Maa Shailaputri
Daughter of the mountains, the first form of Durga — the awakening of devotion.
- Vahana
- The bull, Nandi
- Bhog (offering)
- Pure ghee
- Flower
- Hibiscus and white jasmine
- Colour
- Orange
Significance
Shailaputri is the daughter of the mountain — Himavan's child, born after Sati gave up her body at Daksha's sacrifice. She is the same being returning in a form that can be approached, and the first night of Navratri belongs to her because everything that follows starts from that return.
She rides Nandi and carries Shiva's trident, which places her inside the Shaiva story rather than beside it. The mountain in her name is not decoration: she is stability, the ground a practice is set on. The nine nights open here for the same reason a building opens with a foundation.
How she is shown
A trident in the right hand, a lotus in the left, a crescent on her brow
What is done on this day
Ghatasthapana is performed on this morning — the kalasham installed and the barley sown. Offer ghee, which is said to keep the household free of illness through the year, and begin the recitation that will run for nine nights.
The nine colours are widely published as if fixed, but they are not — the sequence is assigned from the weekday Navratri begins on, so it shifts every year. The colour shown here is the one most commonly associated with this form; follow your own community's list where it differs.
ॐ देवी शैलपुत्र्यै नमः