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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 6 in the Navadurgā series, describing the sixth of the Navadurgās, Devī Kātyāyanī, who is worshiped on the ṣaṣṭhī 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
|| Ṣaṣṭhaṃ Kātyāyanī Tathā ||
चन्द्रहासोज्ज्वलकरा
शार्दूलवरवाहना।
कात्यायनी शुभं दद्या
देवि दानवघातिनी ॥ 6 ॥
candrahāsojjvalakarā
śārdūlavaravāhanā|
kātyāyanī śubhaṃ dadyā
devi dānavaghātinī || 6 ||
Holding the shining Candrahāsa sword in her hand,
the one who rides on a lion as her vāhana,
O Goddess Kātyāyanī, give auspiciousness,
Devī, the slayer of dānavas.
Devī is worshiped as the Navadurgā Kātyāyanī on the ṣaṣṭhī tithi of Navarātrī. She is the epitome of the gṛhiṇī, or woman of gṛhastha āśrama, and represents determination and unwavering faith. Her upāsanā provides the sādhaka with a harmonious, smooth, and peaceful marriage life.
According to our śāstras, ṛṣi Kātyāyana of the Kātya clan performed an extremely difficult penance and prayed to Goddess Durgā for a boon. When she appeared, ṛṣi Kātyāyana asked her to reincarnate as his daughter, in the form of a Goddess. When the girl was born, he named her Kātyāyanī. He knew she was to grow to protect the world from terror and evil. Meanwhile, Lord Brahmā gave the asura Mahiṣa a boon - that he could only be killed by a lady. The Goddess born as girl to ṛṣi Kātyāyana was the one to fulfill the boon.
When the terror reign of Mahiṣāsura became too much to bear, all the gods and divine beings offered their powers and weapons to her, which she easily accommodated in her multiple hands. These details are covered in the third adhyāya of Devī Māhātmyam, also known as Śrī Durgā Saptaśatī. For example, Lord Śiva bequeathed her with a triṣūla, while Śri Kṛṣṇa (Viṣṇu) bestowed a cakra. Varuṇa devatā gifted her the śaṅkha (conch), and Agni deva the astra known as śakti. Vāyu deva gave a celestial bow and quiver full of arrows.
Even goddesses Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī entered into her body and became one with her form to kill Mahiṣāsura. Kātyāyanī Devī, then transformed into the rūpa of Mahā Lakṣmī, had eighteen hands bearing all the celestial weapons given to her collectively by the gods and divine beings, and she rode a ferocious lion in order to storm into battle - first, to kill Mahiṣasura’s army commanders, and finally to kill the asura himself. She is therefore known as the warrior goddess. This avatāra is considered to be Ādi Śakti’s incarnation as Mahiṣāsura Mardinī, one of the most renowned in the Śakta tradition. In fact, what is lesser known is that Mahiṣāsura Mardinī is another name for Devī Kātyāyanī.
अग्रगण्याऽचिन्त्यरूपा कलिकल्मष-नाशिनी ।
श्री ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम्
कात्यायनी कालहन्त्री कमलाक्ष-निषेविता ॥ ११३ ॥
agragaṇyā’cintyarūpā kalikalmaṣa-nāśinī |
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma Stotram
kātyāyanī kālahantrī kamalākṣa-niṣevitā || 113 ||
Some sources detail that she was born to ṛṣi Kātyāyana as his daughter on the fourteenth night of the dark fortnight in the month Āśvina. The ṛṣi intensely worshiped her for three days: the seventh, eighth, and ninth tithis of the bright fortnight in the same month, after which she killed Mahiṣāsura on Vijayadaṣamī. Her worship, conducted with devotion and faith, leads to the attainment of the four puruṣārthas – dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. In this recounting, she is the daughter form of Durgā Devī, and a very loving daughter at that. She is epitome of affection, but won’t hesitate to rise up in anger to defend righteousness and dharma.
Mātā Kātyāyanī is a caturbhuja Navadurgā, having four hands. Her raised right hand holds a khaḍga (sword) of Lord Śiva known as Candrahāsa, while in some depictions, her upper left hand holds his triśula. In others, this hand is in abhaya mudra. Her lower left hand holds a padma (lotus) and her lower right hand is also in abhaya mudra. Like Skandamātā, she also has three eyes (trilocanā). Her skin is of a golden hue. She dons a green saree, and wears a flower garland. In Śaktism, she is also associated traditionally with the color red and has tied to the fierce forms of Bhadrakāī and Devī Caṇḍikā.
One of the most interesting aspects of Mātā Kātyāyanī and her upāsanā - in our very history and present times - is that she is a favorite of the gopīs and people of Vraja bhūmī. The gopikās worshiped her in order to attain Śrī Kṛiṣṇa as a husband.Traditionally, even today, she is well-established as the Queen of Vraj. In fact - presently in Delhi, there is a very famous temple in Chhattarpur of Mā Kātyāyanī. This shrine is dedicated completely to her, and her darshan can be availed only once a month, aligning with a specific day on the lunar calendar. Her golden image attracts the attention of devotees with its huge size and sheer divinity.
Kātyāyanī Devī abides in the ājñā, or third eye, cakra. The fierce warrior Goddess,here she embodies determination and unwavering faith - both which are qualities associated with this cakra. Located between the eyebrows, the ājñā chakra is linked to intuition, insight, and spiritual awareness. Awakening this cakra enhances one’s ability to perceive deeper truths and the most subtle of inner wisdom.
आज्ञा-चक्रान्तरालस्था रुद्रग्रन्थि-विभेदिनी ।
श्री ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम्
सहस्राराम्बुजारूढा सुधा-साराभिवर्षिणी ॥ ३९॥
मुद्गौदनासक्त-चित्ता साकिन्यम्बा-स्वरूपिणी ।
आज्ञा-चक्राब्ज-निलया शुक्लवर्णा षडानना ॥ १०७ ॥
ājñā-cakrāntarālasthā rudragranthi-vibhedinī |
śrī lalitā sahasranāma stotram
sahasrārāmbujārūḍhā sudhā-sārābhivarṣiṇī || 39 ||
mudgaudanāsakta-cittā sākinyambā-svarūpiṇī |
ājñā-cakrābja-nilayā śuklavarṇā ṣaḍānanā || 107 ||
Mother Kātyāyanī is commonly worshiped to overcome any barriers in marriage. Worshiping her can also help eradicate all the negative effects of planets in one’s horoscope. Her planet is Jupiter, and her favorite flower is the marigold. Her favorite color is green, just as the saree she wears.
This ṣaṣṭhī, may we attain the determination and unwavering faith granted by Mātā Kātyāyanī.
Next - Kālarātri | Navadurgā - Part 7
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