Sharad Navratri

About

Sharad Navratri is the great autumn festival of the Goddess. Navratri means "nine nights". It begins on Ashwin Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright half of Ashwin, and runs through Navami, the ninth day. Dussehra follows on Dashami.

Of the four Navratris in the Hindu year, this is the most widely celebrated. It comes at the start of the sharad (autumn) season, which is why it is called Sharad Navratri. The Ashwin month is the same month in both the Purnimanta and Amanta systems for the bright half, so people across India keep it together.

Significance and stories

Navratri honours Shakti, the divine feminine energy that creates, protects and renews the world. In many traditions the nine nights recall the Goddess's battle with the buffalo demon Mahishasura, whom she defeated after the gods combined their powers in her.

The nine days are also given to the Navadurga, nine forms of the Goddess:

• Day 1: Shailaputri, daughter of the mountains
• Day 2: Brahmacharini, the devoted ascetic
• Day 3: Chandraghanta, with a crescent moon on her brow
• Day 4: Kushmanda, the creator of the universe
• Day 5: Skandamata, mother of Skanda (Kartikeya)
• Day 6: Katyayani, the warrior form
• Day 7: Kalaratri, the fierce destroyer of fear and darkness
• Day 8: Mahagauri, radiant and serene
• Day 9: Siddhidatri, giver of spiritual accomplishment

Some years a tithi is repeated or skipped, so the form assigned to each calendar day can shift. Traditions vary; follow your family's custom or your priest's guidance.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

1. Clean the home and the puja space before the first day. Bathe and wear clean clothes.
2. Perform Ghatasthapana (also called Kalash Sthapana) on Pratipada, in the morning during the muhurat shown on this site. Place a clean pot of soil, sow barley or wheat seeds, and set a kalash (a pot of water) on it with mango leaves and a coconut.
3. Light an akhand or daily lamp (diya) near the kalash and keep it lit through the nine days if your family does so.
4. Each day, offer flowers, incense, a lamp and a simple naivedya (food offering) to the Goddess and to that day's form.
5. Recite the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya), the Durga Chalisa or simply a Devi stotra you know. Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation.
6. Water the sown seeds daily. The green shoots that grow are a sign of the Goddess's blessing.
7. On Ashtami or Navami, many families perform Kanya Pujan: nine young girls are welcomed, their feet washed, and they are offered a meal and small gifts as embodiments of the Goddess.
8. Conclude with aarti and prasad. The ritual closes at the end of Navami or on Dashami, depending on custom.

Puja items (samagri)

• A kalash (brass or copper pot), clean soil, barley or wheat seeds
• Mango leaves, a coconut, red cloth, kumkum, turmeric, rice (akshat)
• A picture or idol of Durga, flowers (red hibiscus is traditional), incense, camphor
• Ghee or oil for the diya, cotton wicks
• Fruit, sweets, and for Kanya Pujan: puri, chana, halwa

Many of these are available from Indian grocery stores in the USA or online. A steel or clay pot works if you do not have a brass kalash.

Fasting and food

Many devotees fast for all nine days, the first and last days, or only on Ashtami. Meals are sattvic: no onion, garlic, grains, or non-vegetarian food. Common allowed foods are:

• Sendha namak (rock salt) in place of table salt
• Kuttu (buckwheat) and singhara (water chestnut) flour
• Sabudana (tapioca pearls), samak rice, rajgira (amaranth)
• Potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit, milk, curd and nuts

Fasting practice varies. People with health conditions, pregnant or nursing women, children and the elderly should follow their doctor's advice and may keep a lighter fast, such as one meal or fruit and milk only.

Regional customs

In Gujarat, Navratri is the great season of Garba and Dandiya Raas, circle dances around a lamp or image of the Goddess. In Bengal the nine days merge with Durga Puja, celebrated mainly from Shashthi onward. In Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka, families arrange Golu or Bommai Kolu, a display of dolls on steps, and Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja fall near the end. In Maharashtra and much of North India, the Ghatasthapana and Ramlila traditions lead to Dussehra. Traditions vary; follow your family's custom or your priest's guidance.

Celebrating in the USA

Most families keep the nine days around work. A short morning puja before leaving and an evening aarti is a perfectly valid observance. Weekday fasts are easiest with simple prepared foods such as sabudana khichdi or kuttu rotis packed for lunch.

Temples and community associations hold Garba and Dandiya nights, usually on weekend evenings and in large halls. Many events sell tickets in advance, so check early. Kanya Pujan can be done at home with a few neighbourhood children, with their parents' agreement, or at a temple.

If you use a live flame in an apartment, keep the diya on a steady, non-flammable plate away from curtains and smoke detectors. Rock salt, kuttu atta and singhara atta are sold at Indian grocery stores and online. The site shows the correct Ghatasthapana time for your city.