Maa Durga Katha
Once Brihaspati Ji said to Brahma Ji- O best of Brahmans! Why is Navratri fast and festival observed in the Shukla Paksha of Chaitra and Ashwin months? What is the result of this fast, how is it right to observe it? Who observed this fast first? So tell me in detail. Hearing such a question from Brihaspati Ji, Brahma Ji said- O Brihaspati! You have asked a very good question with the desire of welfare of living beings. Those people who meditate on Durga, Mahadev, Surya and Narayan who fulfill wishes, are blessed. This Navratri fast is the one that fulfills all wishes. By observing this, the one who desires a son gets a son, the one who craves for wealth gets wealth, the one who desires knowledge gets knowledge and the one who desires happiness gets happiness. By observing this fast, the disease of a sick person is cured. All the troubles of a person are removed and prosperity increases in the house, the barren woman gets a son. One gets rid of all sins and the wish of the mind is fulfilled. The person who does not observe this Navratri fast, suffers many sorrows and becomes handicapped due to pain and disease, he does not have children and is devoid of wealth and grains, roams around troubled by hunger and thirst and becomes unconscious. The married woman who does not observe this fast, is deprived of the happiness of her husband and suffers many sorrows. If the person observing the fast is unable to fast for the whole day, then he should eat food once a day and listen to the story of Navratri fast along with his relatives for ten days. O Brihaspati! I am narrating the story of the person who observed this great fast earlier, you listen carefully. Hearing the words of Brahma Ji in this way, Brihaspati Ji said- O Brahmin, tell me the history of this fast which brings welfare to humans, I am listening carefully.
Please show mercy on me who has come to your refuge. Brahmaji said- In ancient times, an orphan Brahmin named Peeth lived in Manohar Nagar. He was a devotee of Bhagwati Durga. A very beautiful girl named Sumati was born to him, endowed with all the virtues. That girl Sumati, while playing with her friends in her father's house in her childhood, started growing like the phase of the moon increases in the Shukla Paksha. Every day when her father used to worship Durga and perform havan, she used to be present there regularly at that time. One day Sumati got busy playing with her friends and did not attend the worship of Bhagwati. Seeing such carelessness of his daughter, her father got angry and said to his daughter, O wicked daughter! Today you did not worship Bhagwati, that is why I will marry you to a leper or a poor man. Hearing such words of her father, Sumati felt very sad and started saying to her father- O father! I am your daughter and I am under your control in every way, do as you wish. Marry me to a king, a leper, a poor man or anyone you like, but whatever is written in my fate will happen to me. I have a firm belief that whatever work one does, he gets the same result according to his deeds because doing work is in the hands of man but giving the result is in the hands of God. Just like grass etc., when put in fire, makes it more bright. Hearing the words spoken by the girl fearlessly, that Brahmin got angry and married his daughter to a leper and being very angry, he said to his daughter- O daughter! Bear the result of your deeds, let us see what you do by relying on fate. Hearing such harsh words of her father, Sumati started thinking in her mind- Oh! It is my great misfortune that I got such a husband. Thinking about her sorrow in this way, that girl went to the forest with her husband and they spent that night with great difficulty in that deserted forest full of scary Kusha grass. Seeing the condition of that poor girl, Goddess Bhagwati appeared due to the effect of her past good deeds and said to Sumati- O poor Brahmin woman! I am pleased with you, you can ask for any boon you want.
