Entering into the festival season of Navratri, which also marks the beginning of the new year as per Hindu calendars, there are nine different days for nine different forms of Goddess Durga. These forms were taken to stop the devils of the Earth take upon the normal lifestyle of people and stop them from creating troubles. Navratri is the celebration of Nine days and nights to mark the glory of Goddess Durga. Every day is a symbolic representation of one of the nine graces namely wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracle, prophecy, spirituality, tongue, and wisdom. Let us read about the first form of Goddess Durga as under:
Story of Shailputri:
Shailputri means Daughter of the Mountains. Parvati was the daughter of Himalaya, the king of mountains. She was playing with her friends near a pond of lotus one day when she saw a cow approaching her in pain and agony. Parvati wanted to know the reason so she placed her hand on the cow’s forehead and closed her eyes to meditate. Parvati saw a demon Tarika, sister of Tarkasur, who was sent on Earth to kill Parvati. The reason was obvious. Parvati was the daughter of the most powerful king, Himalaya. So Parvati herself was mighty. Killing Parvati will make it easy for Tarkasur to kill Himalaya. But Tarika saw a herd of cows on the way and felt hungry. She started feeding on the cows one by one. The shepherd of the herd tried to take on Tarika but was also killed. One cow tried to escape from the herd slowly so that she could get some help. This was how Parvati met the cow in pain. When Parvati got to know about the situation, she knew that defeating Tarika is very difficult if taken on directly. So she decided to play a trick. Parvati took shape of a small mountain (Shail) and asked the cow to hide behind her and cry loudly. Due to the sound, Tarika came running to eat the cow. But Shail did not let her approach the cow. This fight between Tarika and Shail went on for a long. Due to this Parvati’s friends have time to call for King Himalaya. Meanwhile, the friends and villagers of shepherds also came in searching for the cows and shepherds. By then, Tarika was already furious and tired and did not know what to do next. So she leaped in anger to finally kill Shail first and then take on the cow. This allowed Shail to change to Parvati in split second with her trident ready to kill. The moment Tarika was in the air, Parvati charged upon her with her trident and killed Tarika by force. Everyone who witnessed this saw a golden halo behind the head of Parvati. The cow went and got a lotus from the pond and handed it to Parvati. Himalaya then coined the term Mata Sahilputri for Parvati and Parvathi then said that anyone who worships cow before her with a lotus will be blessed with powers to fight evil spirits. Hence, worshipping Mata Shailutri on day 1 of Navratri gives freedom from evil spirits.
Benefits of Mata Shailputri Pooja:
- To gain fearlessness from evil powers
- To get confidence to fight for the right over wrong
- To make rapid decisions at the right time as to when and how to act.
- To create an environment where no one is ever threatened by those in the position of power
- To fight with the evil spirits
- To save your loved ones from devilish encounters
- To gain bravery to stand for the right
When is the Pooja done?
In 2022, Navratri begins on 02nd April 2022 and the first day is worshipped as Mata Shailputri's day. Worship her on this day to achieve maximum smartness and power to make the right decisions in a split-second time frame.
Where is Shaiputri Mata Temple?
The oldest temple of Shailputri Mata is located in Jalalipura, Varanasi (Kashi). This is the oldest temple with the historical influence of Goddess Durga. It is believed that Goddess Shailputri after killing Tarkasur came to Varanasi, the feet of Lord Shiva, and stayed here to remain with Lord Shiva forever. This temple witnesses a lot of traction from the devotees who travel long distances to offer their prayers and pray for their and their loved ones. Book your Pooja at Shailputri Mata Mandir in Varanasi here.
