Maa Katyayani Mantra, Katha, Aarti and Bhog: Navratri Day 6 Puja Vidhi

Every winter morning for a month, the young gopis of Vraj walked to the Yamuna before sunrise, bathed in its cold water, and shaped a small image of the Goddess out of sand on the riverbank. Their prayer was the same each day: let Krishna be my husband. The goddess they prayed to was Katyayani, and thousands of years later, the mantra they chanted is still one of the most searched prayers in India.

On Day 6 of Navratri, Maa Katyayani is worshipped as the warrior who defeated Mahishasura. For many devotees, though, she is first the goddess of the marriage mantra.

Katyayani Mantra for Marriage: The Gopis' Prayer

कात्यायनि महामाये महायोगिन्यधीश्वरि। नन्दगोपसुतं देवि पतिं मे कुरु ते नमः॥

Katyayani Mahamaye Mahayoginyadheeshwari, Nandagopasutam Devi Patim Me Kuru Te Namah

What the Mantra Means, Word by Word

Today, most devotees chant it as a prayer for a suitable, loving life partner rather than for Krishna literally, and many unmarried women and men recite it during Navratri.

How to Chant the Om Katyayani Mahamaye Mantra

1. Chant after bathing, ideally in the morning, facing east.
2. Light a diya before her picture and offer a red or yellow flower.
3. Recite the mantra 108 times. Many keep it up daily for a fixed period, such as all nine days of Navratri or 40 days.
4. End by stating your prayer in your own words.

Other Katyayani Mata Mantras

The dhyana mantra describes her exactly as she is shown: holding a shining sword (Chandrahasa), riding a noble lion (Shardula), and destroying demons. It asks her to grant what is auspicious.

Who Is Maa Katyayani? Daughter of a Sage, Slayer of Mahishasura

The name Katyayani means "daughter of Katyayana." The sage Katyayana spent years in penance hoping the Goddess herself would be born as his daughter, and she first appeared in his ashram. She is the sixth of the Navdurga, and of all nine, she is the one most closely tied to battle.

She is shown riding a lion, with four arms. She holds a sword in one hand and a lotus in another, while the other two are raised in the gestures of protection (abhaya) and blessing (varada). The sword is for the battles she fights on behalf of her devotees, and the lotus is for the grace she offers them.

Katyayani Mata ki Katha

The buffalo demon Mahishasura had a boon that no man or god could kill him. He drove the gods out of heaven and ruled the three worlds by fear. In their anger, the energies of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva merged into a single blazing form, a goddess armed with weapons gifted by every god.

She rode out on her lion to face him. Mahishasura fought as a buffalo, then a lion, then an elephant, then a man, changing form each time he was beaten. Katyayani matched every form until she finally struck him down, earning the name Mahishasura Mardini. The victory is still celebrated across Bengal and eastern India during Durga Puja.

Katyayani Vrat: How the Gopis Worshipped Her

The Bhagavata Purana (10th Canto, Chapter 22) describes the vrat in detail, and as Sanskriti Magazine notes, it is still observed today by those praying for a devoted partner. Here is how the gopis kept it:

At the end of the month, Krishna granted their wish in his own way, which is why the vrat came to be associated with prayers for marriage. Navratri Day 6 has become a shorter, single-day version of the same devotion.

Maa Katyayani Puja Vidhi on Navratri Day 6

You don't need a river or a month-long vrat to worship her the way the gopis did. A simple Day 6 puja at home carries the same spirit.

1. Continue the Navratri routine. Water the barley and refresh the water in the kalash, as on the previous days.
2. Set up her picture. Place Maa Katyayani's photo or idol on a clean cloth and offer red flowers.
3. Light the diya. Use ghee or sesame oil, along with incense or dhoop.
4. Recite the dhyana mantra. Picture her on the lion with sword and lotus as you say "Chandrahasojjvalakara..."
5. Chant her mantra. Recite "Om Devi Katyayanyai Namah," or the Katyayani Mahamaye mantra 108 times if you're praying for marriage.
6. Offer honey as bhog. Place a small bowl of honey before her.
7. Close with the aarti. End the puja with the evening aarti, given below.

Maa Katyayani Bhog and Colour

Her bhog is honey. It echoes the sweetness the gopis prayed for in their own lives, and you'll find how it fits among the other eight offerings in the Navratri bhog for 9 days list. Green colour is worn on her day, fitting for a goddess so many approach before a new chapter in life. It's the sixth shade in the Navratri colours 2026 sequence.

Katyayani Mata ki Aarti

There's no separate aarti written for Katyayani, so the Durga aarti, Jai Ambe Gauri, is sung for her on Day 6:

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."

At her Shakti Peeth in Mathura, Day 6 is marked with an Akhand Deep and Maha Havan, a lamp kept burning through the day alongside the havan.

Day 6 · Uma Shakti Peeth, MathuraNavratri Akhand Deep & Shakti-Samriddhi-Vijay Maha HavanAkhand Deep and Shakti-Samriddhi-Vijay Maha Havan at Maa Katyayani's Shakti Peeth, performed in your name.Maa Katyayani (Uma) Shaktipeeth, MathuraBook this puja

Benefits of Worshipping Katyayani Devi

• Blessings for marriage. She is the goddess most prayed to for a suitable life partner and for harmony after marriage.
• Courage against injustice. As Mahishasura Mardini, she's worshipped for the strength to stand up to wrongdoing.
• Governs the Ajna chakra. In yogic tradition, she's linked to the third-eye chakra, associated with insight and clarity.
• An end to long struggles. Devotees turn to her when a drawn-out problem needs a decisive resolution.

Two Faces, One Goddess

It's easy to see Katyayani as two goddesses: the fierce Mahishasura Mardini and the gentle Devi the gopis sang to by the Yamuna. They were never separate. The same strength that ended Mahishasura is what devotees ask for when they chant her mantra before a marriage: the strength to protect what you love. However you come to her on Day 6, a bowl of honey, a red flower and a sincere prayer carry the same meaning they did for the gopis.

If you'd like a Navratri puja performed at a temple on your behalf, Ekishwar can arrange it at a Shakti Peeth, in your name.

Navratri 2026 · 11 – 19 October

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