Sati married shiva ascetic for love against the whishes of her powerful father King Daksh.
When Daksh hosted a yajna to which all the good were invited save sati and her spouse the
daughter of the house decided to attend festivities uninvited and against the advice of
her husband . in order to convince shiva to let her go to her paternal house, sati created
or unleashed the ten mahavidyas on shiva.
At her paternal house anble to bear the insult offered to her husband by Daksh. Sati jumped in the secred
fire and died. And a grief crazed shiva flung the body of sati over his shoulder and dance the tandav and
threatened to destroy the world. As pieces of Sati's bodies fell to the earth after being dismembered by
Vishnu's chakra, the 51 Shak- tipeeths, or centres of female energy such as Kamakhya in Assam and Kalkaji
in Delhi were estab¬lished wherever a part fell.
The same Sati was re-born as the daughter of Shail, and thus called Shailputri. Alternately
she is also known as Parvati or Hi- mavati. Espousing Shiva in this lifetime too, she is worshipped
on the first Navratra as the first manifestation of the Durga or the Great Goddess. Seated astride
a bull and depicted against the mountains, this is a benign goddess who is saturated with gen¬tleness
and blessings. A dutiful daughter, the perfect wife, she is also the symbol of the fulfillment of
the desires whose thwarting led to the tragedy of Sati.
As a potent force and facet of the female
energy, Shailputri claims as her own the Muladhar Chakra. Sym"bolised by a lotus with four petals,
this is the lower most chakra, the one which forms the base or foundation of the seven energy centres
within the human body.
How to perform Puja on 1st day of Navratre
1. Before starting the Puja, take sankalp in your mind that you are peforming puja for blessings of Maa Shailputri for you ad your family.
2. Place the Pot filled with water in your Puja Ghar known as Ghat Sthapana and place Nariyal (coconut ) on its mouth and chant "Om Gang Ganpatye Namah".
3.
Chant the Mantra : "Om Shailputryee Namaha".
4. You can start with Durga Saptshati Path or start Bhagwat Puran for Nine Days.
5. In the end you should perfrom the arti of Goddess Durga.