Navaratri
Story
“Navratri” is a festival of “nine nights” which is celebrated with great faith & reverence all across the country. The festival holds great significance in the Hindu culture and each of the nine days are dedicated to the nine forms of Goddess Durga. The festival is associated with the legend of the mighty demon Mahishasura, who worshipped Lord Shiva and attained the unbeatable power of eternity. Subsequently, he started taking away lives of innocent people and conquered the heaven by defeating the king of the dieties, Lord Indra. So, the Hindu trinity Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Mahesh united their supreme powers and created a divine warrior, Goddess Durga. Empowered with the powers of the almighty, Durga fought Mahishasura for nine days and at the end of the ninth day, the divine Goddess beheaded the spiteful demon. These nine nights of battle between Goddess Durga and Demon Mahishasura symbolizes Navratri (“Nav” means nine & “ratri” means night).
Traditional celebrations
This year, the festival of Navaratri starts from 16th October till 23rd October. The first three days of the Navratri are devoted to Goddess Durga, the next three days are devoted to Goddess Laxmi and Goddess Saraswati is worshipped on the last three days. The temples all over the country are beautifully decorated with flowers, torans, lights etc. and the deities are also decorated with beautiful ornaments and new clothes. Moreover, the devotees observe fasting for eight days and break their fast on the ninth day (Navami), though some people keep fasts for seven days and break their fast on the eight day (Ashtami) of the festival. This is followed by a “Kanya Pujan” which involves worshipping nine girls, who symbolizes the nine forms of Durga. People seek their blessings and offer them Prasaad made on the last day of the festival.
How to celebrate Navaratri at home?
The festival of Navaratri is celebrated all over India in diverse ways. Here are some tips on how you can celebrate Navaratri at home:
- Reserve a place at home to place the idol of Goddess Durga, decorated with new clothes & ornaments.
- Involve your children in decorating this place with flowers and leaves.
- Follow a strictly vegetarian diet for these nine days.
- If you are keeping fast, avoid grain and flour and consume only milk, fruits, potato etc.
- Perform a Puja every day and recite hymns and other devotional songs.
- Tell your children about the story behind the Navaratri celebration.
- Take your children to the Navratri celebrations, happening in your neighbourhood.
- Invite your children’s friends to your home and prepare them to give a Dandiya Dance performance.
So, even at homes, there is no less devotion in worshiping the Goddess Durga. Hence, make this Navaratri special by celebrating it with your family at home.
