Devi Puja during Nav-Ratri (Dasara)

It is customary to perform the devi puja, worship of the Shakti Deities, the Devi-  Mahalakshmi and Saraswati (on ashvin saptami), and Durga (ashtami), and  worship of tools and arms (Ayudha puja on Khande navami). The significance of these customary worship of the most powerful deities that create, sustain, and withdraw this visible material objective world cannot be explained unless the symbolism involved in these are clearly understood.    

  In the first place, the common understanding is that devi is a feminine aspect where as deva is a the masculine. But, it is not so! These are the inherent powers within all that is created, stating from the invisible subatomic particles to the gross materials- land and water, air, fire, and space. There are subtler aspects of each and everything we see as the gross ones. Water as a liquid can be found in subtler water vapor, as well as, much gross form of ice blocks. In this sense of the material existence, everything is subtler and subtler-most in the beginning and acquire gross forms later. A human body is also a subtler-most unicellular spermatozoa that multiplies in no time to constitute multi-cellular tissues, organs and body.This holds good for all plants and animals, too. There is a catalytic agent, an emergent factor that operates silently at every single stage of the evolution of these life-forms. An invisible microscopic protozoa or an unicellular amoeba to the giant whales and huge whales and elephants everything is a bundle of vibrant energy, the work of devi devata! These devi are initially Shakti, the power of one invisible supreme power! This one supreme power only manifests in different forms- Mahalakshmi, Saraswati, Durga Parameshwari, etc. in fact, all the nine deities worshiped on the nine days arre: shailaputri, brahmacharini, chandraghanta, kushmanda, skandamata, katyayani, kalaratri, mahagouri, siddhidhatri, This may also be construed that 'One' only is worshiped in different names and forms, as we see how different decorations are made to the same deity oneach day of the nine days of navaratri! These are actually the chit-shakti (Consciousness), ichha shakti (Will power),  jnyan shakti (Knowledge), and kriya shakti (Creative power). There are almost 33 333 Shakti devata and these are given names according to the powers vested in them. For instance, there are 15 devis for 15 days (of phases of moon) of Krishna paksha starting from prathama or padya to amavasya (New Moon) and, another 15 names for the next Shukla paksha, fortnight ending Full Moon (Purnima) according to Lunar calendar. There are 365 names of devata for 365 days of the year according to Solar calendar. Further, there are devis guarding the directions like North, North-east, South, South-east, etc. There are also devis for protecting the living beings from natural elements and other powerful forces!
    What we fail to coordinate these spiritual powers with the physical forces operating as invisible powerful waves such as electromagnetism, sound, magnetism, gravity, etc. The most powerful forms or light, sound, sight, touch, etc. are all there with names of devi devatas. There are thought-forces, images, and imagination, dreams, and several invisible subtler forces and each and every one of these is given a name of devi devata. There is no end to this! 

    As wealready know, every atom of elements like uranium, barium, vanadium, zircon, or hydrogen, oxygen, carbon has inherent energy. The electrons and positrons revolve around the nucleus and release energy when they crash into each other. It is here that we notice the electrons as the -ve and the positrons as the +ve charges of the one single source the nucleus. This is put as the Parabrahmn (neutron), Narayana (positron) and Lakshmi (electron), or Parameshwara, Shiva and Shive. The process of the emergence of power from almost nothing (the brahmn) is portrayed in a geometric form as in Sri Chakra. The center is a point (energy condensed into 'anu'). When it expands in different directions and we jjoin these points by a straight line it forms triangles as shown in the Sri Chakra. The  point (anu / atom) only expands into two (dvyanu) and three (tryanu) and becomes a triangle. It is interesting to note how these lines are like the live wire which release enormous energy when they intersect. The three points of the triangle are actually the power center of desire (sankalpa), will (ichha), and creation (srushti), named after a devi. These are explained in the Sri Chakra.  

   The names of different names are given in 'Sri Vidya' already posted in these blogs.