Maa Katyayani | Goddess Worshipped on Day 6 of Navaratri
Devi Katyayani, the Goddess worshipped on Day 6 of Navaratri is Mahishasuramardini herself. She is the ferocious avatar of Goddess Durga. Maa Katyayani rides a lion. She has multiple arms carrying multiple weapons including the trident of Lord Shiva. In one of her arms, she carries a lotus. Devotees must take a bath and wear clean clothes before offering worship to Maa Katyayani.
Katyayani is the most ferocious form of Goddess Durga.
Worshiping Maa Katyayani on the sixth day of Navaratri is beneficial for solving problems in one’s marital life. It is believed that unmarried girls worshipping her will be blessed with a perfect husband. The Goddess is also known to remove obstacles from the path of her devotees.
Maa Katyayani is the manifestation of the combined power of all gods. She has three eyes, black hair and multiple arms. She is as radiant as a thousand suns. Adi Parashakthi manifested herself as Maa Katyayani with the objective of slaying the ferocious demon Mahishasura.
The legend of Mahishasura
Mahishasura was half man and half buffalo. He was a tyrannical demon capable of changing his forms and used his abilities to cause much harm to virtuous people. His atrocities angered the gods and flames of anger erupted from the eyes of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. From these flames arose an all powerful female spirit. Gods came together to give her a physical form and weapons. Legend has it that Shiva gave her his trident and Vishnu gave her his Sudharshan Chakra (celestial wheel). Agni (the god of fire) gave her a dart and Vayu (the god of air) gave her a bow. Surya (the sun god) gave her a quiver full of arrows and Indra gave her his thunderbolt. Thus, Devi Katyayani is the all powerful form of divinity. She was incredibly beautiful too. When she set out to kill Mahishasura, the demon fell for her beauty. He wanted to win her heart and proposed to her. Maa Katyayani told him that anyone who wanted to marry her had to first defeat her in a battle. Thus they began to fight and on the day of Vijayadashami, the 10th day of Navaratri, the Goddess killed the demon. The battle between Devi Katyayani and Mahishasura is the perpetual tussle between good and evil. When Durga defeats Mahishasura, it is the ultimate victory of good over evil.