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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 5 in the Navadurgā series, describing the fifth of the Navadurgās, Devī Skandamātā, who is worshiped on the pañcamī 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
|| Pañcamaṃ Skandamātā Iti ||
सिंहासनगता नित्यम्
पद्माश्रितकरद्वया ।
शुभदास्तु सदा देवी
स्कन्दमाता यशस्विनी ॥
siṃhāsanagatā nityam
padmāśritakaradvayā |
śubhadāstu sadā devī
skandamātā yaśasvinī ||
The one who is seated on a lion and riding, the eternal one,
whose pair of hands are holding the lotuses,
please bring me good fortune always,
Goddess Skandamata, the illustrious one!
Devī Skandamātā is worshiped on pañcamī: When Pārvatī Devī became the mother of Śrī Kārtikeya, she came to be known as Skandamātā. Goddess Skandamātā mounts the ferocious lion and carries baby Skanda in her lap. She represents the motherly qualities of nurturance and protection and is commonly known as Padmāsanā Devī.
Devī Skandamātā is a caturbhuja Navadurgā, with four arms. She holds a kamala (lotus) in two hands, while the other two are in varada mudra and abhaya mudra, or sometimes with one right hand clasping baby Skanda on her lap. Like a few other forms we observe of Devī when seated, her left leg is folded and her right leg hangs straight, unfolded. In some depictions, she is trinetrā, with three eyes as well. She has a golden, fair complexion.
तेजोवती त्रिनयना लोलाक्षी-कामरूपिणी ।
श्री ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम्
मालिनी हंसिनी माता मलयाचल-वासिनी ॥ ९५ ॥
tejovatī trinayanā lolākṣī-kāmarūpiṇī |
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma Stotram
mālinī haṃsinī mātā malayācala-vāsinī || 95 ||
There is an episode in the Purāṇas where Agni deva steals from Devī Pārvatī. When she learns of the same, intense anger triggers her to change into a rūpa of Goddess Śakti. She curses Agni deva - that he will burn everyone with whom he comes into contact, unable to differentiate between those who are good or bad, right or wrong. Anyone in the three worlds who touches him would be reduced to ashes. She further adds that he will always be surrounded by thick, black smoke. Meanwhile, Lord Śiva arrived at the scene and calmed her. Perhaps due to this, she is regularly known as “Goddess of Fire”.
विजया विमला वन्द्या वन्दारु-जन-वत्सला ।
श्री ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम्
वाग्वादिनी वामकेशी वह्निमण्डल-वासिनी ॥ ७७ ॥
vijayā vimalā vandyā vandāru-jana-vatsalā |
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma Stotram
vāgvādinī vāmakeśī vahnimaṇḍala-vāsinī || 77 ||
Worshiping Skandamātā on the fifth day of Navarātrī is significant for yogīs and sādhakas, as it is on this day that the devotee’s mind reaches viśuddha cakra, the throat cakra, her abode, and stays therein. The viśuddha cakra also represents the nurturing and protective aspect of motherhood. It is associated with communication and self-expression. Activating this chakra promotes effective communication and expression of one’s thoughts and emotions. On Navarātra pañcamī, it is said that upon worship of Devī Skandamātā, all the devotee’s actions - internal as well as external - completely stop and the mind is bereft of all thought-waves, calm like a waveless ocean. It would be advancing towards the state of pure consciousness, completely submerged in the meditation of Mother Padmāsana, quite devoid of worldly thoughts or coats of Māyā.
विशुद्धिचक्र-निलयाऽऽरक्तवर्णा त्रिलोचना ।
श्री ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम्
खट्वाङ्गादि-प्रहरणा वदनैक-समन्विता ॥ ९८ ॥
viśuddhicakra-nilayā”raktavarṇā trilocanā |
Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma Stotram
khaṭvāṅgādi-praharaṇā vadanaika-samanvitā || 98 ||
It is believed that Skandamātā awards devotees with mukti (liberation), power, prosperity, and treasures. She can grant oceans of wisdom even to a most illiterate person, if they worship her with complete devotion, and she purifies the heart of a devotee. She dons a yellow-orange saree, and her planet is mercury. Her favorite flower is the yellow rose.
This pañcamī, may we attain purification of mind, ability to nurture and protect ourselves and others, and the wisdom to express ourselves aptly through the upāsanā of Śrī Skandamātā.
Next - Kātyāyanī | Navadurgā - Part 6
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