Goddess Gauri is called the Goddess of austerity and purity. She is Goddess Parvati’s avatar who underwent grave penance to attain Lord Shiva as her husband. Gauri was worshipped by Sita, the consort of Lord Rama to fulfill her desire to marry Lord Rama. Goddess Gauri is worshipped by unmarried girls to get righteous husbands. She tried seducing Shiva but he found her unattractive with her dark skin. So she retired to the forest to lead a strict life where she developed her spiritual powers.
Noticing that she mastered her physical self, Brahma granted her wish to take away her unattractive dark skin so that Shiva would love her. Her darkness was taken away by Brahma and Goddess Kali was created with it. Parvati was left with a golden skin after which she became Goddess Gauri. Gauri’s golden color is linked with grains and rice. She is takes upon the role of fertility Goddess. Equality, spring, wishes, protection, youthfulness, fertility, humor, beauty and harvest are various themes of Goddess Gauri which she extends to lives of people.
She is sympathetic towards needs and wishes of humans. To ensure that the rice crop is good, she is offered rice. She is connected with the sun, translating her as the ‘golden one’. The most colorful festival of India, Holi is filled with equitable spirit of Goddess Gauri. During the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, worshipping Goddess Gauri is a very important ritual. According to the Puranas, Goddess Gauri is worshipped as she is the origin of the Universe and Divine Mother.
