Nine forms of Durga
The nine forms of Durga can be viewed as nine moments in the life of Parvati, the wife of Shiva. These nine forms tell the story of their relationship and also symbolize the stages of ascension from the ordinary human form to the Absolute. As stages of spiritual ascension, these nine forms can be associated with and symbolize other ways of describing the stages of spiritual growth, such as the rising of Kundalini energy through the chakras. Shailaputri (First Night) The name "Shailaputri" literally translates to "daughter (putri) of the mountain (shaila)." She is known as Sati Bhavani, Parvati, or Hemavati, the daughter of Himavat, the ruler of the Himalayas. According to sacred texts like the *Shiva Purana* and *Devi Bhagavata Purana*, her story is as follows: after self-immolating as Sati in her father Daksha's sacrificial fire due to Daksha's insult to her husband Shiva, she was reincarnated as Goddess Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayas. In her Navadu