Navratri: nine nights of the Goddess
Navratri means “nine nights”. They are given to Goddess Durga in her nine forms, and the festival is kept twice a year: in spring (Chaitra) and, most widely, in autumn (Sharad, in the month of Ashwin).
When it falls
Both Navratris begin on Pratipada, the first lunar day of the bright fortnight. Chaitra Navratri closes with Rama Navami on the ninth day. Sharad Navratri runs from Ashwin Shukla Pratipada to Navami and is followed by Dussehra on the tenth day.
Ghatasthapana, the installing of the sacred pot (kalash) that opens the festival, is traditionally done in the first third of the day while Pratipada lasts. Because a lunar day can begin or end at any hour, the first day of Navratri can fall a day apart in different cities.
The nine forms
Each night honours one form of the Goddess, the Navadurga: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri.
How it is kept
- Ghatasthapana A kalash with water, mango leaves and a coconut is set up, often with barley sown beside it.
- Fasting and prayer Many keep a fast or eat only satvik food for some or all of the nine days, with evening aarti.
- Kanya Puja On Ashtami or Navami, young girls are honoured as forms of the Goddess and offered a meal.
- Garba and dandiya In Gujarat and beyond, the nights are danced in circles around a lamp or an image of the Goddess.
Durga Puja
In Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Tripura the last days of Sharad Navratri are Durga Puja. The Goddess is invoked on Shashthi (Bodhon), the Navapatrika is bathed at dawn on Saptami, Sandhi Puja is held where Ashtami meets Navami, and on Bijoya Dashami the images are immersed after Sindoor Khela.