Title

Rituals of Navaratri

Goddess Durga is called by various names on each day of the Navaratri festival:

Day 1 Shaila Putri
Day 2 Brahmacharini
Day 3 Chandraghanta
Day4 Kooshmanda
Day 5 Scandamaata
Day 6 Kaatyayini
Day 7 Kaalaraatri
Day 8 Mahagowri
Day 9 Siddhidaatri

She is worshipped on all the days with special pooja. The fifth day, Lalithapanchami is considered a very auspicious day. On this day, Sharada pooja is done, where everyone worships his or her books and anything connected to learning. On Durgashtami, Durga Havana is performed, and on Mahanavami, Ayudha Pooja is performed. On this day, people worship their respective tools of work, and their vehicles too. 

It is believed that if Goddess Durga is worshipped during Navaratri with devotion and dedication, the devotee will be bestowed with Her blessings, which will bring about prosperity in all that he/she does. 

The various kinds of Poojas conducted during Navaratri are:
- Sharada Pooja
- Pustaka Pooja
- Lalitapanchami Vrata
- Durga Pooja
- Durgadeeta Namaskara
- Chandika Parayana
- Navadurga Poojane
- Durga Havana
- Chandika Havana
- Laxminarayana Hradaya Parayana
- Kumkumarchane
- Ayudha Pooja
- Yantra Vaahana Pooja

The story of the creation of this goddess is also very interesting. The gods in heaven decided to create an all-powerful being to kill the demon king Mahishasur who was ready to attack them. At that very moment a stream of lightning dazzled forth from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and it turned into a beautiful, magnificent woman with ten hands. Then all the gods furnished her with their special weapons. Those weapons and armour are very artistically carved in the ancient sculptures of this goddess in Java. The image of Durga, the Eternal Mother destroying the demon, Mahishasur on Chamundi Hills near Mysore is symbolic of the final confrontation of the spiritual urge of man with his baser passions. This goddess Durga as Lord Shiva's Consort represents two forms of female energy - one mild and protective and the other fierce and destructive. Dassera festival is also known as Durgotsav and during the ten days, the many splendoured goddess Durga is worshipped in one of her many forms differently in different regions. With religious rituals and chantings of mantras followed by "KATHA" or story-telling told by Pandits who by reading passages from religious texts awaken religious fervour in the minds of the listeners. In Bengal and the neighbouring states of Assam and Orissa Durga devi is worshipped by name of Kali as a symbol of Shakti before whom animal sacrifices were made. Her dance of conquest is famous in our ancient texts. As per the orthodox Hindu conceptions, the personality of one deity cannot be entirely separated from that of another. As such in some regions all the three principal goddesses - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshipped during this festival, each for 3 days of the Navaratri. 

As per our great epic Mahabharat, Pandavas after wandering in the forest for 12 years, hung their weapons on a Shami tree before entering the court of king Virat to spend the last one year in disguise. After the completion of that year on Vijayadashmi the day of Dassera they brought down the weapons from the Shami tree and declared their true identity. Since that day the exchange of Shami leaves on Dassera day became symbols of good, will and victory. The founder of the Hindu Swarajya Chatrapati Shivaji before any military expedition always invoked the blessings of Durga in the form of his goddess Bhawani. The Sikh guru Gobind Singh introduced the worship of Durga into his cult of the sword. This festival has immense mythological significance. As per Ramayan, Ram did "chandi-puja and invoked the blessings of Durga to kill Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka who had abducted Seeta and had charmed life. Durga divulged the secret to Ram how he could kill Ravana. Then after vanquishing him, Ram with Seeta and Laxman returned victorious to his kingdom of Ayodhya on Dassera day. Therefore, the festival of Durgotsava and Dassera is celebrated more in honour of Prabhu Ramchandra than Durgadevi in many regions of India and recitations from Ramayan and dances and dramas depicting the exploits of Ram assume great importance. These Ramlila shows are very popular in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and to an extent in Maharashtra and effigies of king Ravana, his brother, Kumbhakarna and his son, Meghnath are burnt. During the pre-British period, the powerful Hindu rulers used to celebrate Dassera in right royal fashion and start military expeditions on this Dassera day against their enemies or recalcitrant vassals. With the arrival of the British, Hindu rulers could not indulge in military activities yet Dassera was celebrated with the old pomp and pageant of full military parades of all arms in the capitals of Hindu states when the Rajas and Maharajas personally took the salute, Trumpets blared militant notes, war drums sounded their loudest and soldiers looked martial. The procession of Dassera taken out in Mysore is always remembered for its grandeur. With independence and the disappearance of princely states these ancient pageants are dying out and Dassera is becoming more democratic than regal. Dassera day is considered a most auspicious day. It is a time-honoured belief that if any new venture is started on this day, it is bound to be successful. Hence, all the undertakings be it laying-in of foundation of a new building, opening of a new commercial establishment or even initiating a child into the world of learning- are started on this day. Also on this day implements of agriculture, manufacturer's machines, the intellectuals pens, the household articles, the children's school books are placed before the idol of Durga and worshipped. 

