Maa Chandraghanta Mantra, Katha, Aarti and Bhog: Navratri Day 3 Puja Vidhi

Who is Maa Chandraghanta? (Chandraghanta Devi Meaning & Form)

"Chandraghanta" combines chandra, moon, and ghanta, bell: "she who wears a bell-shaped half-moon." She is the third of the Navdurga, worshipped on Day 3 as the married, radiant form of Parvati, taken on after her wedding to Lord Shiva.

She's shown golden-complexioned, riding a tiger, with ten arms carrying a trident, sword, bow and arrow, mace, lotus and kamandalu, one hand raised in a gesture of blessing. A crescent moon shaped like a bell rests on her forehead, and it's said that the sound of this bell, rung in battle, is enough to terrify evil forces.

Maa Chandraghanta Mantra & Beej Mantra (with Meaning)

Chandraghanta mata mantra:

ॐ देवी चन्द्रघण्टायै नमः॥

Om Devi Chandraghantayai Namah

"Salutations to Goddess Chandraghanta."

Suitable for daily puja and jaap.

Beej (seed) mantra, used in havan:

ॐ ऐं ह्रीं श्री चन्द्रघण्टायै नमः स्वाहा॥

Om Aim Hreem Shri Chandraghantayai Namah Swaha

This beej mantra combines the seed syllables of knowledge (aim), energy (hreem) and abundance (shri), offered with each ahuti during a Day 3 havan.

Dhyana mantra, describing her form:

पिण्डजप्रवरारूढा चण्डकोपास्त्रकैर्युता। प्रसादं तनुते मह्यं चन्द्रघण्टेति विश्रुता॥

Pindaja Pravararudha Chandakopastrakairyuta, Prasadam Tanute Mahyam Chandraghanteti Vishruta

"Seated upon her tiger, armed with fierce weapons against the wicked, may the one known as Chandraghanta grant me her grace."

Chandraghanta Mata ki Katha

After years of tapasya as Brahmacharini, Parvati finally won Lord Shiva as her husband. Chandraghanta marks the Devi right after this marriage, stepping into her new form as his wife and consort.

Following her union with Shiva, who wears a crescent moon in his own matted hair, Parvati began wearing the moon on her forehead too, shaped like a bell. Two tellings describe how this form of hers came to be needed:

• At the wedding. Shiva arrived with a fearsome, ash-smeared baraat of ghosts and ascetics. Parvati's parents, frightened by the sight, needed reassurance, so she took on the calm yet radiant form of Chandraghanta to steady them and welcome her bridegroom.
• In battle. Newly married, Parvati rode out against the demon Jatukasura, ringing her bell-shaped moon so loudly that his entire army fled in terror before she defeated him.

Whichever telling is followed, Chandraghanta represents the same balance: a bride's grace alongside a warrior's readiness, golden and serene one moment, fierce enough to shake the three worlds the next.

Maa Chandraghanta Puja Vidhi on Navratri Day 3

1. Continue the daily puja. Water the barley and keep the kalash in place as on the previous days.
2. Place her image or idol. Set Maa Chandraghanta's photo, ideally in red, near the kalash.
3. Offer the dhyana mantra. Recite "Pindaja Pravararudha..." while visualising her seated on the tiger, the bell-shaped moon on her forehead.
4. Chant her mantra. Say "Om Devi Chandraghantayai Namah" with flowers and a lit diya.
5. Offer kheer. This is her traditional bhog, offered with the sankalp of courage and calm.
6. Close with the aarti. End with the Devi aarti, given below.

Day 3 is also marked at Lalita Devi Shakti Peeth, Naimisharanya, with the Lalita Trishati Anushthan for love and relationship harmony, performed by temple Pandits.

Day 3 · Lalita Devi, NaimisharanyaNavratri Raj Rajeshwari Hridaya Shanti Prem-Saubhagya Lalita Trishati AnushthanLalita Trishati Anushthan for love and harmony in relationships, performed in your name.Shri Lalita Devi Shakti Peeth, NaimisharanyaBook this puja

Maa Chandraghanta Bhog & Colour

Milk-based kheer is offered to Maa Chandraghanta on Day 3, for courage and protection from negativity. The colour for her day is red, chosen for the strength and fierce grace at the centre of her form.

As with each day, her bhog and colour follow the order set by the Navdurga shloka, with Day 3's line reading "tritiyam Chandraghanteti."

Chandraghanta Mata ki Aarti

As with Shailputri and Brahmacharini, there's no aarti unique to Chandraghanta. The same Durga aarti, Jai Ambe Gauri, continues to be sung on Day 3:

जय अम्बे गौरी, मैया जय श्यामा गौरी। तुमको निशिदिन ध्यावत, हरि ब्रह्मा शिवरी॥

Jai Ambe Gauri, Maiya Jai Shyama Gauri, Tumko Nishidin Dhyavat, Hari Brahma Shivari.

"Victory to Mother Gauri, who is meditated upon day and night by Hari, Brahma and Shiva."

The aarti continues for several more verses and closes the evening puja each day of the festival.

Benefits of Worshipping Chandraghanta Devi

• Courage against fear. Her readiness in battle is held up as a model for facing problems head-on rather than avoiding them.
• Calm under pressure. Despite her fierce form, she's described as serene and composed, a balance many devotees pray to carry into their own lives.
• Protection from negativity. The sound of her bell is traditionally believed to ward off evil influences and restlessness.
• Grace alongside strength. As the newly married form of Parvati, she's also prayed to for grace, dignity and harmony within relationships.

Celebrating Navratri, Wherever You Are

Not everyone can travel to a Shakti Peeth during these nine nights. Ekishwar performs Navratri pujas at Devi temples across India, in your name and gotra, so the worship still reaches the Devi even when you can't be there yourself.

Navratri 2026 · 11 – 19 October

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