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NAVRATRI
 Navratri:- Navratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu

deity Durga. The word Navratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit,
nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights
and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshipped. The tenth day is
commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or “Dussehra”.
 Significance: - The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn are
considered to be important junctions of climatic and solar influences.
These two periods are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the
Divine Mother Durga Navratri represents a celebration of the Goddess
Durga, (or the power). Worship of The Divine as Mother is a special
characteristics of the Indian Culture. Navratri or Navadurga Parva
happens to be the most auspicious and unique period of devotional
sadhanas and worship of Shakti (the sublime, ultimate, absolute creative
energy of the Divine conceptualized as the Mother Goddess-durga.
Mother Durga
Incarnations of the Divine Mother and
importance of Gayatri Mantra
 The first incarnation of Shakti was Shailputri. Other
incarnations of the Divine Mother are : Brahmachari,
Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata,
Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri in
that order. These nine Manifestations of Shakti are
worshipped as “Nava-Durga”..
 In the Vedic Age of the Indian Culture, Gayatri
Mantra was the core-focus of daily practice of
sandhya-vandan (meditation and devotional
worship) for every aspirant of spiritual enlightenment.
Mother Durga
Forms of Shakti
Nine forms of Shakti are worshipped during the

Navratri.
Durga
Bhadrakali
Jagadamba(mother of the universe)
Annapoorna devi(the one who bestows grains (anna) in plenty
Sarvamangala(the one who gives joy and prosperity(mangal) to all(sarva)
Bhairavi
Chandika
Lalita
Bhavani
Mookambika
Three aspects of the divine feminity
First three days:-
The mother is invoked as a powerful force called Durga in order to
destroy all our impurities, vices and defects.
Second three days:-
The Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is
considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees inexhaustible
wealth, as she is the goddess of wealth.
Final three days:-
The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the goddess of

wisdom, Saraswati. In order to have all-round success in life, believers
seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the
nine nights of worship.
Rituals followed in various parts of country
Durgashtami
Ayudh Pooja
VijayaDashami
Effigies of demons being burnt
Ghatasthapana
Eighth day is celebrated as Durgashtami which is very popular in Bengal and Bihar
In some parts of South India, Saraswati Puja is performed on 9th day. Ayudha Puja is conducted in
many parts of South India on the Mahanavami (Ninth day). Weapons, agricultural implements, all
kinds of tools, equipments, machinery and automobiles are decorated and worshipped on this day along
with the worship of Goddess. The work starts afresh from the next day, i.e., the 10th day which is
celebrated a “Vijaya Dashami”. Many teacher/schools in South India start teaching Kindergarten
children from that day onwards.
In North India, the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghanada are burnt to celebrate the victory
of good (Rama) over evil forces on the ‘Vijaya Dashami’ day.
A pot is installed at a sanctified place at home.A lamp is kept lit in the pot for nine days.The pot
symbolizes the universe.The uninterrupted lit lamp is the medium through which we worship the
effulgent Adishakti,i.e.Mother Goddess Durga
Rituals followed in various parts of
country
During Navratri, some devotees of Durga observe a fast and prayers are
offered for the protection of health and prosperity. Devotees avoid
meat, alcoholic drinks, grains, wheat and onion during the fast.
Grains are usually avoided since it is believed that during the period of
Navratri and seasonal change, grains attract and absorb lots of negative
energies from the surrounding and therefore there is a need to avoid
eating anything which is produced from the grains for the purification
of Navratri to be successful. Navratri is also a period of introspection
and purification, and is traditionally an auspicious and religious time
for starting new ventures.
We can see Nine different ways of celebrating the festival in different
parts of India such as Tamilanadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka,
West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, etc.
Mysore Dasara
 Karnataka: - Karnataka will be celebrating its 403 rd Navratri this
year. It’s called ‘Naada Habba’ in the state. However, the basic
reason for the celebrations remains the same – victory of Goddess
Durga over demon Mahishasur, who happened to be a resident of
MysoreWomen invite their female friends to their homes and gift
them with a coconut, beetle leaves and beetle nuts. They put haldi
and kumkum on the foreheads of the married women as a gesture
of “Sumangalyam”
 Lighting of Palace
 The main attraction of the ten-day Mysore Dasara festival is the
Mysore Palace which is illuminated daily with nearly 1 lakh bulbs
from 7 pm to 10 pm on all days of the festival. Nearly Rs. 1 crore
every year is spent towards maintenance of its illumination alone .
Idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari,
Banni Mantapa and Jumbo Savari
On Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the
streets of Mysore city. . The celebrations include procession of elephants on the streets.The main
attraction of this procession is the idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari which is placed on a golden
mantapa(which is around 750 kilograms of gold) on the top of a decorated elephant. This idol is
worshipped by the royal couple and other invitees before it is taken around in the procession. Colourful
tableaux, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels form a part of the
procession which starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantap where
the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped. The original name to this procession is Jumbi Savari
(going to the Banni (Shami) tree.
According to a legend of the Mahabharata, banni tree was used by the Pandavas to hide their arms during
their one-year period of Agnatavasa (living life incognito). Before the beginning of the Mahabharat war,
Lord Krishna had worshipped Durga- the Goddess of Shakti- for the victory of the Pandavas.
Before undertaking any warfare, the kings traditionally worshipped this tree to help them emerge
victorious in the war.The Dasara festivities would culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with an event
held in the grounds at Bannimantap called as Panjina Kavayatthu (torch-light parade).
.
Why Worship the Mother Goddess?
We think this energy is only a form of Divine

Mother, who is a mother of all, and all of us are her
children. “Why mother; Why not father?”, you
may ask. Let me just say that we believe that God’s
glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and
supremacy can best be depicted as the
motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all
these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, all of
us look upon God as mother
HAPPY DASARA
TO ONE AND
ALL

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NAVRATRI

 Navratri:- Navratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu

Nine forms of Shakti are worshipped during the

The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the goddess of

We think this energy is only a form of Divine

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