Also known as: Sharad Navaratri, Durga Puja, Dasara Navaratri, Golu, Bathukamma · Observed: Across India, with distinct traditions in Gujarat, Bengal, South India and the North
Significance of Navaratri
Navaratri, the festival of nine nights, is the principal celebration of the Divine Mother. Of the several Navaratris in the year, Sharad Navaratri in the autumn month of Ashwin is the most widely observed. Over nine nights the Goddess is worshipped in her many forms, as Durga who destroys evil, Lakshmi who grants prosperity and Saraswati who bestows knowledge. Many devotees divide the nights into three groups of three for these aspects. The tenth day, Vijayadashami, celebrates the victory that the worship of the nine nights makes possible.
In North India each night is dedicated to one of the Navadurga: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri.
The Legend of Mahishasura
The Devi Mahatmya, part of the Markandeya Purana, tells of the buffalo demon Mahishasura, who won a boon that no man or god could slay him and drove the gods from heaven. The combined radiance of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and all the gods took form as the Goddess Durga, armed with their weapons and riding a lion. She fought Mahishasura for nine days and nights and slew him on the tenth, earning the name Mahishasuramardini. Another tradition, popular in Bengal and the North, holds that Rama worshipped Durga out of season, the akaal bodhan, before his battle with Ravana, offering a hundred and eight lotuses.
Regional Celebrations
In Gujarat, nights are filled with Garba and Dandiya Raas, circle dances performed around a lamp or image of the Goddess, called the garbo. In Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Tripura, Durga Puja is the great festival of the year, with elaborate pandals and images of Durga with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, worshipped from Shashthi to Dashami. In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, families arrange a Golu or Bommai Kolu, a stepped display of dolls, and invite women and girls to visit. The ninth day is Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja, when books, tools and vehicles are worshipped. Telangana celebrates Bathukamma with flower stacks carried by women in song, and Mysuru holds its royal Dasara.
In the North, devotees perform Ghatasthapana on the first day, sowing barley in a clay pot, and many fast on fruit and milk for nine days. Ramlila performances re-enact the Ramayana each night, and Kanya Puja on Ashtami or Navami honours young girls as forms of the Goddess.
How the Date Is Determined
Sharad Navaratri begins on Ashwin Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin, the day after Mahalaya Amavasya. Ghatasthapana is done in the morning while Pratipada prevails, avoiding certain inauspicious periods, or else at the Abhijit muhurta around midday. Because tithis vary in length, Navaratri may contain eight or ten days in a given year, with a tithi skipped or repeated, but it always ends with Navami followed by Vijayadashami.
Rituals and customs
- Ghatasthapana and sowing barley on the first day
- Worship of the nine forms of Durga
- Fasting on fruit, milk and non-grain foods
- Garba and Dandiya in Gujarat
- Golu doll displays in South India
- Kanya Puja, Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja near the end