mahāgaurī śubhaṁ dadyānmahādevapramodadā ||
This is beautifully represented in a story, how Mother Parvati performed a severe tapasya to gain Lord Shiva as Her husband. It is said that Her tapasya was so severe, that Her body turned blackish. When Lord Shiva had seen the depth of Her sincerity and devotion, He decided to reward Her. This complete sincerity and dedication to our path is represented by Goddess Kalaratri.
As Mother Kalaratri Divine Mother taught as the lesson of sincerity and self-acceptance. Similarly, Goddess in the form of Mahagauri reminds us, that no matter how much “darkness” we perceive on the surface of our consciousness, we should never forget that deep within there is the light of the soul hidden in each of us – the light of the soul, which is a particle of Lord Shiva himself. Interestingly, traditionally on Ashtami tithi the worship of Lord Shiva in the form of Ardhanarishwara is advised. In this form the Divine appears as half Shiva and half Shakti. Similarly the Goddess in the form of Mahagauri reminds us that we are created in the image of God and we should never forget about our Divine potential – but we should rather strive to preserve the inborn purity of our soul.