Coming to day three, we have Vaaraahi, and Chandraghanta. Vaaraahi comes from the word ‘varaha’ meaning boar, while Chandraghanta is a beautiful word derived from ‘chandra’ meaning moon, and ‘ghanta’ meaning bell.

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Vaaraahi

Goddess Vaaraahi is another powerful form worshipped on the third day. She is the Shakti of Lord Varaha, the boar-headed avatar of Vishnu. Vaaraahi is depicted with a boar’s face and rides a buffalo, symbolizing her fierce nature in protecting the world from evil.

She is known for her strength in battles and protecting the good from harm. Praying to Vaaraahi on this day brings protection, stability, and the power to overcome obstacles.

Cool connections

Sekhmet (Egyptian Mythology): Sekhmet is the lioness-headed goddess of war, destruction, and healing. Her fierce, destructive nature parallels Vaaraahi’s role as a fierce protector, especially when called upon to battle demons.

References: Wikipedia; https://manishjaishree.com/varahi/

Chandraghanta

On the third day of Navaratri, we celebrate Goddess Chandraghanta, a fierce form of Parvati. After marrying Shiva, Parvati adorned her forehead with a half-moon shaped like a bell (ghanta), which gave her the name Chandraghanta.

She rides a tiger and is always ready for battle, protecting her devotees from harm. Chandraghanta symbolizes courage and helps remove fear and negativity. Worshiping her on this day brings peace and strength.

Cool Connections:

Athena (Greek Mythology): Athena is a goddess of wisdom, war, and strategy. Like Chandraghanta, who is known for her protective and fierce nature in battles, Athena represents the disciplined, intellectual side of warfare and protection of the state.

References: Wikipedia

Related Reads and More

• Today’s color is gray, and the item for today’s sundal is green peas. We traditionally use dried green peas for this. Soak them overnight, cook them in a pressure cooker, drain, and spice the peas up with the standard sundal spices. (or jazz it up however you want to)
• The Varaha avatar of Vishnu is the third avatar in the Dasha Avatara and protects the earth from drowning.

Cool Connections

Another month, another new starter book for the cool six degrees of separation bookish meme. The book that starts it off this month is Long Island by Colm Toibin.

Long Island –> Nim’s Island –> The Last Mapmaker –> Thirst –> The Daughters of Madurai –> Shakti –> Goddess of the River –> Long Island

The Pairs

Long Island –> Nim’s Island

The link: Island and strong female protagonist

How have I not yet read Toibin? I am going to get to reading this series (in order) as soon as I can finish all my current reads! And get to Long Island soon.

Book Description (Long Island): Eilis Lacey, an Irish immigrant living in Long Island in 1976, is married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber, and they have two teenage children. Though her connection to Ireland remains strong, she hasn’t returned in decades. One day, an Irishman arrives at her door, claiming his pregnant wife is carrying Tony’s child and plans to leave the baby with Eilis. The novel’s suspense hinges on Eilis’s reaction to this shocking news, making it a powerful story of a woman grappling with fate.

I read Nim’s Island a few years ago when I was working on a book-to-movie A to Z list, and like I mentioned there, it is a treasure!

Book Description (Nim’s Island): Nim, a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, lives on an island with her scientist father. She’s self-sufficient, able to chop bananas, climb palm trees, and make fire. When her dad sails off for a three-day research trip, Nim isn’t worried, relying on her sea lion, iguana, and a new e-mail friend for company. But when her father’s calls stop and danger looms, Nim must summon all her courage and rely on her friends to help her through the crisis.

Nim’s Island –> The Last Mapmaker

The link: Children’s books/water/strong female protagonist

I am yet to get to reading Christina Soontorvat’s The Last Mapmaker though I had it on my next ten reads a while ago! But I loved Soontorvat’s A Wish in the Dark and All Thirteen (as well as couple other reads), so I know I will get to this one soon.

Book Description: Christina Soontornvat explores a young woman’s struggle to unburden herself of the past and chart her own destiny in a world of secrets. Twelve-year-old Sai is assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker and plays the part of a well-bred young lady while in reality, her family’s truth could ruin her. She seizes the chance to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn’t the only one aboard with secrets. Vivid, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, this tale of identity and integrity is as beautiful and intricate as the maps of old.

The Last Mapmaker –> Thirst

The link: Children’s books/water/strong female protagonist

Varsha Bajaj’s Thirst was one of my favorite reads the year I read it.

Book Description: Minni lives in the poorest part of Mumbai, where access to water is limited to a few hours a day and the communal taps have long lines. Lately, though, even that access is threatened by severe water shortages and thieves who are stealing this precious commodity—an act that Minni accidentally witnesses one night. Meanwhile, in the high-rise building where she just started to work, she discovers that water streams out of every faucet and  there’s even a rooftop swimming pool. What Minni also discovers there is one of the water mafia bosses. Now she must decide whether to expose him and risk her job and maybe her life. How did something as simple as access to water get so complicated?

Thirst –> The Daughters of Madurai

The link: India/daughters/strong female protagonist

I started reading The Daughters of Madurai earlier last year when I first added it to my NetGalley shelf, but was too late because the review copy expired within a couple of chapters through. I loved what I read, but life and other books came in the way, and now I need to get back to it.

Book Description: The Daughters of Madurai is both a page-turning mystery and a heartrending story of the fraught family dynamics and desperate choices that face a young mother in India. Spanning 1990s South India and present-day Australia, the novel follows Janani, a mother who will do anything to save her unborn daughter, and Nila, a young woman who embarks on a life-changing journey of self-discovery.

The Daughters of Madurai –> Shakti

The link: India/Madurai/strong female protagonist

Madurai is the adobe of the goddess Meenakshi, who is one of the forms of Parvati. You can read her story in Amar Chitra Katha’s Shakti. You can see my review of this book here, and for more similar reads, check out this list.

Shakti –> Goddess of the River

The link: India/mythology/strong female protagonist

As you know from yesterday’s post, Goddess of the River is one of my current reads, and it is a beautiful one so far.

Goddess of the River –> Long Island

The link: River and island 🙂 /strong female protagonist

Had to close the link somehow, so linking goddesses to strong females, and rivers to islands!!

And Now, the End of this Post

Dear reader, here is wishing you all the peace, strength, courage, stability, and more. Which of these books would you pick to read? Any similar recommendations for me? And as always, what would be on your chain of cool connections in a six degrees thread like this?