Hearing these words of Bhagwati Durga, the Brahmini said- Who are you? Tell me everything? Hearing such words of the Brahmini, the Goddess said that I am Adi Shakti Bhagwati and I am Brahmavidya and Saraswati. When pleased, I remove the sorrows of beings and give them happiness. O Brahmini! I am pleased with you due to the effect of the virtues of your previous birth. I am telling you the story of your previous birth, listen! In your previous birth, you were the wife of Nishad (Bhil) and were very devoted to her husband. One day your husband Nishad committed theft. Due to theft, the soldiers caught both of you and took you to the jail. Those people did not even give food to you and your husband. In this way, during the days of Navratri, you neither ate anything nor drank water. In this way, the fast of Navratri was observed for nine days. O Brahmini! Pleased with the effect of the fast observed in those days, I give you the desired boon, ask for whatever you wish. Hearing the words of Durga in this way, the Brahmin woman said, “If you are pleased with me, O Durga. I bow to you. Kindly cure my husband's leprosy.” The Goddess said, “Offer the merits of one day of the fast you observed those days to cure your husband's leprosy. Your husband will be free from leprosy by the effect of that merit.” Brahma Ji said, “Hearing the words of the Goddess in this way, the Brahmin woman was very pleased and with the desire to cure her husband, when she said ‘Tathastu' (okay), then by the grace of Bhagwati Durga, her husband's body became free from leprosy and became very radiant. Seeing her husband's beautiful body, the Brahmin woman started praising the Goddess, “O Durga! You are the one who removes misery, who removes the sufferings of the three worlds, who removes all the sorrows, who cures the sick, who is pleased and who grants the desired boons and who destroys the wicked, you are the mother of the world. O Ambe! My father married me, an innocent woman, to a leper and threw me out of the house. I am wandering in the deserted forest, despised by my father. You have saved me from this calamity, O Goddess. I salute you. Please protect me. Brahma Ji said- O Brihaspate! Hearing such praise from that Brahmini, the Goddess was very pleased and said to the Brahmini- O Brahmini! You will soon have a very intelligent, wealthy, famous and self-controlled son named Udalay. After granting such a boon, the Goddess again said to the Brahmini- O Brahmini! Ask for whatever you wish. Hearing such words from Bhagwati Durga, Sumati said- O Bhagwati Durga! If you are pleased with me, then kindly describe to me in detail the method of Navratri fast and its fruits.
Mahatmya- Hearing the words of the Brahmini, Durga said- O Brahmini! I tell you the method of Navratri fast which removes all sins, listening to which one attains salvation- Observe fast according to the method from Pratipada of Shukla Paksha of Ashwin month till nine days, if you cannot observe fast for the whole day, then eat food once a day. Ask the learned Brahmins and establish the Ghat and make a garden and water it daily. Establish the idols of Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati Devi and worship them daily according to the method and offer arghya with flowers according to the method. Offering arghya with Bijora fruit gives beauty. Offering arghya with nutmeg gives fame, offering arghya with grapes leads to success in work, offering arghya with amla gives happiness and offering arghya with bananas gives ornaments. In this way, after offering arghya with flowers and fruits, on the completion of the fast, perform havan according to the method on the ninth day. Perform havan with sugar, ghee, wheat, honey, barley, sesame, bilva (bael), coconut, grapes and kadamba etc. Performing havan with wheat brings Lakshmi, kheer and champa flowers bring wealth and brilliance and happiness with bael leaves. Fame is attained with amla, son with banana, royal honour with lotus and wealth with grapes. Desired objects are attained by performing havan with sugar, ghee, coconut, honey, barley, sesame and fruits. The person observing the fast should perform havan with this method and bow to the Acharya with utmost humility and give him dakshina for the success of the havan. There is no doubt that the person who observes the fast as per the method mentioned above gets all his wishes fulfilled. Whatever donation etc. is given during these nine days, it yields crores of times more results.
By observing this Navratri fast, one gets the result of Ashwamedha Yagna. O Brahmini! Perform this excellent fast which fulfils all wishes, according to the method in a pilgrimage, temple or at home. Brahma Ji said- O Brihaspate! In this way, the Goddess went into meditation after telling the method and result of the fast to the Brahmini. The man or woman who observes this fast with devotion gets happiness in this world and finally gets the rare salvation. O Brihaspate! This is the significance of this rare fast which I have told you. Hearing this, Brihaspate ji became happy and started saying to Brahma Ji that O Brahman! You have been very kind to me by telling me the significance of this Navratri fast. Brahma Ji said that O Brihaspate! This Goddess Bhagwati Shakti is the protector of all the worlds, who can know the effect of this Mahadevi? Say Jai Devi Bhagwati .
