NAVARATRI 2026 – Nine Nights for Nine Inner Transformations

Sharad Navaratri 2026 (11–20 October 2026) and Vijayadashami 21 October 2026

Navaratri 2026 · Day 3 – Maa Chandraghanta: Courage with Grace

1. Who Is Maa Chandraghanta?

On the third day we worship Maa Chandraghanta, the Mother who wears a half-moon shaped like a bell (ghanta) upon her forehead. She is Parvati after her marriage to Lord Shiva: the tapasvini of Day 2 has become the radiant, golden-hued Devi who rides a lion and carries weapons in her ten hands.

Her form holds two qualities together. She is ready for battle, yet her face is calm and gracious. The sound of her bell is said to drive away negative forces and to bring peace to her devotees. She shows that true courage is not aggression; it is fearlessness rooted in inner peace.

In the Navadurga sequence of the Devi Kavacham (shlokas 3–5), she is “Chandraghanteti tritiyam”, the third. After steadiness (Day 1) and discipline (Day 2) comes courage (Day 3).

2. The Durga Saptashati Link

Chapter 3 of the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya; Markandeya Purana, adhyaya 83) tells of the final battle with Mahishasura. As the demon shifts from buffalo to lion to man to elephant and back again, the Devi remains unmoved. Before the final blow she speaks to him:

garja garja kṣaṇaṃ mūḍha madhu yāvatpibāmyaham |

mayā tvayi hate’traiva garjiṣyantyāśu devatāḥ ||

“Roar, roar for a moment, O fool, while I drink this honey. When you are slain by me, the gods will soon roar here in joy.” (Devi Mahatmya 3.38)

Mahishasura is noise and shape-shifting; the Devi is stillness and certainty. Our fears behave the same way: they roar and change form, but they cannot stand before a calm, centred mind.

The bell itself appears in the hymn of the gods in Chapter 4, who pray: “ghaṇṭāsvanena naḥ pāhi”, “protect us with the sound of your bell” (Devi Mahatmya 4.24). In Chapter 11 they pray again that her bell, whose sound fills the world and destroys the might of the demons, may protect us from sin as a mother protects her children (Devi Mahatmya 11.27).

[Verse numbers as in the Gita Press edition; please check against your copy]

3. The Astrological Link

In this series, the astrology lens for Maa Chandraghanta is the Sun (Surya): courage, identity, and righteous purpose. The Sun is the atmakaraka, the significator of the soul, self-confidence, authority, and vitality. It rules Simha, is exalted in Mesha, and is debilitated in Tula.

Chandraghanta rides a lion, and the lion is the Sun’s own creature: Simha is the sign the Sun rules. Her courage is not aggression. It is the steady radiance of one who knows who she is and what she stands for. A strong Sun gives exactly this: a clear sense of identity and the confidence to act rightly, without needing to dominate anyone.

During Navaratri the Sun moves through sidereal Kanya towards Tula, its sign of debilitation. As the outer Sun weakens, Chandraghanta asks us to find the inner Sun: courage that rests on purpose rather than on circumstances.

4. Astrology Message for the Day

Day 3 is helpful for those whose charts show a weak or afflicted Sun: the Sun in Tula, joined with Rahu, Ketu, or Saturn, or placed in the 6th, 8th, or 12th house. Such placements can show up as low confidence, fear of authority, difficulty standing up for oneself, or friction with the father. Sometimes they show the opposite: ego, pride, and aggression covering an inner insecurity.

Chandraghanta’s remedy is courage with grace. Offer water (arghya) to the rising Sun, take one honest stand today, and act from purpose rather than from ego. True confidence does not need to roar.

5. A Message for Youngsters

Chandraghanta teaches that you can be kind and still be brave. Many young people feel they must choose between being “nice” and being strong. The Mother shows you can be both: gracious in manner, firm in values.

Courage today might mean saying no to something your friends are pressuring you into, standing up for someone being bullied, speaking honestly to a parent, or trying something where you might fail. Do it calmly. The lion does not need to roar to be a lion.