The revolutionaries who followed the "CULT OF THE BOMB" to free their motherland from the slavery of the British imperialism looked up to Durgadevi for success in their mission. Even to-day in free India, Durga's blessings are invoked and Dassera is celebrated all over the country. These celebrations involve inter-Asia visits to temples like Meenakshi at Madras, Kamakshi at Conjivaram, Annapurna at Benares, Mumbadevi and Mahalaxmi at Mumbai and signify the triumph of good, of piety and devotion over all the forces of evil. Following is the recipe for preparing MALPUAS Ingredients: 3 cups of fine wheat flour1 cup fine semolina (Suji) 2 cups grated jaggery (gur)2 Tablespoons ghee 1 Tablespoon peppercorns 2 cups milk1 Lime 1 Tablespoon curd Pinch each of salt and soda. Method: 1. Place the flour & the semolina in a dekchi along with the milk, curds, jaggery and the pinch of salt. 2. Beat at least for 5 to 7 minutes so that the mixture becomes light and fluggy. 3. Pound the peppercorns coarsely & add to the mixture. 4. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and pour over the mixture. 5. Mix well, cover the dekchi and let stand for 7/8 hours in a warm place. 6. The mixture would have risen by this time. Stir it well. If it is thick, add a little milk or water to bring it to the pouring consistency. 7. Add and blend in it the pinch of soda and juice lime. 8. Place a deep frying pan with lot of ghee in it, when it is heated lower the fire, gently put in 1 tablespoon of the ready balter into the heated ghee. 9. Fry to a golden brown colour on both sides. 10. While frying splash to make it porous and crisp. 11. Take out with a slotted spoon & place in a strainer so that the extra ghee drips down. 12. Thus fry all the Malpuas. They can be stored for a week or so.

Worshipping the Divine through a ritual is a way of overcoming difficulties in life and receiving peace and happiness within oneself. When we take water from a deep well, we easily let down the bucket on a rope and fill the bucket with water. We might find it a little bit difficult to pull up the full bucket of water but with strength and patience we are able to do it. Likewise, with faith and devotion, we can find the strength to overcome our sufferings and live happily. Today many people have problems in their lives because there is no spirituality, no faith and devotion for the Divine. The Divine can be worshipped in any form or name but it is very important to do it with faith and devotion. There are three main aspects of shakti or divine energy. Ichashakti is willpower, Kriyashakti is power of action and Jnanashakti is the power of knowledge.

In Durga we find these three types of Shakti united. When we worship Durga we will gain these qualities within ourselves. The traditional stories tell how Durga came into this world. At one time there were many beings called Asuras with demoniac qualities. Their leader was Mahishasura. They were meditating to get powers which could be used to destroy the Devas (beings with divine qualities). The devas complained to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva about how the asuras were misusing their powers. The Gods decided to help the devas to destroy the asuras by manifesting all their powers together in the form of Durga. The Goddess came and destroyed Mahishasura and other asuras. Thereafter the devas started to worship Durga.

