Navratri 2021 (Day 9): The Story of Maa Siddhidatri

Maa Siddhidatri is worshipped on the ninth day of Navratri. ‘Siddhi’ means ‘supernatural power’, and ‘Dhatri’ means ‘the awarder’. Therefore, Maa Siddhidatri is believed to fulfill all divine aspirations.

Maa Siddhidatri is known as the giver of perfection. Her devotees are blessed with wisdom and granted spiritual knowledge by her. Demons worship Maa Siddhidatri as well and she is surrounded by all the Gods.

History and Origin

Maa Siddhidatri’s story begins at a time when the universe was nothing but a deep void. The world was filled with darkness without signs of life. With the radiance of her smile, Goddess Kushmanda created the universe.

Then Maa Kushamnda created the Trimurti of Lord Bramha – the energy of creation, Lord Vishnu – the energy of sustenance, and Lord Shiva – the energy of destruction. After they were created, Lord Shiva asked Maa Kushmanda to bestow him with perfection. Hence, Maa Kushmanda created another goddess to bless Shiva with 18 kinds of perfection. There were the Ashta Siddhi forms (8 primary forms of perfection) along with 10 secondary forms of perfection, all described by Lord Krishna.

Read also: Navratri 2021: The eighth day of Navratri is dedicated to Maa Mahagauri

Maa Siddhidatri, the goddess who bestowed these perfections on Lord Shiva, is known as the goddess of perfection. Lord Bramha was then asked to create the rest of the Universe. Lord Bramha, however, found this task very challenging since he needed a man and a woman for creation. He prayed to Maa Siddhidatri and asked her for help. In response to Lord Bramha’s request, Maa Siddhidatri converted Lord Shiva’s half body into a woman’s body. Consequently, Lord Shiva is also known as Ardhanarishwar (Ardh – half, Nari – woman, Ishwar – Lord Shiva).
Lord Bramha had now been able to create living beings along with the rest of the universe. It was Maa Siddhidatri who helped Lord Bramha in the creation of the Universe, and she also blessed Lord Shiva with perfection.

Maa Siddhidatri is depicted as seated on either a lotus or lion. In each of her four arms, she holds a conch shell, a mace, a lotus and a discus. The goddess Maa Siddhidatri, worshipped on Navratri’s ninth day, possess the Ashta Siddhi. It is believed that Maa Siddhidatri blesses her devotees with spiritual wisdom and that she destroys ignorance.