According to Puranas, goddess Durga was mostly worshipped during the spring season. But the origin of Shardiye Navaratra owes its tradition to Lord Ram.
Widely Accepted Practice
"Ram's Akalbodhan during autumn came to be a most widely accepted practice,'' said Avneesh Mishra, a priest with the Vidhyachal Temple in Mirzapur.
The Legend According to Him
Sharing the legend behind it, he said: "In Ramayana, Rama went to Lanka to rescue his abducted wife Sita from the grip of Ravana, the king of demons in Lanka. Before starting for his battle with Ravana, Rama wanted the blessings of Devi Durga.''
Hundred Lotuses
Hundred Lotuses
Priest added that Lord Rama was aware that the goddess would be pleased only if she was worshipped with one hundred lotuses.
Eyes as one of the Lotus
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Eyes as one of the Lotus
After travelling the whole world, Rama could gather only 99 lotuses. He finally decided to offer one of his eyes, which resembled blue lotuses. Durga, pleased with the devotion of Rama, appeared before him and blessed him. Eventually, Ravana was killed.
The Orginal Tale
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The Orginal Tale
The story in Krittibas' Ramayan goes somewhat like this. Lord Rama of Ayodhya led an army of 'Banaras' (Monkeys) to wedge a war against the demon king Ravana who had stolen his wife Sita and had held captive in his palace in Lanka.
Ravana pleasing Shiva
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Ravana pleasing Shiva
In the midst of the war Rama suddenly noticed that Ravana is trying to please him by singing in praise for him. This made Rama more disheartened because now as Ravana had become a devotee of Rama, the latter could not kill him.
Disappointed
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Disappointed
The Gods and Goddesses too become disappointed. All the Gods and Goddesses assembled together and it was decided in the meeting that Goddess Saraswati should reside on the tongue of Ravana, making him say foul words to Rama.
Ravana was Slain
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Ravana was Slain
As this was done, soon a shaft of words from Ravana's mouth pierced Rama's ears and he at once took up arms against the demon king. The war started again and Ravana was slain into two halves by Rama.
It was Surprising
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It was Surprising
But to everyone's surprise, a boon from Brahma revived Ravana and he worshipped Devi Ambika to support him in his battle against Rama. Devi Ambika joined him and sat with him in his chariot.
Rescue Sita
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Rescue Sita
This made Rama poignant even more for he now knew it was quite impossible for him to kill the demon and rescue Sita. Seeing this, all the Gods and Goddesses now approached to Lord Vishnu who suggested that Rama had to pray for the blessings of Goddess Devi Chandika or Goddess Durga.
Worshipping Devi Chandika
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Worshipping Devi Chandika
Durga, mother of all, so that she would help him and take no offense in his killings. Rama started worshipping Devi Chandika but the Goddess could not be satisfied by his earnest prayers; she did not appear before Rama.
108 blue lotuses
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108 blue lotuses
Then Bibhishan suggested Rama that the latter should try once again to appease Goddess Durga by offering 108 blue lotuses. Summoned by Rama, Hanuman flew to Debidaha, the only place where one could find blue lotuses.
108 lotuses for his Lord
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108 lotuses for his Lord
And brought back 108 lotuses for his Lord. In halfway of his puja, as Rama was going to offer the flowers to the Goddess, he found out that there were 107 blue lotuses and not 108.
Human Incarnation of Lord Vishnu
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Human Incarnation of Lord Vishnu
Being the human incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Rama had to face the tests of mother superior Durga. To prove his devotion to the Goddess Durga and his intense love for his wife Sita, Rama promptly took his bow and arrow ready to pick one of his eyes .
Blue Lotus Eyes
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Blue Lotus Eyes
As all know he was born with lotus eyes and everyone regarded them as blue lotus eyes. His decision to pluck his beautiful blue eyes as a substitute for the 108th blue lotus made Devi Chandika or Durga appear in full form before him and stopped him from doing so.
Boon to Rama
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Boon to Rama
Devi Durga granted the boon to Rama that she would leave the side of Ravana so that he could kill the demon and rescue Sita. Rama had started the puja on the 6th day (Shashthi) of Ashwin and the Goddess appeared before him on the 8th day(Astami).
Between the day of Astami
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Between the day of Astami
At the meeting point between the day of astami(8th) and navami(9th) she entered into Ram's weapons and gave them required strength to kill Ravana. Ravana was killed on the day of Dasami.
Some other Tales
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Some other Tales
There are, however, some other stories behind the commencement of the autumnal worship of Devi Durga. This is not verified in puranas and is debated concept.
King Surath
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King Surath
According to Shree Shree Chandi, by orders of medhas rishi, King Surath (in order to get back his lost kingdom)and Samadhi Vaishya (in order to gain Brahmagyan) had inaugurated the worship of Devi Durga in autumn .
Uncustomary Time
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Uncustomary Time
This is the first instance of the Goddess being worshipped in the such a uncustomary time. The next instance tells that Lord Indra performed Akalbodhon or the untimely awakening of Devi Durga in autumn in order to kill Mahisasur.
Performed by Brahma
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Performed by Brahma
The third time, it was performed by Brahma, just before Rama did with the same purpose as the latter did. Hence we can say that, the story of Devi Durga's Akalbodhon is purely mythical in nature.
Sri Eswaran
