Delhi with Avinash & Friends: Colours of Maha-Navmi

When Rama came calling in Kalyug

Co-op Ground Durga Puja Samiti in C R Park

Paschim Vihar Bengali Association got the prize for best pandal

The Navratras culminate, on the ninth day as the Goddess Durga stands forth in the form of the Siddhidhatri. She is the repository of all the siddhis or blessings, whether the eight listed in the Markandaye Purana or the eighteen listed in Brhamveyvat Purana. Siddhidhatri is the possessor and dispenser of all these siddhis. Myth has it that Shiva was granted co-equal possession of these powers only through the agency of the Siddhidhatri. This, according to Shiv Purana, is the coming together of the male and female energy to create the unique Ardhnareshwar, the god that is neither completely male nor female but is the perfect balance between the two and therefore the symbolic representation of a Hindu marriage. Siddhidhatri has four hands. She holds in her hands the chakra, mace, a conch and a lotus flower. She is depicted either astride a lion or, as is more common, sitting on a lotus. The ninth day is dedicated to her and in her persona she sums up all the powers and boons unique to the eight other manifestations of Durga. In iconography Siddhidhatri is often centred between six representative supplicants including humans, gods and ascetics. As the form of supreme energy and balance even the demons are shown as supplicating her. Clad in a rich red, her calm visage exudes an air of completion and complete knowledge and possibility. In her resides the ascetic virgin – Brhamacharini and the supremely content wife – Shailputri. The innocent child, Mahagauri, coexists with the terrible destructive energy of Kalratri. The warrior goddess Katyayani becomes one with the tender motherhood of Skandmata. At once of the world and the originator of that world, Siddhidhatri is the summation of the manifestations of Durga, and by merging and mingling with the energy of Shiva, she brings the world and all its energies into perfect balance