Navratri day 7: Goddess Kalaratri worshipped, grey the colour of the day on October 17
On the seventh day of Navratri, devotees worship Goddess Kalaratri, the seventh form of Navdurga, and grey is the colour of the day.
Goddess Kalaratri is worshipped on the seventh day of Navratri. Kalaratri is the seventh form of Navdurga. She is regarded as the form that embodies strength and patience and destroys negative forces. October 17 is the day of the colour grey.
Grey is regarded as a symbol of stability, peace, balance and acceptance of circumstances. In some places there is a tradition of worshipping the goddess in grey clothes on the seventh day of Navratri. For this, devotees are advised to rise early, bathe and then wear grey clothes.
The method of worship is to first clean the place of worship and light a lamp before the goddess. Sandalwood paste or unbroken rice grains are offered to the image or idol of Goddess Kalaratri. Red or light red flowers may also be offered.
For the offering, jaggery, banana preparations, fruit and sattvic items as per one's own tradition are recommended. In many places jaggery is used for Goddess Kalaratri. After this, the aarti of the goddess is performed, a prayer is offered from the heart and the mantra "Om Devi Kalaratreya Namah" is chanted.
According to religious belief, Goddess Kalaratri is the fierce and powerful form of Durga, who destroys evil forces. It is believed that she removes the fear of devotees and gives them patience and self-confidence. According to religious tales, she protects devotees by destroying evil forces. Her form is regarded as a symbol of victory over darkness, fear and negativity.
According to the traditional description, Goddess Kalaratri is dark in complexion and her hair is dishevelled. She has four hands. Two hands hold weapons, while the other two show the abhaya and varada mudras. The goddess's vehicle is the donkey.
Though her form is fierce, she is considered to bestow auspicious results on devotees. For this reason Goddess Kalaratri is also called Shubhankari. According to religious belief, worshipping her gives mental strength to face fear and hardship. Her worship is regarded as awakening patience, self-confidence and positivity among devotees.
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