The Legend Of Navratri And The Hindu Holiday In India

Hindus celebrate many various holidays throughout the year in honor of their many Hindu gods. One of the holidays celebrated is called Navratri, also known as Sharad Navratri. The holiday is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Maa Durga and honors feminine divine power. It is celebrated in the Hindu month of Ashvin which can be either in September or October in the commonly known Gregorian calendar. There are many legends and stories concerning how the holiday, Navratri, originated and why it is celebrated. Although, most of these legends differ in various parts of India. In North India, there is the legend of an eternal demon named Mahishasura who randomly started to kill people in order to win the three lokas (realms). Some of the gods approached the god Shiva and asked for a way to get rid of Mahishasura because of the chaos he produced. Shiva united with two of the other gods, Brahma and Vishnu, to create a female warrior and goddess named Durga. Mahishasura saw the goddess and fell in love. He originally asked Durga for her hand in marriage, but she refused to marry him unless he could fight for her in battle. Mahishasura and Durga fought for nine nights. Those nights represent the nine nights celebrated in …show more content…
The story begins with a girl named Uma who was the daughter of a king named Daksha. Uma was a beautiful daughter and her one wish was to marry the god Shiva. After a great deal of worship, the god Shiva appeared to grant Uma her wish of marrying him. However, when her father the king saw Shiva, he immediately was displeased by him. Uma became so upset by her father’s behavior towards her new husband that she committed suicide and eventually earned eternal life. Once she was reborn, she became known as Sati and again married the god Shiva. The legend concludes that every year during the nights of Navratri, Sati (Uma) returns to visit her father’s home.