History of Navratri

There are many myths and legends attached to the history of Navratri:

The Mighty Demon Mahisasur worshipped Lord Shiva and obtained the power of eternity, so he wouldn’t be killed by weapons. He started to kill and harass innocent people and set out to win seven lokas. The gods sought the help of Lord Shiva, who advised the invocation of the goddess shakti. With the God’s prayers, a divine luster sprang from the heart of Load Shiva and the bodies of all the gods and formed the goddess Adhya Shakti. The Gods gave her ornaments, arms and a lion as a vehicle. She fought with the evil Mahisasur for nine long days and nights, and at last resulted in the beheading of Mahisa on the tenth. So, the nine nights for which the war was fought is called Navratri. The tenth day that brought the triumph of good over the evil is called dussera.

Sati (also known as Uma) married Lord Shiva against the wishes of her father, King Daksha Prajapati. In revenge, Daksha organized a huge yagna and invited all the gods and deities except his new son-in-law. Sati decided to attend the yagna despite Lord Shiva's attempt to persuade her not to. The King ignored his daughter's presence and publically abused Lord Shiva. Unable to bear her father’s insults, Sati committed suicide by jumping into the yagna fire. However, she was reborn and again won Lord Shiva as her groom and peace was restored. It is believed that since then Uma comes every year with her four children Ganesh, Kartik, Saraswati and Laxmi and two of her best friends or ‘sakhis' called Jaya and Bijaya, to visit her parent's home during Navratri.