Who is Goddess Mahagauri?
Mahagauri is the 8th manifestation of the goddess Durga and amongst the NavaDurga. Mahagauri is worshiped on the 8th day of Navratri. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Mahagauri has the power to fulfill all the desires of her devotees. The one who worships the goddess gets relief from all the sufferings in life. Mahagauri has four arms. Her right arm is in the pose of allaying fear and right lower hand holds a trident in it. She holds a tambourine in her left upper arm and the lower one is in the form of a blessing.
Maa Mahagauri Story
The demons Shumbha and Nishumbha could only be killed by a female child of Parvati. Hence, as advised by Brahma, Shiva used his magic to turn Parvati’s skin black, giving Parvati the epithet “Kali”, meaning “black”. However, the word “Kali” can also mean “death”, so Parvati was teased.
Parvati was agitated by this teasing, so she performed severe penance to Brahma so as to get her fair complexion back. She succeeded in her penance and was advised by Brahma to take a bath in the Mansarovar River in Himalaya. As she took a bath, her dark skin separated from her and took the form of a female. She was called Kaushiki, being born from the skin of Parvati.
As a result of the separation of her black skin, Parvati got her white fair complexion back, and so she gained the epithet “Mahagauri” – the most beautiful form of NavaDurga. Still, for the task of demons’ assassination, she gave her fair complexion to Kaushiki and she (Parvati) again attained the form of Kali. Goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi provided their powers to Kali as a result of which Kali transformed into Chandi (Chandraghanta). Chandi killed demon Dhumralochan. Chanda and Munda were killed by Goddess Chamunda who appeared out from the third eye of Chandi. Chandi then transformed into Kaalratri again to kill Raktabija and Kaushiki had killed Shumbh and Nishumbh, after which she got merged with Kali to transform her back into Gauri.
Significance of Goddess Mahagauri
Goddess Mahagauri is known as the forgiving goddess and forgives sinners and purifies them. She is the Goddess who denotes peace and endurance. It is said that worshiping her will clean the devotee’s heart and make him pious. Her puja is performed during Ashwin Shukla Ashtami.
Important facts about Goddess Mahagauri
- Origin: Goddess Shailputri at the age of sixteen was extremely beautiful and blessed with a fair complexion. Due to her extremely fair complexion, she was known as Goddess Mahagauri.
- Meaning: The name Mahagauri means extremely white, as she was white in color and very beautiful (Maha = great; Gauri = white).
- Worship Date: 8th day of Navratri (Maha Ashtami)
- Planet: Rahu
- Favorite Flower: Night-blooming jasmine, mogra
- Mahagauri Color: Purple
- Mahagauri Mantra: Om Devi Mahagauryai Namah ॐ देवी महागौर्यै नम
- Other Names: Vrisharudha
- Appearance: She rides the bull, just like Goddess Shailputri. She has four arms, holding a Trishul in one of her right hands and depicts the Abhayamudra with the other right hand. She carries a tambourine or Damaru in one left hand and depicts the Varadamudra or kamandalu in her other left hand.
