Navratri is a religious
festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga. This festival is celebrated with
pomp and excitement as cultural programs. Dance and fairs are organized at various
public places in India.
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Navratri Puja |
Navratri is warmly welcome
in West Bengal since this festival is a part of Bengali culture. Navratri in
West Bengal is known as Durga Puja. You can see the Pandals and Durga Idols on
the streets of Kolkata during Navratri or Durga Puja Festival. Know more about
Durga Puja Celebration in Bengal.
The festival has its unique
importance since we offer prayer to unmarried young girls in the form of the
goddess. This festival is also known for its spiritual importance. Let us know
a little more detail about Navratri.
Spiritual Meaning of Navratri
'Navratri' means 'nine
nights.' 'Nava' means 'nine,’ and 'Ratri' means 'night.' The prayer, chanting,
and meditation performed during Navratri connect us with our spirit. Getting in
touch with the spirit invokes positive qualities within us and destroys
laziness, pride, obsession, cravings, and aversions. When stress in the form of
negative emotions is destroyed, we experience the deep rest of the transforming
nine nights.
Navratri Preparation
As the Navratri festival
gets closer, people start preparing for this holy festival. Markets are
decorated with goddess Durga idols, Chunri, goddess Durga prayer books, photos
and banners and other puja materials.
The home is well cleaned.
The temple on the home is refurbished and decorated with LED light and a bulb.
The idols of goddess Durga are placed in the centre. And Kalas Sthapna is done
by the main priest in every home.
The special prayer is
organized from the day first of Navratri morning and continued in the evening
and morning till the 9th day. During these days the family member keeps
fasting, praying and meditating to do jap of mantra from Durga Saptashati.
Navratri Celebration
Navratri is a major festival
in the western states of India: Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka during
which the traditional dance of Gujarat called "Garba" is widely
performed.
Navratri is celebrated with
great zeal in North India as well including Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh
and the northern state of Punjab.
Navratri Mantra
A mantra can be a syllable
or a group of words that has spiritual power. In Hindu religious Mantras
practice denote vibration which has the power to align the chakras in the human
body. These mantras help the human mind to evolve into a higher level of
consciousness.
Navratri Mantra includes
those included in the text 'Durga Saptashati'. Navratri's mantra is associated
with the principle of purification. However, the quantum of effects depends on
the level of sincerity with which the mantra is recited. During Navratri,
devotees repeat the universal Navratri mantra for the invocation of Maa Durga,
which is-
'Aim hreem kleem chamundaye vichche'
Each mantra follows a
pattern of rhythm, as in the number of syllables to create a certain effect.
Hence the powerful Navratri mantra has to be recited with the right intonation
and with full reverence.
Navratri Colours
Each year, we get a
different set of colours to be followed for each day in Navratri. In
Maharashtra and Gujarat girls and ladies and even some enthusiast men follow
the colours by wearing a Saree or dress of the colour of the day. This is
followed from the first day to the Ninth Day of Navratri.
Since each day is dedicated
to one particular form of Goddess Durga, each day has significance in terms of
colour also. Devotees not only wear those coloured dresses for that day but
also decorate the idol of the Goddess in that particular colour. The devotees
offer a particular coloured Saree to the Goddess each day. Each colour has a
significance of its own and represents different forms of the Goddess. Checkout:- Nine Colours of Navratri.
Nine Days of Navratri
Navratri is celebrated for
nine days. Each day is devoted to one form of Goddess Durga.
- 1st Day of Navratri- Shailaputri
- 2nd Day of Navratri- Brahmacharini
- 3rd Day of Navratri- Chandraghanta
- 4th Day of Navratri- Kushmanda
- 5th Day of Navratri- Skandamata
- 6th Day of Navratri- Katyayani
- 7th Day of Navratri- Kalaratri
- 8th Day of Navratri- Mahagauri
- 9th Day of Navratri- Siddhidatri