Likewise, today, when we worship Durga, she will destroy our problems and protect us from negative influences. Durga pooja is usually performed at a particular time of the day which is called Raghu time, because Durga destroyed the demons during this time. According to astrological calculations, every day has a particular Raghu time. If devotees worship Durga during this time, their wishes will definitely be granted. Of course, the devotees living in the West can do this pooja at any time. Tuesday is a good day to worship Durga, but you can also choose any other day to perform this pooja. You can do it once a week, daily for a few days or over a period of 45 days.

How to perform Durga Pooja? Before starting the preparations have a bath and wear fresh clothes. Keep a picture of Durga in a clean place or in your shrine room. Light an oil lamp and burn some incense. For the pooja itself you need five lemons, ghee (clarified butter), a coconut, a banana, betel leaf, an erica nut, prasadam (a food offering), camphor and flowers.Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice of nine halves in a vessel. Add some honey or jaggery and mix it. Keep this juice as prasadam. Reverse the nine lemon halves, fill them with ghee and put a wick in each. In this way you now have nine ghee lamps. Place them on a tray, one lamp in the middle with the other eight around it. If you wish you can prepare some prasadam such as aval, sweet rice etc. Keep one tray with the nine lamps and the prasadam in front of the Durga picture and light the lamps. Then sit and pray. Think of your problems and hand them over to Durga. You can chant or just listen to some devotional songs for Durga or sit in silence. After 15 to 20 minutes you can offer flowers to the picture of Durga. At the end of your pooja break the coconut in half and prepare the kalanji . (Put the two coconuts halves, one on top of the other with the cut halves turned upwards and place the banana, betel leaf and erica nut in the top half.) Offer some flowers and water and finally show arathi by burning camphor."

When the last showers of the monsoon are beginning to fall sparsely between spells of bright sunshine, comes the month of Ashwin. In this month/the festive season in India reaches a crescendo with the beginning of the nine-day Navaratri festival.

For weeks, people eagerly look forward to this time of gladness and celebration.CNavaratri is a combination of many concepts. Durga or Shakti, the goddess of power and vitality, has nine forms called Navadurga. On each day of the nine days, she takes a new form, with an arsenal of weapons, to ride a lion and fight the demon Malahishasura.

Her eight arms hold different weapons given to her by various gods to annihilate this enemy of dharma. The legend about this battle relates how the demon was so powerful that no god could individually defeat him. The whole pantheon prayed to Shakti (Durga) to fight him with the collective weapons given by them. On the ninth day Durga killed the demon. ViJayadashami or Dussera, the 10th day, is celebrated with feasting and rejoicing as her day of victory Venerated all over the country as the mother goddess, here Durga assumes her awesome warrior-like aspect in order to annihilate the forces of evil and darkness and bring harmony and light.

This icon from Gujarat shows Durga mounted on a lion, combining grace and beauty with power and fierceness.

The most joyous celebration of Navaratri is seen in Gujarat, Karnataka Tamil Nadu and Bengal Gujarati women plant nine pulses and cereals in earthen pots on the first day and worship the growing plants for nine days. The plants are then dried and kept till next Dussera or immersed in a river or the sea.

Every night, people gather in courtyards to gaily dance the dandiya raas and garba, a community dance in which men and women dressed in festive clothes, dance in pairs with dandiyas or painted wooden sticks with tiny bells attached to them The raas originated from the state of Guiarat. where the worship of the mother goddess has always assumed a large role in the lives of the people.

Navaratri is the longest Hindu festival celebrated all over India for nine consecutive nights in praise of Lord Rama (Hero of the Epic Ramayana) and Goddess Durga from September end to early October. Continuous chanting from the great epic 'Ramayana', along with evening performances from the episodes of his life are held for nine days. On the 10th day falls Vijayadashami or Dussehra.

