Śarad Navrātri: Day 8 – Mā Mahāgauri


On day 8, the Mahā Aṣtami, Devi Mahāgauri is invoked with great devotion. Devi Mahāgauri, the eighth form of Nava Durgā radiates purity, peace, and tranquillity. Her name itself signifies her luminous milky white complexion as Mahā means ‘great; Gauri refers to fair or bright. She is adorned in pristine white garments, symbolising her transcendence over darkness and impurities.

Mā Mahāgauri
Mā Mahāgauri. Image Credit: Sanskriti Magazine

When Pārvati observed a hard sacrament to obtain Bhagwān Śiva in the Himālaya, she developed a dark complexion, When Bhagwān Śiva accepted her great devotion, he washed Mā Pārvati’s body with the water of Ganga and her body regained its beauty. 

Draped in white sārī, decorated with diamond-studded ornaments, gracefully seated on a white bull, Devi Mahāgauri dazzles with the brilliance of a thousand suns! She holds a trident and a Damru in two hands while her other two hands display Abhaya and Varada mudras.

White garments represent Her brilliant, pure, and glowing form; it indicates an absence of all colours, meaning no options no judgments, rather a pure objectivity; white also refers to śuddha sattva, which is transcended purity that is untainted by the qualities of material nature. 

Right hand’s varad mudra grants boons and blessings

Trident (triśūl) represents the dissolution of past, present, and future karmas and sins

Left hand’s abhaya mudra bestows fearlessness 

Tambourine (Damru) stands for Nada – infinity. The sounds from the damaru emanate the rhythm of the cosmic vibrations and the energy is activated by Śakti.