Astro River InstituteThe ninth night of Navratri — Maha Navami — belongs to Siddhidatri, the Goddess who gives the fruit of practice. This year's date for Navami in your city is in the box below.
Nine nights ago a kalash was set down and a lamp was lit. Since then the Goddess has been born, has kept her vow, married, made the world, mothered the war god, ridden to battle, turned black as the night of time and shone white as the moon. On the ninth night she sits on a lotus, gods and sages and siddhas around her, and gives.
Maa Siddhidatri is "the giver of the siddhis" — the attainments that come when a practice is complete. She closes the nine because that is what the nine were for. The fast, the daily worship, the reading, the discipline: on Navami the Goddess is asked for their fruit.
Quick overview
- Night: the ninth and last of Navratri — Navami, the ninth lunar day of the bright fortnight: Maha Navami.
- Her name: Siddhidātrī, "she who gives the siddhis" — the attainments.
- Who she is: the Goddess as the source of every attainment, worshipped by gods, sages, siddhas and humans alike.
- How she is shown: seated on a lotus, or on a lion, with four arms — a discus, a conch, a mace and a lotus — attended by gods and sages.
- Her mantra: ॐ देवी सिद्धिदात्र्यै नमः — Om Devī Siddhidātryai namaḥ.
- Bhog commonly offered: sesame (til), or the halwa, puri and chana of kanya pujan — a family custom whose lists vary.
- Her day also brings: the Navami havan, kanya pujan in many homes, and the close of the nine.
This year
Chaitra Navratri 2027: Wednesday 7 April to Thursday 15 April
9 days in New Delhi
- Siddhidatri and Maha Navami
- Wednesday 14 April, from 15:25, when Navami begins. The Navami worship and havan follow, by day. Navami also holds sunrise on Thursday 15 April.
- Navami tithi
- Wednesday 14 April 15:25 to Thursday 15 April 13:22
Times are New Delhi clock time. Computed for each city from the positions of the Sun and Moon (Lahiri). Where your family or temple follows its own panchang, follow that.
Who she is: the one who gives
A siddhi is an attainment — the power or perfection that comes when a practice is complete. The yogic tradition counts eight great ones, the aṣṭa siddhi: to become as small as an atom (aṇimā), as vast as the universe (mahimā), as heavy as a mountain (garimā), as light as air (laghimā); to reach anything (prāpti); to have any wish fulfilled (prākāmya); lordship (īśitva); and mastery over all (vaśitva). Siddhidatri is the one who gives them.
A later devotional story holds that Shiva himself received his attainments from her — and that through her grace half his body became hers, so that he is worshipped as Ardhanarishvara, the lord who is half woman. Whatever one makes of the story, it says something true about the nine nights: the Goddess is not only the one worshipped, but the power by which any worship bears fruit.
For a household, the siddhi asked for on Navami is usually simpler: that the year's work succeed, that the family be well, that what was begun in Navratri be completed.
How she is shown
Siddhidatri is shown seated on a lotus, or riding a lion, with four arms: in her hands a discus, a conch, a mace and a lotus — the list varies between images. Around her, in the fuller pictures, stand gods, sages, siddhas, gandharvas and even demons, all worshipping her. Her face is serene, and her dress is usually red.
She is the one form of the nine whose picture is crowded: everyone has come to her.
Her mantra and her verse
The short mantra many families use on the ninth day:
ॐ देवी सिद्धिदात्र्यै नमः
Om Devī Siddhidātryai namaḥ — "Om, salutation to the Goddess Siddhidatri."
Her meditation verse (dhyāna), as it is recited in the Navadurga worship:
सिद्धगन्धर्वयक्षाद्यैरसुरैरमरैरपि ।
सेव्यमाना सदा भूयात् सिद्धिदा सिद्धिदायिनी ॥Siddha-gandharva-yakṣādyair asurair amarair api, sevyamānā sadā bhūyāt siddhidā siddhidāyinī.
"Served by siddhas, gandharvas, yakshas and the rest, by demons and gods alike — may she, the giver of attainment, ever grant it."
The nine meditation verses come from the later ritual tradition of the Navadurga worship; the Devi Mahatmya itself gives only the nine names.
How the ninth night is kept
Siddhidatri's day is Maha Navami, and it closes the Navratri worship.
- The worship of the kalash and of Siddhidatri, one last time before Dashami.
- The havan, offered by day, as Dharmasindhu sets it — with ghee, white sesame and sweet rice, at the mantra of Durga or the verses of the Durga Saptashati.
- Kanya pujan, in families who keep it on Navami.
- The breaking of the fast, after the havan and kanya pujan, or on Dashami morning — by family custom.
- In the south, Ayudha Puja and Saraswati Puja: tools, books and instruments laid before the Goddess.
Maha Navami: the havan, the fast and the close of the nine · Kanya pujan: the ages, the names and the vidhi
Bhog and colour
The bhog most widely offered to Siddhidatri is sesame (til), or the halwa, puri and black chana of kanya pujan, offered first to her. This is a popular custom rather than a rule of the texts; keep your family's list if it differs.
The colour worn on the ninth day is not fixed to Siddhidatri; in the modern custom of nine colours it changes each year with the weekday on which Navratri begins.
→ This year's colours of Navratri, day by day
Questions we are asked
Which goddess is worshipped on the ninth day of Navratri? Siddhidatri, the ninth and last of the nine forms of Durga named in the Devi Kavacham. Her day is Maha Navami.
What does Siddhidatri mean? "She who gives the siddhis" — the attainments that come when a practice is complete. The yogic tradition counts eight great siddhis, from aṇimā to vaśitva.
What is the mantra for Maa Siddhidatri? Om Devī Siddhidātryai namaḥ — "Om, salutation to the Goddess Siddhidatri." Her meditation verse is given above.
What bhog is offered to Siddhidatri? Sesame, or the halwa, puri and chana of kanya pujan, by popular custom. Lists vary by family.
What is done on the ninth day of Navratri? The worship of Siddhidatri, the havan by day, kanya pujan in many families, and the breaking of the fast. In the south, Ayudha Puja and Saraswati Puja.
What comes after the ninth night? Vijayadashami — Dussehra — the tenth day, when the kalash is taken down and the victory is celebrated.
This page teaches. The dates are computed for each city from the positions of the Sun and Moon. Where a family or temple follows its own panchang, follow that.
Night 8 — Mahagauri, the radiant one · · The bhog for all nine days · Navratri: the nine nights, all on one page
