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प्रथमं शैलपुत्रीति द्वितीयं ब्रह्मचारिणी ।
देव्याः कवचम्
तृतीयं चन्द्रघण्टेति कूष्माण्डेति चतुर्थकम् ॥
पञ्चमं स्कन्दमातेति षष्ठं कात्यायनी तथा ।
सप्तमं कालरात्रिश्च महागौरीति चाष्टमम् ॥
नवमं सिद्धिदात्री च नवदुर्गाः प्रकीर्तिताः ।
उक्तान्येतानि नामानि ब्रह्मणैव महात्मना ॥
prathamaṃ śailaputrīti dvitīyaṃ brahmacāriṇī |
Devyāḥ Kavacam
tṛtīyaṃ candraghaṇṭeti kūṣmāṇḍeti caturthakam ||
pañcamaṃ skandamāteti ṣaṣṭhaṃ kātyāyanī tathā |
saptamaṃ kālarātriśca mahāgaurīti cāṣṭamam ||
navamaṃ siddhidātrī ca navadurgāḥ prakīrtitāḥ |
uktānyetāni nāmāni brahmaṇaiva mahātmanā ||
First is Śailaputrī, second is Brahmacāriṇī,
third is Candraghaṇṭā, Kūṣmāṇḍā is fourth;
fifth is Skandamatā, sixth is Kātyāyanī,
and seventh is Kālaratri, and Mahāgaurī is eighth;
and ninth is Siddhidātrī, these are well-known as the Navadurgās,
these names were indeed uttered by the great Lord Brahma himself.
This article is Part 7 in the Navadurgā series, describing the sixth of the Navadurgās, Devī Kālarātri, who is worshiped on the saptami tithi. The previous installments of the series can be accessed below:
- Part 1 on Śailaputrī Devī
- Part 2 on Brahmacāriṇī Devī
- Part 3 on Candraghaṇṭā Devī
- Part 4 on Kūṣmāṇḍā Devī
- Part 5 on Skandamātā Devī
- Part 6 on Kātyāyanī Devī
|| Saptamaṃ Kālarātriḥ Ca ||
एकवेणी जपाकर्ण
पूरा नग्ना खरास्थिता ।
लम्बोष्ठी कर्णिकाकर्णी
तैलभ्यक्तशरीरिणी ॥
वामपादोल्लसल्लोह
लताकण्टकभूषणा ।
वर्धनमूर्धध्वजा कृष्णा
कालरात्रिर्भयङ्करी ॥
ekaveṇī japākarṇa
pūrā nagnā kharāsthitā |
lamboṣṭhī karṇikākarṇī
tailabhyaktaśarīriṇī ||
vāmapādollasalloha
latākaṇṭakabhūṣaṇā |
vardhanamūrdhadhvajā kṛṣṇā
kālarātrirbhayaṅkarī ||
O one with single braid of hair, adorned with hibiscus flowers around her ears,
Completely naked (wearing the directions as clothes), dwelling on the donkey,
Whose lips are long, wearing earrings on her ears,
and whose body is smeared with oil,
Whose left leg is adorned with metal thorny coils -
like a creeper, ornamented,
The one who increases prosperity, the one in dark blue color,
Goddess Kālarātri, the fear-invoking one.
Devī is Navadurgā Kālarātri on the saptamī tithi. She is considered to be the most ferocious avatāra of the Navadurgā Devīs; and is known for destroying ignorance and removing darkness from the universe. Her complexion is like the dark night, and she has bountiful hair. Sometimes it is described as hanging in a single braid, while in other depictions her hair is not tied at all and flowing in all directions. The appearance of Mā Kālarātri is extremely terrifying, but devotees should not become afraid of her.
Kālarātri means the one who is the death of kāla, or time itself. Her form primarily depicts that life also has a dark side – the violent Mother Nature - and creates havoc when necessary. Yet due to this, she is known as Śubhaṅkarī - she who brings in auspiciousness - and she endows her devotees with serenity and courage.
