Navaratri Navadurga Yatra In Kashi Or Varanasi

Kashi Khand of Skanda Purana mentions Navadurga Yatra to be performed during Navaratri, especially the Sharad Navaratri that falls in October. So, this time in Kashi, I decided to visit the Devi temples that are spread across the sacred city. Actually, they lie on a pilgrimage path followed by the pilgrims, especially during Navaratri.

Many Shakta texts mention the nine forms of Devi that are worshipped during the nine nights of Navaratri. These nine forms are also the evolution cycle, particularly of the Prakriti or nature, of which women are a manifestation. All these nine forms have a temple each in the lanes of Varanasi, not too far from the ghats. You can visit them both from the city side or from the ghats.

Navadurga Yatra in Kashi

Let’s visit these temples and understand these forms of Durga:

Shailputri – The daughter of the mountain

The first form of Durga is Shailputri or the daughter of the mountain. Shail also means rock, which means she is not yet in her active state. She has just taken birth. Her journey begins from here. In iconography, she is shown riding a bull, holding Trishul or trident in one hand and a lotus in another.

In Varanasi, her temple is located towards the North close to Marhia Ghat. Most rickshaw drivers would take you to the temple that is located in narrow lanes. It is a small temple complex containing many temples. I reached this temple early morning around 5 AM and had to wait for the Pujari Ji to open the doors of the temple. There are small ancient Shiva temples in the complex along with a Hanuman temple.

The main temple contains a Shivalinga, with a Nandi facing it in the Mandapa. On one side is the Murti of Ma Shailputri.  You need to go to the other door to have a clear view of it. Early morning the Murti was completely covered with a yellow cloth, but thankfully the face was visible. I spent some time with Ma Shailputri and since there was no one else in the temple, it felt like a very personal rendezvous, a blessing on a cold winter morning.

Shailputri is visited on the first day of Navaratri. I was told that the lanes leading to the temple are full of people on that day.

Brahmacharini – The Ascetic form of Devi

The second form of Devi worshipped on the second day of Navaratri is called Brahmacharini. This is the ascetic form of Parvati when she did tough penance to get Shiva as her husband….