Khattar greets devotees on Navratri's fourth day
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
On the fourth day of Sharadiya Navratri, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar offered devotional greetings to Maa Kushmanda — the goddess of creation and cosmic energy — praying for health, prosperity, and strength for all devotees.
Khattar shared a Sanskrit verse honouring the goddess — 'Vande Vanchhit Kamarthe Chandraghakrit Shekharam, Sinharudha Ashtabhuja Kushmanda Yashasvanim' — saluting the eight-armed deity who rides a lion and is celebrated as the presiding force behind creation itself. 'May Maa Kushmanda bless her devotees with good health, prosperity, and immense strength,' he wrote, closing with a heartfelt 'Jai Mata Di'.
Maa Kushmanda: the goddess who lit the universe
Maa Kushmanda is venerated as the fourth of the nine divine forms of Goddess Durga celebrated across Navratri. Hindu tradition holds that she created the universe with a mere smile — her name literally evoking the cosmic egg of creation — making her among the most cosmologically significant of the Navratri deities. Devotees seek her blessings particularly for vitality, radiance, and abundance.
Navratri greetings: a fixture of India's political calendar
Sharadiya Navratri, the nine-night autumn festival, is one of the most widely observed Hindu festivals across India, drawing greetings and public tributes from leaders across the political spectrum. For senior BJP figures like Khattar — a former Chief Minister of Haryana now serving as Union Minister for Power and Housing & Urban Affairs — such devotional posts are a consistent part of public communication during major religious occasions. The remaining five days of Navratri, culminating in Vijayadashami, are expected to see similar outreach from leaders nationwide.