While Navaratri means ‘nine nights’, the number of nightly pujas can vary from eight to ten depending on the way the tithis fall. On the night after Goddess Yogambika is taken in procession, the first of ten successive nightly alankarams takes place. The alankaram on the first night is usually Meenakshi, avatar of Parvati, consort of Lord Siva, considered the form of Goddess Mathangi; the second night might be Gaja Lakshmi seated on a lotus, flanked by two elephants anointing her in abhishekam with water from their trunks; the third, Rajararajeswari, a form of Goddess Parvati also called Tripura Sundari; the fourth night, Linga Puja, depicts Parvati in worship of the linga of the Lord, like the day she fashioned a linga of sand at the waterside in Kanchipuram. Lord Siva’s voice could be heard from above, “Let this linga made by you remain here for the welfare of all humankind”. The fifth night is Rishabha Vahanam, the great bull-devotee of Lord Siva, whose legs are the four Vedas; the sixth night Tapas, a tribute to Mother’s great austerities, especially those she practised at the foot of Arunachala; the seventh night, Sesha Sayanam, the “Lord who sleeps on Sesha”, the serpent-king of the Nagas. Devi (Parashakti), who indwells Lord Vishnu, rests on the serpent, the archetypal symbol of wisdom and immortality; the eighth night, Venuganam, “the song of the flute”, hints at the fact that even Lord Krishna’s powers have their origins in Parashakti; the ninth night, Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, music, arts and science, the consort of Brahma by whose wisdom Brahma was able to create the universe; and the last night, Mahishasura Mardini, the “slayer of the buffalo-demon”. Mahishasura was born to a father, Rambha, king of the asuras, and a water buffalo mother (Princess Shyamala, cursed to be a buffalo). Mahishasura invaded heaven and defeated Indra. Since he was invincible to all male forms, the devas created Durga, who possessed the combined strength of all the Devas. Durga and her army fiercely fought the demon and his forces for nine days until she finally killed Mahishasura on dasami shukla paksha, the tenth day of the waxing moon. So the last night is Mahishasura Mardini. Vijaya Dasami has no major puja but is a holiday for all in India. On that evening Goddess Yogambika is again taken in procession followed by arati, cheers and celebration. —