The Nine Battles of the Soul

As the season of Navratri approaches, the air itself begins to shift—streets fill with lights, homes with devotion, and hearts with anticipation. For many, it is a time of celebration, music, and color. But for me, Navratri has always carried a deeper call. It is not only a festival to honor the Goddess—it is a season of mirrors, nine nights that invite us to turn inward and confront the quiet storms within. Each form of Durga feels like a reminder that the fiercest battles are never fought in the world outside, but in the hidden chambers of the soul.


And when I think of these inner battles, I am reminded of another great vision from the West—Dante’s nine circles of hell. Though born of a different culture and time, his imagery is strikingly familiar. He imagined not fire and brimstone, but places where the human spirit falters, weighed down by its own shadows. I do not see these as distant punishments waiting after death; I see them as inner landscapes, echoes of the very struggles the soul must cross in its search for light.


The journey begins with Fear, that restless drifting which Dante called Limbo. Fear keeps us suspended, unable to step forward, unable to belong fully to life. I do not believe in denying fear or pretending to be fearless. Instead, I try to accept it, to correct my mind when it drifts toward it, and to make sure it does not spill into another’s life. Fear is real, but it need not become another’s burden, just as Maa Shailaputri teaches us to ground our wavering steps with the steadiness of the mountain.


From fear, we stumble into Doubt, which is kin to Dante’s vision of Lust. Lust is not only of the body; it is the hunger for recognition, applause, the endless craving to be seen. Doubt grows in that hunger, whispering that we are not enough. The way to quiet doubt is not to wrestle with it, but to erase it with faith—faith in the path, the effort, and in those who guide us, faith of the kind Brahmacharini devi carries in her austere devotion.


But when faith wavers, doubt often seeks refuge in Desire. Desire promises to fill the emptiness, to quiet the restless mind. Yet, as Dante described in Gluttony, it only deepens the craving. We cling - to people, to moments, to identities that no longer serve us. This clinging weighs the spirit down. I have found that letting go is not loss; often, it is a quieter form of freedom - freedom that echoes the calm strength of Maa Chandraghanta, whose bell reminds us to awaken from restless yearning into clarity.


And yet, when attachment refuses to loosen its grip, it hardens into Greed . What begins as longing soon becomes possession—the desperate need to own, to call everything mine. Greed is not always about wealth; it is about the shrinking of the heart, the refusal to share. The cure - gratitude ; Kushmanda devi, the one who created the universe with a smile, reminds us that true wealth is the radiance we share, not the shadows we hoard- celebrate the abundance already present and find the courage to give from it.


When greed is unchecked, Anger rises; burning not only the world before it but also the vessel that holds it. Try not to suppress it, nor to justify it. Instead, ask what pain lies beneath, for anger is often grief in disguise. Recognising that truth softens its grip - Skandamata, carrying her son Skanda into battle, shows us that anger, when tempered with purpose, can defend rather than consume.


From anger, we slip into Ignorance, which Dante saw as Heresy. This is not the ignorance of not knowing, but of refusing to see—closing our eyes even when the lamp is lit. This battle is subtle, for ignorance hides itself well. Maa Katyayani teaches that illusion often feels safer than truth, but only by stepping beyond its comfort, can real freedom begin. It takes fierce love to open ones eyes to the truth with acceptance.


Then there are days when the battle becomes heavier, when the soul wrestles with Despair, which feels to me like Dante’s Violence. Despair is a violence turned inward, an assault on hope. Kalaratri devi holds the truth that darkness is not the end, but the passage through which light arrives - despair is not the end, it is only the silence before dawn.


Yet when hope falters, the eyes often wander outward, seeking what others have. From despair grows Jealousy, akin to Dante’s Fraud. Jealousy is a deception of the spirit—it convinces us that another’s blessing diminishes our own. But life is not a competition, Mahagauri devi invites us to rise above envy, for the one who knows their own light has no need to covet another’s flame.


From the shadow of envy emerges the illusion of Pride. Dante saw treachery as the final circle, and pride carries the same poison. It tells us we are greater than others. Maa Siddhidatri, who grants the eight great siddhis - shows us that pride is blindness to the truth that all siddhis, all gifts, flow from the divine. Only when the veil of pride falls, can the soul be entrusted with true siddhi.


But the journey does not end here, for these nine battles are not milestones to be left behind, but companions we meet again and again, in new guises, testing us through every season of life. The Navadurgas remind us that the Goddess does not only slay demons in myth—she walks with us, lending her many faces as strength for each trial. The point is not to banish these shadows forever, but to recognise them, to gently correct the mind when it drifts, and to walk forward with awareness.


Navratri, then, is not about distant battles of gods and demons. It is about finding the courage to face the ones within. Dante journeyed through the circles of hell to show us how the soul is tested by shadows of its own making. The same way, if we can walk through these inner circles with honesty and humility, we will discover what the Devi has always symbolised - the radiant strength of a soul that endures, transforms, and shines brighter with every trial.


Authored by: Amit Sadh