Maa Chandraghanta

9th of October, 2021: On the 3rd day of Shardiya Navratri 2021, we celebrate spirituality, beauty and internal power that Maa Chandraghanta exuded as one of the nine forms of Adi Shakti Maa Durga.

Maa Chandraghanta is invoked on the third day of the Navaratri. In this form, she embodies divine splendour with her unique combination of beauty and audacity.

Maa Chandraghanta’s forehead is bedecked with a crescent-shaped (semi-circular) moon (Chandra). She has ten hands that are armed with weapons like Trishul, Gada, Sword and Kamandal in her left hand. She displays a Varada Mudra with her fifth left hand. In the right hands, she carries lotus flower, arrow, bow (Dhanush) and rosery (Japa Mala). Her fifth right hand is raised in a Abhaya Mudra.

As the half-moon (Chandra) on her forehead looks like the bell (Ghanta), she is known as Maa ChandraGhanta.

Stuti

या देवी सर्वभू‍तेषु माँ चन्द्रघण्टा रूपेण संस्थिता।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥

Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Maa Chandraghanta Rupena Samsthita।
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah॥

As per the legend, Maa Chandraghanta was born to the King and Queen of mountains – Himavaan and Mena as they had done severe penance and worshipped Devi Aadi-Shakti. Devi was pleased with their penance and blessed them by taking birth as their daughter – Parvati also known as Uma, who in her previous birth was Sati – the daughter of King Daksha Prajapati.

Driven by her firm resolution to marry her Lord Shiva – her husband in the previous birth as Sati, Parvati, in this birth did penance for 5000 years in her Brahmacharini form. For the first thousand years, she only ate fruits and flowers, for the next thousand years, she only ate vegetables, for the remaining three thousand years she only ate dried Bilva or Bel leaves. Later, she went on to eating absolutely nothing – she gave up water, she gave up food as the one and only purpose of her life was to please Lord Shiva through her penance so that he agrees to marry her. Finally, her ascetic pursuit pleased Lord Shiva and he blessed her by agreeing to marry her.

On the wedding day, Lord Shiva came to Himavaan’s palace in a rather unexpected demeanour, especially for a groom – matted hair, ash-covered body with snakes slithering all over. His looks scared both – the hosts and the guests who had assembled for the wedding. Even his Baraat (wedding procession) comprised ascetics, ghouls, and ghosts. Soscary was the sight of the groom and his baraat that some of the attendees of the wedding ceremony even fainted out of sheer fear.

Parvati, as a bride, was disheartened to see her groom and his baraat. But rather than succumbing to fear, she mirrored her groom by taking an equally scary demeanour – huge in size, seated on a lion and armed with all sorts of weapons in her ten arms. Lord Shiva was surprised as he did not expect that from his bride.

He looked at her questioningly.

Parvati, cleverly answer to his ‘mute’ question by closing her eyes and praying him to make their wedding special by adopting a more presentable groom-like looks and a pleasant looking baraat.

Lord Shiva reciprocated to her prayers by transforming himself into his handsome avatar and changing his Baraatis into gods, goddesses, devas, devis.

Thereby making their special day majestic and memorable for everyone. Since that day, the third day of Navratri, we celebrate the unique combination of beauty combined with audacity in form of Maa Chandraganta – the third avatar Aadi Shakti Devi Durga.

Maa Chandraganta eradicates all negative energy from our lives. All our sins, all the ghostly tribulations, anything that is negative – our depression, our mental anxiety, tribulations and troubles are all wiped out.

It is believed that Maa Chandraghanta governs the planet Shukra or Venus that is considered as the Goddess of love, marriage, beauty, valour and all kinds of comforts. People who worship this form of Adi Shakti get all the negativity and ugliness replaced with positivity and beauty in their lives.

Prarthana

पिण्डज प्रवरारूढा चण्डकोपास्त्रकैर्युता।
प्रसादं तनुते मह्यम् चन्द्रघण्टेति विश्रुता॥

Pindaja Pravararudha Chandakopastrakairyuta।
Prasadam Tanute Mahyam Chandraghanteti Vishruta॥