Brahmacharini

Brahmacharini is the second Navadurga, honoured on the second night of Navaratri. The name describes one who practises tapas, a seeker moving toward Brahman. Her story follows Parvati after birth as the mountain king's daughter, when she undertook long austerities to win Shiva. Tradition says she lived on fruit, then on leaves, then on nothing at all, and the vow itself is what the form celebrates.

She is shown on foot, with no animal mount, in a white sari. In her right hand is a japa mala and in her left a kamandalu, the water pot of an ascetic. The calm forehead and bare feet mark someone walking a chosen path alone. White is her colour, rock sugar called mishri is her offering, and chrysanthemum is the flower named for her. Her mantra Om Devi Brahmacharinyai Namah is a simple salutation to the goddess in this ascetic form. Tradition associates her with the Svadhishthana chakra.

Worship on the second night is quiet and focused. Devotees recite the mantra, count rosary beads and keep to a light, sattvic diet. Many students and people taking up a new discipline remember her as a model of resolve. Accounts differ slightly between regions about which colours and flowers are used, so families usually follow their own custom.