Navratri, the word is formed using two words ‘Nava’ and ‘Ratri’. Nava means nine and Ratri means nights hence Navratri literally means nine nights. During the festival of Navratri, Maa Durga is worshiped and revered in Her various forms for ten days and nine nights. Chaitra Navratri is starting from 8th April, 2016.
Every year the beginning of summer and winter are two important junctures of climatic change and solar influence. These two junctions have been chosen as the sacred opportunities for the worship of the divine power because:
(1) We believe that it is the divine power that provides energy for the earth to move around the sun, causing the changes in the outer nature and that this divine power must be thanked for maintaining the correct balance of the universe.
(2) Due to the changes in the nature, the bodies and minds of people undergo a considerable change, and hence, we worship the divine power to bestow upon all of us enough potent powers to maintain our physical and mental balance.
This year Navratri Festival will be celebrated from 8th April to 16th April, 2016. The nine nights of Navratri are considered as most auspicious period to perform devotional sadhanas, worship Goddess Durga and perform Navratri Puja.
The nine manifestations of Goddess Durga are worshiped each day of Navratri.
9 Incarnations Of Goddess
- Ma Shailputri 2. Ma Brahmcharni 3. Ma Chandraghanta 4. Ma Kushmanda 5. Ma Skandamata 6. Ma Katyayani 7. Ma Kalratri 8. Ma Mahagauri 9.Ma Siddhidatri
Worshipping the nine Goddess is the primary ritual of any Navratri Puja.
It is believed in Hinduism that worshiping Ma Durga and fasting for these 9 days makes you pure enough to receive the blessings from Ma Durga in the form of wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge, and other potent powers to cross every hurdle of life. Remember, everyone in this world worships power(Shakti i.e., Ma Durga)because there is no one who does not love and long for power in some form or the other.
Significance Of Navratri Puja
During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as “Durga,” which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as “Devi” (goddess) or “Shakti” (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother Durga, does everything. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.
Nine Days and Nine Goddesses
Rituals of Navratri Festival 2015
First 3 days (1st – 3rd day of Navratri): The first three days of the nine days are dedicated to Goddess Durga, the Goddess of power, on the first day barley seeds are sown in a mud pot and the pot is kept on the Puja Altar.
Second 3 days (4th – 6th day of Navratri): The second three days of the nine days are dedicated to Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Third 3 days (7th – 9th day of Navratri): The next three days of the nine days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and learning.
Navratri culminates with Mahanavami, 16th April, 2016. Kanya Puja is performed on Mahanavami in which nine young girls (pre-puberty) representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped and fed. It is said that the young girls are a form of Goddess Durga and hence they are revered during Navratri.