Navratri 2020 Day 7: Know All About Maha Saptami Puja And Why Kalratri Maa Is Worshipped

Maha Saptami Puja 2020: The Navratri festivities continue and today devotees will conduct Maha Saptami Puja in which the fiercest form of goddess Durga, Kalratri Maa will be worshipped.

(Image: PTI)

Navratri 2020: The Navratri festivities continue and today is the seventh day also known as Saptami. This day is dedicated to the worship of Kalaratri Mata one of the fiercest forms of Goddess Durga.  While Kal means time, Ratri means night. According to the scriptures, after the goddess Parvati gave up her golden avatar to kill the asuras Shumbha-Nishumbha, she began to be called Kaalratri. This image is shown with four arms, of which the top right hand is in Varada mudra and the bottom hand is in Abhayamudra, while the upper hand on the left side has an iron fork and the lower hand has a Khadag. The vehicle or vahana of the goddess is a donkey. Kalratri is also known as Goddess Kali who is another form of shakti.  Other names that are used for her include Raudri and Dhumorna.She is also known to bless devotees with knowledge and wealth i.e. siddhis and niddhis. Kalaratri puja is done on Saptami and for this, a photo of the goddess is kept near the Kalash, and mantras or the Saptashati are recited . Flowers such as jasmine and hibiscus is used for the puja. The goddess is offered gur ( jaggery) and water as bhog. Sweets and fruits are also kept along with it. Lord Shiva and Brahma are also worshipped during the puja. Finally, the aarti is done and the prasad is distributed. During Navratri which is a nine-day celebration, different forms of the goddess are worshipped.