Birth of Durga – The Sixth Day of Navratri,Devi Katyayani is the powerful energy born to destroy evil. There are many shlokas and entire chapters in the Purāṇas that describe her glory. Pray to her to overcome all the battles of life.
The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (Chapter 2) narrates her birth story.
The gods were at war with the demons Madhu and Kaitabh for hundreds of celestial years. Later, another demon, Mahishasura, defeated Indra, seized his throne, and cast all the gods out of heaven. Defeated and helpless, the gods went to Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh (Shiva). They described their plight in detail and prayed for help. Infuriated by this injustice, Vishnu released energy from his chakra. Brahma and Shiva also created tremendous energy—first appearing as a vast, masculine, mountainous force, which then transformed into a divine feminine power. This goddess radiated brilliance equal to millions of suns, dazzling and blinding everything around.
Her form was composed of the powers of the gods:
Shiva’s radiance formed her face.
Yama’s strength gave her hair.
Vishnu’s luster created her arms.
The Moon shaped her breasts.
Indra gave her waist.
Varuna formed her thighs and calves.
The Earth gave her hips.
Brahma shaped her feet.
The Sun gave her fingers and toes.
Prajapati gave her teeth and third eye.
Vayu formed her ears.
The gods then armed her:
Shiva gave her part of his trident.
Vishnu gave her a piece of his chakra.
Himalaya gifted her a lion as her vehicle.
Varuna gave her a conch.
Agni gave restoring divine order and the honor of the gods.
Vayu offered bow and arrows.
Indra granted the power to strike.
The Sun bestowed blinding brilliance.
Other gods adorned her with jewelry and protective ornaments.
When this supreme energy—Goddess Bhagavati—gave her victory cry, the heavens shook and the earth trembled. All the gods proclaimed her triumph.
Mahishasura saw her and attacked. Devi, with a radiant smile, slaughtered his army. Her lion rampaged like fire in a forest, while the gods sounded their conches. Jagadamba crushed the demon hordes and ultimately destroyed both Madhu and Kaitabh,
Praying to Maa Durga is said to bring the same divine strength to conquer every battle in life.
