Navratri, also known as the festival of nine nights (with ‘nava’ meaning ‘nine’ and ‘ratri’ meaning ‘nights’, is one of the most popular religious festivals celebrated almost all across India. It is dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti i.e. the Mother Goddess. The festival is celebrated twice in the year, once in the month of March-April (Vasant Navratri) and the then in the month of September-October (Sharad Navratri). It is the second Navratri that holds more importance for the devotees, since it celebrates the slaying of Mahishasura, by the goddess Durga.
As has been mentioned earlier, Navratri is dedicated to nine forms of the Mother Goddess, namely Ma Shailputri, Ma Brahmacharini, Ma Chandraghanta, Ma Kushmanda, Ma Skandamata, Ma Katyayani, Ma Kalratri, Ma MahaGauri, and Ma Siddhidatri. The first three days of the festival are dedicated to Ma Durga, the Goddess of power and energy, and her three manifestations - Kumari, Parvati and Kali - are worshipped during this time. The next three days see Ma Lakshmi, the Goddess of peace and prosperity, being worshipped. In-between, on the fifth day, Ma Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and art, is invoked.
On the seventh and eight day of the Navratri festival, Ma Saraswati is worshipped. The last day of the festival is known as Navami and on this day, Kanya Pujan takes place. In this ritual, nine young girls are worshipped as the nine forms of Mother Goddess and offered gifts by the devotees. During the first eight days of Navratri, many of the devotees observe a fast, in which they take only those food items that are either made from fruits or milk. They break their fast on the ninth day, after doing the Kanya Pujan. In 2009, Sharad Navratri will be observed from 19th September to 27th September.
