta, Maa Kushmanda, and other avatars of the goddess.
In Sanskrit, ‘Shail’ means ‘mountain’ and ‘putri’ means ‘daughter’. Goddess Shailaputri, the absolute form of Mother Nature, is also known as the daughter of mountains.
History and Origin
Goddess Shailaputri is an incarnation of Devi Sati, according to Hindu belief. She was the daughter of King Daksha Prajapati, who was the son of Lord Bramha in this incarnation. She was married to Lord Shiva. King Daksha, however, was not happy with this marriage since he did not consider Lord Shiva worthy of marrying a girl from an honorable family.
According to the story, King Daksha once invited all the Gods to a grand religious gathering (Maha Yagna). Due to his opposition to the marriage of Lord Shiva and Devi Sati, he did not invite them. Devi Sati decided to attend the Maha Yagna when she became aware of it. Lord Shiva explained that King Daksha did not want them to attend the Yagna, but Devi Sati insisted on attending the ceremony. Shiva understood that she longed to go home and allowed her to take part in the Yagna. However, as soon as Devi Sati reached the family she noticed that no one seemed particularly pleased to see her.
All of Devi Sati’s sisters and relatives ridiculed her, except for her mother. Daksha made some derogatory remarks about Shiva and insulted him in front of all the Gods. Devi Sati was unable to tolerate this insult, so she jumped directly into the fire meant for Maha Yagna and died. When this news reached Lord Shiva, he became enraged and immediately took on the form of Veerhadra. He proceeded towards the Maha Yagna and decapitated King Daksha. Eventually, Lord Vishnu intervened and King Daksha was resurrected with a goat’s head attached to his body.
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Lord Shiva was still grieved and carried Devi Sati’s half-burned body on his shoulders. It was impossible for him to part with her, so he wandered endlessly around the world. Vishnu severed Devi Sati’s corpse using his Sudarshan Chakra and parts of her body fell at different places. The places became known as Shakti-Peethas.
In her next birth, Devi Sati became the daughter of the mountain-god Himalaya. During her incarnation, she was known both as Shailputri and Parvati.
Because of her prolonged path of penance in this incarnation, she came to be known as Maa Bramhacharini or Goddess Parvati. Again, she was married to Lord Shiva and had two sons – Ganesha and Kartikeya.
The first day of Navratri is the day for worshiping Maa Shailaputri, a divinity associated with Goddess Durga. The goddess carries a lotus in one hand, a trident in the other, and her vehicle is a bull (Nandi). It is believed that devotees of Maa Shailaputri can lead a happy and successful life with her blessings.
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