6. Inner Message from Swami, Scripture, and the Sages

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba explained why the gentle Mother takes a fierce form. In His Dasara discourse of 18 October 1991, Swami said that when selfishness, injustice, immorality, and untruth grow to monstrous proportions, the Divine Mother as Shakti takes on a rajasic form to overcome the forces of evil and to protect the sattvic qualities. This is Chandraghanta exactly: her weapons serve her peace, not the other way round.

In His Dasara discourse of 14 October 1988 (Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 21, “The Mother Divine”), Swami taught that the Divine flows through all the limbs of the body as rasa, the divine essence, and that this principle is called Rasaswaroopini, the Embodiment of Divine Sweetness. The powers that sustain the body, He said, should also be worshipped as mother goddesses. The grace with which Chandraghanta carries her strength is, in truth, this same sweetness of the Mother flowing within us.

The Bhagavad Gita lists the divine qualities, and the very first is fearlessness, abhayam (Bhagavad Gita 16.1). Elsewhere Sri Krishna says that wherever there is glory, beauty, or power, know it to spring from a spark of His splendour (Bhagavad Gita 10.41). Courage and beauty both belong to the Divine.

The Mundaka Upanishad declares “nāyamātmā balahīnena labhyaḥ”, this Self is not attained by one who lacks strength (Mundaka Upanishad 3.2.4). Spiritual life is not for the timid; it asks for the inner strength of the lion-riding Mother.

The bell and Om. The bell rung in every puja echoes Om, of which the Mandukya Upanishad says “om ityetadakṣaramidaṃ sarvam”, all this is Om (Mandukya Upanishad 1). Chandraghanta’s bell is a reminder that sacred sound clears the mind.

7. What Everyone Should Understand

The fierce forms of the Devi are not frightening deities to be feared. As Swami explained, her fierceness exists to protect goodness.
Courage and peace are not opposites. The calmest people are often the bravest, because fear has less to hold on to.
The bell in worship is not decoration. Its sound marks a shift of attention from the outer world to the sacred.
True confidence is not ego. A strong Sun means knowing who you are in the Divine, not needing others to tell you.

8. Practical Orientation for Day 3

Ring the bell mindfully: In your puja today, ring the bell slowly and listen until the sound fades completely. Let the mind become as quiet as the silence that follows.
Chanting: Repeat “Om Devi Chandraghantayai Namah” 108 times, or chant Om softly for five minutes.

Mantra and dhyana shloka of Maa Chandraghanta

ॐ देवी चन्द्रघण्टायै नमः

पिण्डजप्रवरारूढा चण्डकोपास्त्रकैर्युता ।

प्रसादं तनुतां मह्यं चन्द्रघण्टेति विश्रुता ॥

piṇḍajapravarārūḍhā caṇḍakopāstrakairyutā |

prasādaṃ tanutāṃ mahyaṃ candraghaṇṭeti viśrutā ||

May she who is renowned as Chandraghanta, mounted on the finest of creatures and armed with weapons of fierce power, extend her grace to me.

Reading: Read Chapter 3 of the Durga Saptashati, or the hymn of the gods in Chapter 4.
One brave act: Do one thing you have been avoiding out of fear: a difficult conversation, an apology, or a decision. Do it gently.
Honour the Sun: At sunrise, offer water to the Sun and resolve to act today from courage and purpose rather than fear.

śūlena pāhi no devi pāhi khaḍgena cāmbike |

ghaṇṭāsvanena naḥ pāhi cāpajyāniḥsvanena ca ||

(Devi Mahatmya 4.24)

Tomorrow: Day 4, Maa Kushmanda, the creative light within.

Ravinder Grover

Astrology & Spiritual Insights

🌐 www.ravindergrover.com

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Disclaimer: ‘Without Prejudice’. I offer my insight into astrology solely based on my learnings of astrology principles and techniques, some of which I learnt from the Sages of the highest order. These predictions are offered for guidance purposes only. I offer absolutely no guarantee for my calculations and analysis. These predictions are not intended to cause harm to anyone in any way. I expressly disclaim all warranties, whether implied or contingent, for making use of these predictions or for incurring any loss or loss of profit in any manner whatsoever. No notice or advice from anyone will create any liability whatsoever