About Kalaratri
The seventh form of Goddess Durga is known as Kalaratri. Her complexion is dark as the deepest night, and it is from this that she takes her name — Kalaratri, meaning 'the black night'. Her appearance is fearsome — her hair is unbound and dishevelled, her three eyes are round and wide, and a crescent moon rests upon her head. Her limbs shine as if charged with lightning, and she is depicted with four arms, displaying the gestures of blessing and fearlessness with her right hands, while holding a sword and a thunderbolt-like weapon in her left. Her vehicle is the donkey, and fearsome flames are said to issue forth from her breath.
Though Kalaratri's form appears terrifying, she is ever auspicious toward the righteous and virtuous, and for this reason she is also known by the name Shubhankari — 'the bringer of good fortune'. She is worshipped on the seventh day of Navratri. Her devotees need never fear, for they are protected in every circumstance. Goddess Kalaratri destroys the wicked, demons, and malevolent spirits, all of whom flee at the mere memory of her, and she is believed to ward off the ill effects of malefic planetary influences.
Goddess Kalaratri herself embodies complete fearlessness, holding no fear of anything. It is only the wicked, the deceitful and the arrogant whom she punishes — to all others she remains the auspicious Shubhankari. Her devotees are freed from every kind of fear — of fire, disease, enemies and more — and are granted the fulfilment of all spiritual attainments, along with the destruction of sin and the promise of imperishable merit after death.