Navratri … The Indian Festival of Nine Days

Navratri is a very important Hindu festival celebrated in India, which is devoted to Goddess Durga. The festival is celebrated with great reverence and faith across the country. It stretches over a period of nine days, with each of the nine days being dedicated to one of the nine forms of the Goddess. In different parts of India, different legends describe the history of Navratri. It is difficult to say how old the custom of Navaratri is or where exactly it began. Some believe that it is an ancient harvest or fertility festival. Many of the ancient religious festivals were related not only to the sun and moon, but also to the position of the stars. Navaratri, like all holidays and rites of passage, is determined by Indian astrology. The position of the constellations at the time of Navaratri are closely related to the basic story that is at the heart of the celebration, the tale of Durga, a fierce form of the Divine Mother who rides a lion and conquers the evil Mahisasura, who takes the form of a buffalo bull. Like the positions of the stars in the sky, she is often depicted atop the buffalo demon as she slays him. Legend says that when Mahishasura, the spiteful demon, who was a devotee of Lord Shiva, acquired unbeatable powers of eternity, he started taking away innocent lives. In order to stop him from taking over all the three lokas, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Mahesh of the Hindu Trinity united their supreme powers and created a warrior goddess Durga who entered a war with Mahishasura. This war extended for nine days and on the tenth day she beheaded him. These nine nights signify the festival of Navratri.
As per Hindu mythology, Uma, daughter of King Daksha of Himalayas, married Lord Shiva against the will of her father. In order to take revenge, King Daksha arranged a yagna where he invited all the deities except Lord Shiva. The story goes that when Uma visited her parents to take part in the yagna, her father offended Lord Shiva. Unable to bear the insults meted on her husband, Uma jumped into the agnikund, which is why she is also known as Sati. In her rebirth, she married Lord Shiva and also made peace with her parents. It is said that Sati comes to stay with them for nine days, which is celebrated as Navratri.
It is also said that Lord Rama worshipped Goddess Durga in all her nine forms, for nine days, in order to gather all the powers required to vanquish Ravana the demon, and release his wife Sita from his clutches. Those nine days imply Navratri, and the tenth day when he killed Ravana, came to be known as Vijaydashmi and is celebrated as Dussehra.

History of Navratri

The history of Navratri also takes us to the assumption which states that in prehistoric times, the Kshatriyas used to drive themselves out from participating in any warlike activities all through monsoon season. As soon as monsoons got over they would worship Devi for nine days and set off with their war activities. These nine days are today celebrated as Navratri.
Now the first three days of this festival is devoted to the goddess Durga who is the
warrior goddess.  Each of the three days is devoted to a different aspect of womanhood, from girl child to young woman to a fully mature woman representing three different incarnations of Durga.
The second three days are devoted to the goddess Lakshmi.  She is the goddess of prosperity and wealth.
The next two days are devoted to the goddess Saraswati who is the goddess of knowledge
and arts.
The final day is a celebration marked by a traditional ceremony involving children.
During these nine days we are strictly vegetarian to honor the goddesses.  Some people, depending on their own beliefs are also fasting.  A fast means they are allowed to drink water, tea and milk and can eat fruit items only.  No other foods are allowed.  Some people fast for the entire eight days before the final festival on the ninth while others will fast on certain days only.
Finally on the ninth day the festival culminates with a small ritual involving nine young
girls.  These girls are all pre-pubescent and represent the nine forms of the goddess herself.  The nine girls are invited into your home and treated as living forms of the goddess to be worshiped.

Mythological Evidences For Navratri Celebration

According to legends, Mahishasura- a worshipper of Lord Shiva had grown into an spiteful demon and started on a spree to kill innocent people. To stop his malevolent activities to take over the three Lokas or realms, Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesha of Hindu trinity united their powers to form the supreme- Goddess Durga.
She entered into a war with Mahishasura that lasted for the period of nine days and on the tenth day, Goddess Durga ended the war by beheading the demon, Mahishasura. These nine days to save the universe from destruction signify the Navaratri festival.
As per Hindu mythology, there is another legend attached to Navaratri. It is believed that Lord Rama venerated Goddess Durga for nine days to attain the power to vanquish Ravana. On the tenth day, Lord Rama killed Ravana that came to be known as Vijayadashami or Dussehra, when idols of Ravana are burnt in most parts of our country.
It is not surprising in the Hindu mythology when one finds vivid evidences related to the same incident. Same is the case with Navaratri. Apart from the legends already described, there is one more history behind the celebration of the festival. As per Hindu mythology, Uma-daughter of King Daksha, ruler of Himalayas, married Lord Shiva against the will of her father. In response, King Daksha arranged an Yagna to avenge Lord Shiva. When his daughter, Uma visited him to take part in the Yoga, Lord Shiva was intentionally offended by the king.
Unable to bear the insult of her husband, Uma jumped into the Agni Kund, which is why she came to be known as Sati. In her rebirth, she married Lord Shiva and made peace with her parents. It is said that resurrected Sati visits her parents and stays there for a period of nine days which corresponds with the nine days of the Navaratri festival.
After going in-depth into the history of Navaratri, how would it be to know more about the celebration mannerisms of Navaratri? Let’s take a look at the ways Navaratri festival is celebrated in different parts of India.

