प्रकृतिरूपा
One face split down the middle: on the left Kalaratri, dark-skinned and wreathed in fire; on the right Mahagauri, fair and crowned with pearls

An illustrated book

She Who Is Nature

DurgaThe Mother Goddess. Her name means “hard to reach,” like a fort high on a mountain. and Her Nine Forms  ·  प्रकृतिरूपा

By Bibek Sharma Chapagain

Download the book Get it on Amazon
  • 14 chapters
  • Sanskrit mantras with meaning
  • Free PDF

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥

Ya devi sarvabhuteshu shakti-rupena samsthita, namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namah.

To the Goddess who lives in every being as strength, I bow to her, I bow to her, again and again I bow.

From the Devi MahatmyaAn old Sanskrit poem in praise of the Goddess, still recited during Dashain.

Before the nine forms

A World Full of Gods

Hindu tradition honours countless gods, of rivers and mountains, of sun and rain and strength. The idea underneath is simple: a god is anything that made you what you are. Water to drink. Soil to grow food. The sun that wakes you, the fire that warms you. So people learned to bow to them, the way you'd thank anyone who kept you alive.

Among them, three stand behind all the rest, one for each great movement. Every seed, every season and every life is born, lives and returns.

  • BrahmaThe creator god, one of the three great gods of the Hindu tradition.creates
  • VishnuThe god who keeps the world going, one of the three great gods.sustains
  • ShivaThe god of endings that make way for new beginnings, and Parvati's husband.lets end, to make way

Someone who longs to sing bows to SaraswatiGoddess of music, learning and wisdom.. Someone who wants to grow strong and steady prays to HanumanThe monkey god of strength and devotion, a loyal friend to Rama.. They aren't asking for a gift from far away. They are waking that same energy in themselves. DurgaThe Mother Goddess. Her name means “hard to reach,” like a fort high on a mountain. is one of her best-loved faces.

Durga as nature herself: her hair becomes a forested mountain, her sari flows into a river, and terraced mustard fields and a village lie at her feet

Chapter 1 · She Who Is Nature

The mountain, the river, the field in flower. All of it is her.

She Who Is Nature tells the story of DurgaThe Mother Goddess. Her name means “hard to reach,” like a fort high on a mountain., the great Mother Goddess, and the forms she takes during the nine nights of Navaratri“Nine nights.” An autumn festival honouring the Goddess, one form each night., celebrated in Nepal as DashainNepal's biggest festival. It is the same festival as Navaratri and Vijaya Dashami, and ends in victory on the tenth day.. In this telling she lives close by, as PrakritiSanskrit for nature: the living world, in all its moods., nature itself: the ground under our feet, the rain and the fire, and the quiet strength inside every living thing.

Each chapter brings one of her forms to life with a story, an image of her, and her mantra in Sanskrit with simple pronunciation and meaning. You don't need to know anything about Hindu tradition to enjoy it.

  • 14 chaptersFrom nature herself to her victory on the tenth day, and the old hymn that finds her in all beings.
  • An image for every formHer visual representation, full of old signs, with a short guide at the back to reading them.
  • Mantras you can say aloudEach in Sanskrit, with easy pronunciation and a plain English meaning.
  • Written for everyoneSimple words, no background needed, and sources listed at the back.
The gods stand in a circle on a dark mountain as streams of golden light pour from them and join into the many-armed, fiery form of Durga

Chapter 2 · A Mountain of Fire Becomes a Woman

When the gods had nothing left, their light became her.

After a war of a hundred years, the buffalo demon MahishasuraThe shape-shifting buffalo demon who took over heaven. threw IndraKing of the gods, ruler of heaven. off the throne of heaven and drove the gods out to wander the earth. When VishnuThe god who keeps the world going, one of the three great gods. and ShivaThe god of endings that make way for new beginnings, and Parvati's husband. heard, their faces darkened with anger. A great light poured from Vishnu's face, then from BrahmaThe creator god, one of the three great gods of the Hindu tradition., from Shiva and from everyone there, and it all flowed together like rivers running to the sea.

The light became a mountain of fire, and slowly the fire took a woman's shape. Shiva gave her a trident, Vishnu a discus, Indra his thunderbolt, and the king of the mountains a lion. She laughed, and the mountains shook.

This story comes from the Devi MahatmyaAn old Sanskrit poem in praise of the Goddess, still recited during Dashain., an old Sanskrit poem still recited during DashainNepal's biggest festival. It is the same festival as Navaratri and Vijaya Dashami, and ends in victory on the tenth day..

Navaratri“Nine nights.” An autumn festival honouring the Goddess, one form each night. · nine nights

Nine nights, nine forms

Her nine names come from a short old prayer, the Devi Kavacham“Armor of the Goddess.” A short protective prayer that names the nine forms., said to have been spoken by BrahmaThe creator god, one of the three great gods of the Hindu tradition. himself. Over the nine nights of Navaratri they are honoured one at a time, like lamps lit one after another, from the daughter of the mountain to the giver of every gift. Tap an image to read her story and her mantra.

Durga stands on the buffalo demon and drives her trident into it as Mahishasura crawls out of its mouth, her lion biting its back, while flowers fall from the clouds

The tenth day · Vijaya Dashami“Victory tenth.” The tenth day of the festival, when Durga's victory is celebrated.

Mahishasuramardiniमहिषासुरमर्दिनी

MahishasuraThe shape-shifting buffalo demon who took over heaven. could become anything: a buffalo, a lion, a man with a sword, an elephant. She did not chase every shape. She held him still, and when his true face came crawling half out of the buffalo, she ended it, while flowers fell from the clouds.

That victory is celebrated on the tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, the great day of DashainNepal's biggest festival. It is the same festival as Navaratri and Vijaya Dashami, and ends in victory on the tenth day.. Before she left, she made a promise: whenever you need me, call, and I will come.

Download the book
The cover of She Who Is Nature: half Kalaratri in fire, half Mahagauri in pearls and jasmine, with the title in gold

Read it free

Take her home with you.

Download the full book as a PDF and keep it on your phone, tablet or computer. Read it during DashainNepal's biggest festival. It is the same festival as Navaratri and Vijaya Dashami, and ends in victory on the tenth day., share it with family, send it to a friend who has always wondered who DurgaThe Mother Goddess. Her name means “hard to reach,” like a fort high on a mountain. is. Prefer a printed copy? It's on Amazon too.

Download the PDF Get it on Amazon
14 chapters · images · mantras