Navaratri marks the celebration of Goddess Durga’s victory over Demon Mahishasura. The celebrations last for nine whole days with each and every day having a symbolic significance. Each day is marked with huge pomp and show. All devotees dress up and pay their respects to the nine forms of Goddess Durga, along with offering prayers to the Trinity of Goddesses. Let’s now look at the importance of each and every day during the Navaratri festival.

• DAY 1 – 3

The first three days of Navaratri are solely dedicated to Maa Durga. During these three days, the power and energy of the goddess are worshiped and each day is devoted to various avatars of goddess Durga.

Kumari, represented as a girl child, is worshipped on the first day while on the second day Parvati, the quintessence of a young woman, is worshiped. The third day of Navaratri is dedicated to the worship of goddess Kali who represents a woman that has reached her maturity.

Barley seeds are planted on the first day of the festival in a bed of mud. This pot is kept in the room where pooja is held on a regular basis. By the 10th day, which marks the end of the celebrations, each seed has grown into a four to five inch long shoots. After the pooja on the last day, the shoots are given to the attendees and it is believed to be the lord’s blessings.

• DAY 4 – 6

The following three days are dedicated to worship the goddess of peace and prosperity, Goddess Lakshmi. Although Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on these three days, Goddess Saraswati is also prayed on the fifth day of the festival. This day of Navaratri is referred to as Lalita Panchami and it is celebrated by keeping all the books in one place and then lighting up a diya in front of them. This is done to call upon Maa Saraswati.

• DAY 7 – 8

The seventh day of the celebrations is dedicated to goddess Saraswati, the goddess of art and knowledge. In order to gain spiritual knowledge devotees offer the Goddess prayers. By gaining spiritual knowledge, devotees can escape the grasp of earthly bonds, which as a result aid them to get closer to the almighty.

On the penultimate day, a haven is performed. This consists of a sacrifice which is done to the holy fire. The sacrifice is conducted to honor the Goddess Durga and to bid her farewell as well. The constituents of the offerings are rice pudding, sesame seed and clarified butter.

• DAY 9

The ninth or the last day of the festival is considered as the most important part of the celebration and is often regarded as the climax of the grand Navaratri celebrations. The last day is more commonly referred to as Mahanavami and on this particular day people perform Kanya pooja.

In this pooja, devotees worship nine young girls and each girl symbolize one of the various forms of Goddess Durga. Their feet are washed by the lady of the house and at the final stages of the pooja, the girls are offered parshad and new clothes as a mark of respect to Goddess Durga.

During the festivities of Navaratri, learn more about the famous Durga temples.

Mahalakshmi Temple, Kohlapur
Kalighat Kali Temple, West Bengal
Koothanur Saraswathi Temple, Tamil Nadu