Thursday marks the sixth day of Navratri 2020 and devotees worship the Goddess in the form of Maa Katyayani on this day.
Said to be the Goddess ofknowledge and courage Maa Katyayani is believed to inspire women to face challenges and fight for their rights.
The Goddess has four hands and holds a lotus and has the swastika imprinted on her third hand. With her fourth hand, she blesses her devotees. Worshiping her also cancels out the ‘manglik dosha’ of devotees.
As per the mythological story, Maa Katyayani was born to sage Katyayan after he performed tapa for thousands of years to impress Goddess Durga. Adi Shakti took birth as his daughter and was called Katyayani.
Rituals for worshipping Maa Katyayani : She is said to love cloves, sandalwood and cardamoms. So devotees offer these with diya and incense sticks.
The mantra to be chanted is “Om Hreeng Katyayaayanye Swaha, Om Shreeng Katyayaayanye Swaha”.
The Goddess is said to love red colour and devotees eat red coloured food and dress up in red clothes to please her