कालरात्र्यादि-शक्त्यौघ-वृता स्निग्धौदनप्रिया ।
श्री ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम्
महावीरेन्द्र-वरदा राकिण्यम्बा-स्वरूपिणी ॥ १०१ ॥
kālarātryādi-śaktyaugha-vṛtā snigdhaudanapriyā |
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma Stotram
mahāvīrendra-varadā rākiṇyambā-svarūpiṇī || 101 ||
Kālarātri is the most aggressive form of Ādi Śakti, and a very destructive form at that. She is a warrior goddess like Kātyāyanī Devī, and she is often known as Kālī, referring to both the color black as well as the concept of time. After Goddess Kālī killed the asuras Śumbha and Niśumbha on the battlefield, the asura Raktabīja was sent to vanquish her. Then Pārvatī Devī reincarnated as Jagadambā to kill him. Yet, she saw that he was supremely arrogant about his power. In her anger, she transformed into Kālarātrī, in which rūpa she destroyed him completely. Raktabījāsura had a unique power - any drop of blood spilt from his body became a clone of himself. When he entered the battlefield, there would be an infinite number of his form, due to this. As detailed in the eighth adhyāya of Śrī Durgā Saptaśatī - Raktabījāsura vadha - Devī Kālarātri killed him by drinking his blood, not letting a single drop fall on the ground; and beheading him, without letting a single clone of him remain. It is also said that Devī Kauśikī beheads Raktabījāsura with her sword, after which and Kālī drinks up his blood.
In another episode from the Purāṇas, Devī Pārvatī again manifested as Kālarātrii to kill the rākṣasa Huṇḍa, and to protect her daughter Aśoka Sundarī. She is identified with Bhairavī, too, in Śrī Durgā Saptaśati. Kālarātrī is always ready for wars and battles, and fights against negative and dark entities.
Kālarātri is a caturbhuja Navadurgā, having four hands. She is observed holding different weapons and sometimes a skull filled with blood, along with having hands in abhaya or varada mudra. Kālarātri often wears a black saree, though also she is also sometimes pictured wearing a girdle made out of tiger skin - or in some cases, too, wearing the aṣṭa dig (the eight directions) as her clothing, meaning she wears nothing at all. On her neck hangs a garland of severed human skulls, which represent the fifty letters of the saṃskṛta alphabet or heads. Like previous Navadurgās, she is trinetrā, having the third eye on her forehead. However for Kālarātrī Devī, flames appear through her nostrils when she inhales or exhales air. Her mount is the donkey.
Kālarātri Devī abides in the sahasrāra cakra, or crown cakra, representing the and or dark side of life. This cakra is located at the top of the head and is the point from where siddhas and evolved jīvātmas exit their physical body when it is time to move to the next plane of existence. This cakra connects us to the universal consciousness, and represents the apex of spiritual enlightenment. Awakening this cakra leads to profound spiritual experiences and a sense of oneness with the universe.
सहस्रदल-पद्मस्था सर्व-वर्णोप-शोभिता । सर्वायुधधरा शुक्ल-संस्थिता सर्वतोमुखी ॥ १०९ ॥
श्री ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम्
sahasradala-padmasthā sarva-varṇopa-śobhitā |
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma Stotram
sarvāyudhadharā śukla-saṃsthitā sarvatomukhī || 109 ||
Worshiping Mā Kālarātri on Navarātri is considered auspicious. Regular chanting of the Kālarātri mantra can remove all the fear from the devotee’s heart and make oneself bold and self-confident. Anyone suspicious of black magic or dark force pursuing them can free themrself from it by chanting the incredibly powerful Kālarātri mantra. This mantra wins the protective shield of goddess Kālarātri for her devotees and bestows peace. Yogīs and occult practitioners chant this mantra to attain various mystic powers.
She is associated with the planet Saturn and her flower is the Kṛṣṇa kamala. Her favorite color is grey. She represents the destruction of negative forces that must occur in order to restore peace and harmony in any space. This saptamī, may we vanquish the negativities within us in order to grow past them - to greater heights in our spiritual journey.
Next - Mahāgaurī | Navadurgā - Part 8
References
- Śrī Durgā Saptaśatī, Devī Māhātmyam, Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa
- Navadurgā Stotram
- Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma Stotram, Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa
- Durga Puja or Navaratri
- Navadurga Symbolism of Chakra Awakening
- Significance of Navadurga
- 9 Divine Forms of Goddess Durga