Navaratri: the inner foes

Navaratri 1: Shakti defeats काम (Kama), desire itself.

Navaratri 2: Shakti defeats क्रोध Krodha-Anger, which results from unfulfilled desire (काम).

Navaratri 3: Shakti defeats मोह Moha (delusion), the nature of the mind that prevents understanding oneself.

Navaratri 4: Shakti defeats लोभ Lobha (loosely translated to greed), the nature of the mind to desire more of a fulfilled desire काम (wealthy seeking more wealth, powerful seeking more power, famous seeking more fame).

Navaratri 5: Shakti defeats मद Madha (pride/arrogance), the nature of the mind once desire काम & further desire of what it already has लोभ is fulfilled (once one is highly powerful, knowledgeable, wealthy or famous).

नवरात्रि Navaratri 6: Shakti defeats मात्सर्य Matsarya (envy). When काम desire is unfulfilled, after an initial anger (क्रोध Krodha), it can putrefy into envy (eg: when a peer passes us in career position, fame, wealth, family happiness).

With this, Shakti has defeated षड्रिपु, the 6 enemies of our internal happiness.

नवरात्रि Navaratri 7: Shakti defeats स्वार्थ (SvArtha-selfishness). 

The पुरुषार्थ (Purushartha-the human purpose) is that one can follow desires (Kama काम) & find one's purpose/meaning in life (Artha अर्थ) but be bound by Dharma धर्मः with a goal of Moksha मोक्ष. 

Focusing purely on one's own Artha makes it SvArtha, which benefits oneself alone & can be detrimental to the greater well-being, which the divine mother within defeats.

नवरात्रि Navaratri 8: Shakti defeats अन्याय (Anyaya-injustice). Following काम (Kama-desire) can lead to लोभ (Lobha-greed) & मात्सर्य (Matsarya-envy). This path will eventually lead one down the path of breaking of good rules of conduct.

नवरात्रि Navaratri 9: Shakti शक्ति  defeats अमानवता (brutal barbarous cruelty). Following our काम (Kama-desire) can lead to लोभ (Lobha-greed), मात्सर्य (Matsarya-envy), अन्याय (injustice) & eventually अमानवता (extreme cruelty). 

Think we're not capable of extreme cruelty? Just the desire of our taste buds has resulted in horrifying animal factory farms. Just a desire to enforce 'what we know to be the one true knowledge' resulted in unimaginable horrors.

The divine mother within can make us understand ourselves & the knowledge within to defeat our inner cruel tendencies.

After नवरात्रि Navaratri: Victorious Day 10: विजयदशमी: Shakti शक्ति  defeats अहंकार (our sense of being separate from the all pervading divinity). This is the root of काम (Kama-desire for something external) that leads to every other problem. This is the final state of Yoga योग. With this, the 10 bad inner qualities are vanquished (दशहरा - Dushahara or Dussehra).