Nine patterns of Navaratri

Punjab
The people from Punjab perform fasts to show their devout austerity to Goddess Durga- the symbol of Shakti or power. The fast is performed for the first seven days, which breaks on the eighth day of Navratri by organizing a Bhandara or feast for nine young girls known as Kanjak. They are also gifted red Chunris or Dupattas. A Jagrata is another special feature to them, where devotional songs are sung in the honor of Goddess and keep awake the whole night.

Himachal Pradesh
It is actually the most important festival for the Himachal Hindus. The tenth day of the festival is popularly known as Kullu Dussehra in Himachal Pradesh. While Navaratri festivity ends everywhere on the tenth day, it marks the beginning of the festival in this state. People gather together in a pompous mood, marking the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after killing the demon, Ravana. On Dussehra, the deities from temples are taken out to roads in processions.

Gujarat
Gujarat is the centroid of the most vibrant Navratri celebration. A clay pot known as Garbha or womb is the source of life on earth. Women dance around the water-filled Garbha wearing vibrant costumes. This dance is also termed as Garbha that derives its name from the iconic clay pot. Dandiya Raas is another contemporary attraction of the festival where people dance in coordination with each other. In Dandiya Raas event, sticks of equal length are used for the dance. Overall, the festive mood in Gujarat is a colourful affair.

Maharashtra
Maharashtra regards Navaratri as a good time to initiate things. Some prefer to buy a car, or even venture into the investing arena. The Maharashtrians find it to be an auspicious time. Married women exchange the gesture of ‘Saumangalyam’ by putting Haldi and Kumkum onto their foreheads. Because of Maharashtra’s proximity to Gujarat, both the states bear resemblance in its festive celebration. Each family in the two states get drenched in the mood of joy and celebration.

West Bengal
In West Bengal, Navaratri has its synonym as Durga Puja. Durga Puja is considered to be the most joyous and important festival for the Bengalis. It is celebrated with a great pomp and lavishness. This is a temporal sight when the festival begins from the sixth day of Navaratri 2014-Shashthi. Maa Durga is welcomed to her maternal home from the heavens. Idols of Goddess Durga along with her children-Kartik, Ganesh, Lakshmi and Saraswati are sculpted in the Durga Puja. The festival becomes worth considering if one talks about Navaratri.

Karnataka
The celebrations in Karnataka dates back to the era of Raja Wodeyar. Although, the purpose of celebration is the same i.e. triumph of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura-the resident of Mysore, the celebration is done according to the traditions of the Vijaynagar empire of 17th century. Processions of elephants are taken to roads. Exhibition of craft artefacts are an important feature of the Carnatic Navaratri.

Kerala
Kerala celebrates the last three days of Navaratri i.e. Ashtami, Navami and Vijaya Dashami. Being the most literate state in the country, this states the reason behind its literacy (piously). Since, Goddess Saraswati is worshiped during the last three days, they firmly believe that Saraswati Mata will grant them the wisdom of learning and knowledge.
They place the books and musical instruments in front of the Goddess on Ashtami. They pray the Goddess for granting them knowledge and education. On Vijaya Dashami, they take the books out for learning.

Tamil Nadu
The Dravidian state devotes the nine days of Navaratri to Goddess Durga, Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati. Women belonging to the Iyer community invite their married female acquaintances and gift them symbols of marital goodwill- bangles, earrings etc. A special dish ‘Sundal’ is prepared of lentil seeds and pulses for the guests. Some people also creates a special makeshift staircase ‘Golu’ that consists of nine steps symbolizing the nine days of Navaratri. Idols of Gods and Goddesses are placed on the stairs that are handed over from generation to generation.

Andhra Pradesh
Navaratri is celebrated as ‘Bathukamma Panduga’ in Andhra Pradesh. Bathukamma Panduga literally means ‘Come Alive Mother’. The term celebrates universal motherhood. Women prepare ‘Bathukka’ which is a beautiful stack of seasonal flowers which often appear like a pot. They have the ritual to position themselves in the centre and sing songs dedicated to Goddess Shakti. After performing the ritual, they float away the Bathukkas in lake water.
Navaratri is the festival that represents the omnipotent motherhood. It takes the form of Maha Gauri, Goddess Durga or Katyayani Maa. Be it in any form, the festival signifies the triumph of good over evil through the hands of the supreme mother.
The nine days is a period to celebrate purity and goodness. To know more about the spiritual proceedings of Navaratri.

The Goddess is always present within us to enlighten.


Wishes you all A Very Happy Navaratri 2014!