Navratri is one of the most eminent festivals of Hindus celebrated with high spirit, joy and pompous. Each day of the nine says of “nav durga” is dedicated to one of the nine swaroop of Goddess Durga. Each part of the country has a different significance of the festival. “Navratri” is celebrated twice every year one in the chaitra month and other in the Ashwin.
The Navratri that falls during the Ashwin month is known as Sharad Navratri.
Story associated with Nav Durga
It highlights the importance associated with the battle organized between the goddess “Durga” and the demon “Mahishasura”. Mahishasura once performed penance for years to obtain a boon from Lord Brahma, which alienated Lord Brahma and rewarded him with the immortality of being defeated by only one woman. After the reward he started his attacks on “Trilok” i.e. Earth, Heaven and Hell and the gods were unable to defeat or kill him.
Finally after all the efforts, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva i.e. “Tridev” created Goddess Durga who fought with him with her ultimate powers. She continuously fought with him for 15 days and Mahishasura kept on changing his forms to confuse her. And finally, when he took the form of buffalo, Goddess durga killed him with her “Trishul”. Each day of Navratri is associated with nine colors and nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshipped.
In North-east & eastern parts of India, Navratri is celebrated as a Durga Puja signifying victory of good on evil.
In Northern & Western parts of India, in these days Ramleela is performed that ends by the Dussehra festival when statues of Ravana are burnt to signify the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana.
Nine Colors and forms of Nav Durga
| Day 1 | Shailputri | Grey |
| Day 2 | Bramhacharini | Orange |
| Day 3 | Chandraghanta | White |
| Day 4 | Kushmanda | Red |
| Day 5 | Skandhmata | Sky Blue |
| Day 6 | Katyayni | Pink |
| Day 7 | Kaalratri | Royal Blue |
| Day 8 | Mahagauri | Yellow |
| Day 9 | Siddhidhatri | Green |
What to eat during nine days of Navratri?
There are a lot of food items that one can enjoy having in Navratri even after so many restrictions that you should strictly follow. Here is what you can use to prepare the delicious food items in Nav Durga.
- You can use Singhade ka atta(Water Chestnut flour), Kuttu ka Atta (Buckwheat flour), Chaulai ka Atta(Amaranth flour), Sama ke Chawal (Barnyard millet), Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls), or Makhana (Fox nuts).
- You can consume all kinds of dry fruits like almonds, cashews, peanuts, walnut, melon seeds, pistachio, raisins, and pine nuts.
- You can use ghee, vegetable oil, or peanut oil for preparing the dishes.
- The commonly allowed spices in Nav ratri are rock salt (sendha namak), cumin seeds, green cardamom, cumin seed powder, and you can use herbs like green chillies, coriander leaves or lemon juice.
- All kind of fruits are allowed to be consumed.
- You can consume milk and milk products like curd, cottage cheese, non-salted butter, khoya, and fresh cream.
- The allowed veggies during nav-ratri are potato, pumpkin, bottle guard, raw banana, and colacasia (arbi).
What are the things to avoid during Nau Durga?
- Any consumption of alcohol or non-vegetarian food is strictly prohibited.
- You should avoid getting a haircut during the nine days of festival.
- Do not cut your nails in these auspicious nine days.
- If you lighting a diya as “Akhand Jyoti” make sure it remains lit all the time. Ensure that someone is always home all the time.
- Avoid sleeping during afternoon in Nau durga. All the good deeds and karma turns to zero if you sleep during the day.
- Cutting a lemon should be avoided.
- Avoid usage of tomatoes or pulses if you are on fast.
- Do not consume onions for the span of nine days.
Mantras and bhajans for Navratri
People like to play or listen soulful and devotion bhajans and mantras for the Nav durga to create a positive environment that would help to meet the supreme soul. Listening to such music help the soul to remain calm and composed throughout the day and have a peace of mind. So here is the list of amazing collection of best mantras and bhajans for this Nav durga festival.
- Bhor bhai din chadh gaya – By Chanchal
- Mai Balak tu mata – By Gulshan Kumar
- Jay Ambe Gauri – By Anuradha Paudwal
- Chalo Bulawa Aaya Hai – From Avatar movie
- Bada Pyara Saja hai tera dvaar – By Lakhwinder
- Devi Kavach
- Durga Shaptasati
- Ya devi sarva bhutesu mantra
- Ashtalakshmi strotam
Strange and unknown facts about Navratri
We all are aware with the tradition and custom we follow during worship of the Nau-Durga. All of us know that fasting is done for nine days, veneration is done daily of the nine forms of Goddess Durga and on the ninth day fasting is completed by the “kanya pujan”. But do you know there are certain parts of India where strange and unique traditions or customs are performed in these nine days. Let’s have a look at what these customs are –
The Rajputs from Rajasthan offers a sacrifice of animals (buffalo or goat) during the Navratri festival.
South Indian performs “Astra Puja or Ayudh Puja” during the festivities on the ninth day.
Barley known as a symbol of prosperity, growth and abundance is sown in this festival. The quality and length of the crops define the prosperity and wealth you’ll earn throughout the year.
Some parts of South India, are known for worshipping Doll (Kolu) that describe the incidents from Ramayan. Kolu is not a practice made only in India, but Sri Lanka and Japan along with other Asian countries also follow this tradition.
During the nine days, Gujarat have the big “Pandals” organised for the “Garba” and “Dandiya Raas”.