Navaratri is a combination of many concepts, with the common theme of the victory of good over evil. One concept is that Vijayadashami or Dusshera is celebrated on the day Rama kills Ravana in the Rama Ravana war. Another concept is that, Durga, goddesses of power and vitality who is believed to have nine forms called Navadurga, takes a new form on each of the nine days (celebrated as Durga Puja ) with the arsenal of weapons to ride a lion and fight the demon Mahishasura. The 10th day on which the goddess kills Mahishasura, is celebrated as Dusshera or Vijayadashami as the victory of good over evil. Lord Rama is said to have worshipped the goddesses, seeking her blessing in order to overpower the evil force of Ravana, the abductor of his beloved Sita.

The most joyous celebration of Navaratri is seen in Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bengal. In Gujarat, every night people gather in courtyards to dance the Garba and Dandiya Raas, a community dance in which men and women dressed in festive clothes dancing in pairs with Dandiya or painted wooden sticks. Goddess Durga's three 'Sakthipithas' in Gujarat; Ambaji in Banaskantha, Bahucharaji in Chunaval and Kalika on Pavagadh hill in Panchmahals are thronged by devotees during Navaratri. In West Bengal, it is celebrated as Durga Puja where beautifully decorated images of the goddess are worshipped in specially erected Puja Pandals.  

It has special significance in Mysore, South India. Mysore palace is illuminated for a whole month during Dusshera and caparisoned elephants lead a colourful procession through the gaily decorated streets of the city. Here and in North India, on the 10th day, larger than life effigies of Ravana (the Asura King), his brothers Meghnada and Kumbhakarna filled with different fire crackers are set alight to celebrate victory of good over evil.

The Power of the Mother Goddess is perhaps greater than that of any other God. She is even worshipped by all the Gods themselves. She is Shakti the power of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. She takes the form of their consorts, without whom, none of the Gods can achieve anything. She is worshipped all over India with the same ardour under different names and manifestations - the most benign face of the goddess is Durga Durga pooja is performed twice in a year - for nine days each time - once March or April, and again time in September or October. According to the Hindu calendar when Durga pooja is performed it is the month of Chait. The festival is celebrated during the moonlit fortnight of the month, the first day being Parva. Chait Devi pooja is done for eight days, the ninth day being Ram Navami. In winter, the month of celebration is Kwar and, again, the pooja starts on Parva of the moonlit fortnight. During Kwar the pooja goes on for nine days and the tenth day in Dussehra. Some people like to fast, phalar andd special food for these days such as potatoes,kkuttu atta,milk products such as paneer is allowed once a day and liquids can be taken any time. Some persons observe the fast only on the first day and the last day, but some observe it for the full nine days.People who do not fast also generally do not take meat and alchol.

Navratri Fast

Navratri Fasts are observed for nine days twice a year. This fast is observed mostly in North India, Gujarat and Maharastra. The devotion and fevour is the same all over only a few variations may be seen in diffrent regions.

Special Food to be Eaten During The Fasts
You have to follow a strict control over the food consumed during these nine days. The food should be cooked after having a bath and performing Pooja.

We can eat Puris or Roti's made from Kuttu or Singhare ka atta This is black in colour. We can eat potatoes, cucumber, pumpkin and shakarkandi. Of course potatoes are most popular as people have them as chips and make aloo chaat.

Most spices are not used and it is reccomended to eat rock salt.
Milk products are allowed so we can eat plenty of curd, paneer, sweets such as kalakand, kaju burfee etc. Sil ladoo's and patti is also eaten.

A rice substitute is swank and people cook it as a rice or even use it to make sweet kheer. All types of fruits are eaten and fruit chaat is made.

Do's and Dont's
Do not eat meat or any other non-vegetaarian food.
Do not consume alcohol
Do not eat food with garlic or onions.