Navratri - 09 - Siddhidatri Devi
The ninth day of Navratri is dedicated to Siddhidatri devi. Let us find out who Siddhidatri devi is, and what her story tells is...
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After maa Kushmanda had created the Tridev, Shiva requested her to bestow him with more qualities for perfection. She therefore created another goddess Siddhidatri (giver of perfection) who in turn bestowed 18 such siddhis (perfections) to Shiva.
She then assigned the tasks of creation, preservation and destruction to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively, and asked Brahma to begin with the process.
Brahma, tried to start with creation but couldn't do so as he required one male and one female for the same. He prayed to Siddhidatri for help.
The goddess then did an interesting thing - she converted half of Shiva’s body into a woman’s body! Now, Brahma could continue with his work.
This half-male and half-female form of Shiva is also known as Ardhanareshwara.
The ninth day of Navratri is dedicated to maa Siddhidatri.