Bhadrakālī Pūjā in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa

Bhadrakālī is a fierce, protective form of the Devī, the divine Mother. Chapter 158 of the Dvitīya Khaṇḍa (second part) of the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa teaches a pūjā of Bhadrakālī that the king performs on the Ashṭamī and Navamī (8th and 9th days) of the bright fortnight of Āśvayuja, in autumn. It is also known as the pūjā of Kātyāyanī.

This autumn festival of the Devī is set firmly in the life of the king and his army. It falls in the season when Vishṇu’s awakening in Kārtika is approaching, when the star Agastya has risen, and when the season for military campaigns is about to begin. The Devī is worshipped in her fierce warrior form as Bhadrakālī or Kātyāyanī, who destroys enemies of dharma and grants victory to the righteous king.

The Festival’s Place in the Royal Year

The 8th and 9th of bright Āśvayuja fall about one month before Kārtika Śukla Ekādaśī, also called Utthāna Ekādaśī, the day when Vishṇu awakens from his four-month rest. The timing is chosen with care: by Āśvayuja the monsoon is over, Agastya has risen (the traditional sign that the campaign season is opening), and the king is ritually preparing his army for action.

The Bhadrakālī pūjā is the Śākta side (the side devoted to the Devī) of the king’s preparations, and it goes hand in hand with the Vaishṇava rites. The rituals centred on Vishṇu give the king his basic authority in dharma, while the Devī gives the śakti (power) that actually wins battles.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa always presents the Devī as not separate from Vishṇu. She is his śakti, the active power through which the order of dharma is kept and adharma (what is against dharma) is destroyed. So a pūjā of Bhadrakālī before the campaign season is a pūjā of Vishṇu’s own power in its warrior form.

The Pūjā on Ashṭamī

Ashṭamī is the day of the Devī’s most intense form, and the pūjā on this day honours Bhadrakālī in her fiercest aspect:

  • The king begins with the prescribed snāna (ritual bath) and purification
  • A mūrti (sacred image) of Bhadrakālī or her yantra (sacred diagram) is installed in the pūjā-maṇḍapa (pavilion for pūjā)
  • The pūjā includes all sixteen upacāras (acts of honouring a deity), with special stress on red flowers, red cloth and offerings suited to the fierce Devī: blood-red flowers such as bandūka and jāpā (hibiscus), special fragrant substances, and havishyānna (pure, simple food fit for offering)
  • The Sapta-mātṛkās (the seven divine Mothers) are also honoured as Bhadrakālī’s companions
  • The purohita recites stotras to the Devī and passages of the Durgā Saptaśatī suited to her Kātyāyanī form

The homa (fire offering): A special homa is done with the aim of destroying the king’s enemies and protecting the army. The āhutis (offerings into the fire) include particular herbs known for their link with success in war.

The Chariot Procession on Navamī

Navamī is marked by the ratha-yātrā, the procession of the Devī on a chariot through the royal city. This public procession has several purposes:

  • It makes the Devī’s śakti visible across the kingdom and blesses the whole land
  • It shows the king’s devotion to the Devī in front of his people, strengthening his standing in dharma
  • It publicly declares divine protection over the coming campaign

The ratha (chariot) is richly decorated with special garlands, flags and sacred symbols. Its route passes through the main streets of the city and, ideally, goes all the way around the city walls, a symbolic act of protection that encircles the whole city.

The army takes part in the ratha-yātrā. The king’s soldiers may form a guard of honour, weapons are displayed, and the procession shows the unity of royal power, divine śakti and readiness for war.

The Military Setting

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa places the Bhadrakālī pūjā inside the teaching of Garga and Atri on rājadharma, the duties of a king (Chapters 134–165). This matters: the pūjā is not offered as a general devotional practice but as a royal ritual of war. Its instructions are addressed to the vijigīshu king, the king who seeks victory, as he gathers his forces for the campaign season.

This follows a wider principle of the Purāṇa. A king going to war is not only a political figure; his battles take part in the great struggle between the devas and the asuras. By worshipping Bhadrakālī, the Devī who destroyed the great asuras Śumbha, Niśumbha and Mahishāsura, the king joins his campaign to the pattern of dharma’s victory over adharma.

The blessings sought from Bhadrakālī are: victory over the enemy, protection of the king’s own forces, and the power to rule according to dharma after the victory.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa does not use the word Navarātri in this chapter. Still, the pūjā on the 8th and 9th of bright Āśvayuja is clearly the Purāṇa’s version of what the wider tradition knows as the closing, most important days of Śārada Navarātri, the autumn nine nights of the Devī. Its version is royal and martial in character. This fits the kshatriya (warrior) custom of āyudha-pūjā, the pūjā of weapons, which many regions observe on Navamī.

The next chapter (Chapter 159) describes the Nīrājana, a purification ceremony for the army. It is usually held in the same period between Āśvayuja and Kārtika. Together, the Bhadrakālī pūjā, the Nīrājana and the close of Cāturmāsya (the four-month holy period) form a single sequence of rites that bless the king and army before the campaign.

Sources

  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Uttarārdha (Dvitīya Khaṇḍa), Chapter 158
  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa (Part 5 of the translation)