Posted on October 4th, 2007 by bizboy  •  Filed under: Festivals

India is a land of culture and festivals. Every festival has cultural significance and every festival is celebrated with different traditions in different parts of India. These festivals truly show the “Unity In Diversity” found in India and very few cultures around the world can boast of a heritage of festivals as India. Navratri is such a festival, which is celebrated across India. Navratri is a celebration of the spirit of women as a goddess, mother, sister, care-taker, friend and much more…

Navratri, which literally translates to – the festival of 9 nights. And three days each devoted to worship of Ma Durga (the Goddess of Valor), Ma Lakshmi (the Goddess of Wealth) and Ma Saraswati (the Goddess of Knowledge). Different cultures across India celebrate this festival differently, but the essence of all these celebrations are the same. Feasting and fasting during these 9 days of Navratri are of important significance to Hindu (Indian) culture. There are different dances and celebrations done in the evenings in order to worhip Goddess Durga Maa.

1st – 3rd Day Of Navratri

On the first day of Navratri, a small paddy field-like area is created from mud and barley seeds are sown on it. These first three days are devoted to prayers to Maa Durga. Maa Durga’s different manifestations as Parvati, Kali, Amba are worshipped. Aarti and Bhajan’s (Devotional songs) play special significance during these days and meditation for gaining self-power is given importance.

4th – 6th Day of Navratri

These 3 days are devoted to the wordship of Lakshmi Maa, the Goddess of peace and prosperity. The 5th Day which is known as Lalita Panchami, is an educational tradition in which we gather and display all literature available in the house, light a lamp or ‘diya’ to invoke Saraswati Maa, the Goddess of knowledge and art.

7th – 8th Day Of Navratri

These days are used to worship Saraswati Maa, to acquire spiritual knowledge. Different pujas play an important role to free our souls from the bondage of our body. Yagna (holy pyre) is ignited and the different materials, that represent our material desires are put into the fire.

Mahanavami (9th Day)

The last day of the festival starts with Kanya Puja. Nine young girls representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped. Their feet are washed as a mark of respect for the Goddess and then they are offered new clothes as gifts by the worshiper. After the puja, a lot of celebrations take place in the form of dances.

Along with the above mentioned ideologies, different parts of India celebrate Navratri differently. States from Eastern India celebrate Durga Puja during this period, Idol of Durga is worshipped and Victory of Good over Evil is celebrated. Gujrat and Maharashtra have Garba & Dandiya played through the nine nights. South India celebrates it as Durga Puja and wordships different women goddess.

In the coming days, we will discuss special celebrations from different parts of India. Bring videos for different dances during these festivals. We will also bring to you how traditional fashion lights up during the festive season. So keep checking back for all the fun!!