Śarad Navrātri: Day 1 – Mā Śailputrī


On day 1, Hindus honour Mā Durgā’s manifestation as Śailputrī. She is believed to be the provider of prosperity. She is hailed as Mother Nature and prays for their spiritual awakening. She governs the Moon, the provider of all fortunes.

Mā Śailputrī
Mā Śailputrī. Image Credit: Sanskriti Magazine

Śail, a sanskrit word means ‘mountain’, and putri means ‘daughter’. Mā Śailputrī, the absolute form of Mother Nature, is also known to be the daughter of Mountains.

Śail, in Sanskrit, means mountain’ and putri means ‘daughter’.  Hence, Śailputrī means the daughter of the mountains.

Sati was one of the daughters of Daksha Prajāpati, one of the sons of Bhagwān Brahma. Sati was in love with Bhagwān Śiva and wanted to marry him Daksha Prajāpati was against this marriage as he thought that Śiva was a dirty ascetic and not meant to marry girls from respectable families. This did not affect Sati’s love for Śiva. She married him and started living with Lord Shiva in Kailash Parvat.

A few years passed by, and she got to know that her father was organizing a huge yajña to which all gods and goddesses were invited. She was very excited as she would meet her parents after a long time. Unfortunately, they were not invited. Sati could not believe it and she thought maybe there was a mistake. So, she decided to go and visit her parents even though Bhagwān Śiva really tried to tell her that, ‘No if we haven’t received an invitation maybe we are not expected there and we shouldn’t be going there.’ But Sati did not listen. She did not pay heed to Śiva’s words and she went home. Upon reaching there, she received a cold shoulder not just from her father but also from all the relatives who had gathered there. It was only her mother who welcomed and embraced her. Sati was heartbroken and she could not bear the thought of being unwelcome in her own house. The very same house where she grew up, the very same house where she had those lovely memories. Her own father, whom she loved so much, humiliated her, humiliated her choice of husband. Sati entered the huge fire that was burning and she self-immolated herself.

Bhagwān Śiva was livid when he heard this tragic news. He was so enraged that he pulled the half-burning corpse of his wife from the fire, he took the form of an angry god Vīrbhadra, and caused immense destruction over and beheaded Dakṣa Prajāpati. He took the half-burning corpse of his wife with him dragging it in fury. On the way, different body parts of Sati fell on different places and these places are called Śakti Pīthas. There are 52 Śakti Pīthas in India. With intervention from Bhagwān Viṣṇu, Dakṣa Prajapati was forgiven and he was given the head of a ram. He even completed his Yajña in the presence of all the gods.

Sati took birth again and this time as the daughter of the Himalayas. She came to be known as Śailputrī, daughter of the Himalayas. In the same incarnation, she had two other names Pārvati and Hemāvati and in this birth too she was married to Bhagwān Śiva. 

Śailputrī is the manifestation of Mā Durgā. She holds a Trishul in one hand and a lotus in the other and rides a bull called Nandi.