Chandraghanta

Chandraghanta is the third form, worshipped on the third night of Navaratri. Her name joins chandra, the moon, and ghanta, a bell: on her forehead sits a half moon shaped like a bell. Tradition holds that after her marriage to Shiva, Parvati took this form, and that the sound of the bell is said to frighten away demons. She is therefore both a bridal and a warrior figure, which makes her a favourite subject of temple painters.

Her body is golden and she has ten arms. Tradition says eight hands carry weapons such as the trident, mace, sword, bow and arrows, while the remaining two show the abhaya and varada gestures of fearlessness and giving. She rides a tigress, and in some regions a lioness. Her colour is royal blue or silver, her offering is kheer, and the white lotus is her flower. The mantra Om Devi Chandraghantayai Namah salutes her by her name. She is linked to the Manipura chakra at the solar plexus.

On the third night devotees offer milk-based sweets, ring a bell during the evening lamp ceremony and recite her mantra. Descriptions of how many weapons she holds vary between traditions, so images in different temples may not match exactly.