Sunday 6 September 2009

Navarathri and its significance


"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights." This festival is observed twice a year, once in the beginning of summer and again at the onset of winter.
What's the Significance of Navratri?

The First Three Days of Navratri:

The first three days of Navratri are devoted to the worship of the Goddess Durga. This is the period, when her energy and power are worshipped. Each day is dedicated to a different appearance of Durga. Kumari, which signifies the girl child, is worshipped on the first day of the festival. Parvati, who is the embodiment of a young woman, is worshipped on the second day. The destructive aspects of Goddess Durga symbolize the commitment to acquire triumph over all the evil tendencies. Hence, on the third day of Navratri, Goddess Kali is worshipped, who represents the woman who has reached the stage of maturity.

Fourth to Sixth Days of Navratri:

When a person acquires triumph over evil tendencies of ego, anger, lust and other animal instincts, he/she experiences a void. This void is filled with spiritual wealth. For the purpose, the person approaches Goddess Lakshmi, to acquire all the materialistic, spiritual wealth and prosperity. This is the reason why the fourth, fifth and sixth day of Navratri are dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi - the goddess of prosperity and peace. Although the individual has acquired victory over evil tendencies and wealth, he is still deprived of true knowledge. Knowledge is required to live the life of a humane, even though he/she is prospered with power and wealth. Therefore, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped on the fifth day of Navratri. All the books and other literature materials are gathered in one place and a 'diya' (earthen lamp) is lit in front of the deity, to invoke the goddess and seek her blessings. Till the time the books are kept at the puja room, the students would not study.

Seventh and Eighth Day of Navratri:

The seventh day is dedicated to worshipping Saraswati, the goddess of art and knowledge. Prayers are offered with an aim to seek spiritual knowledge. A 'yagna' is performed on the eight day. This comprises of a sacrifice honoring goddess Durga as well as bids her farewell. The sacrifice or offering is made out of clarified butter (ghee), rice pudding known as kheer and sesame seeds.

Ninth Day of Navratri:

The ninth day is the final day of Navratri celebrations. It is also known as 'Mahanavami'. On the day, Kanya puja is performed to worship nine young girls, who have not yet reached the stage of puberty. These nine girls symbolize one of the nine forms of goddess Durga. The feet of girls are washed to welcome the goddess and show respect to her. The girls are offered a set of new clothes as a gift from the devotees at the end of the puja.

Kolu or Display of Dolls:

On the Mahalaya Amavasya day, after the usual rituals, it is customary to install the Kalash on the first tier or step. These tiers are specially constructed for this purpose. The Kalash or Kalasam filled with rice, dal, a coconut and mango. Two wooden dolls called Marapachi Bommai, brought from Tirupathi and decorated as bride and groom are first placed on the steps at the chosen auspicious time. Then the other dolls mostly made of clay and painted with gay colours are placed on the other tiers.
Depending on the space and number of dolls, one can even erect eleven steps. A variety of dolls depicting mythological themes from epics and scriptures are displayed. The tiers are decorated beautifully with festoons.
The most popular themes are Dhasavathar – the ten incarnations of Mahavishnu, Ashta Lakshmi- eight avatars of Mahalakshmi, Rajarajeswari Dharbar and Krshna Leela. Lasting for nine days, the evenings conclude with arti, prayers and prasadham like sundals and sweets.
Ninth day of Navrathri is celebrated as Saraswati puja, dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. Musical instruments, books and other instruments are also placed and decorated before the Kolu and worshiped with flowers. The last day of the festival known as Vijaya Dasami is considered to be auspicious to start any new venture in learning dance, music and fine arts.
According to tradition, a marapachi or any human figure among the dolls is put to sleep on the tenth night symbolically denoting the defeat and death of the demon in the battle with Parasakthi. The dolls are packed carefully, the next day with paper or cloths and kept in a box. Navrathri is a festival celebrated with enthusiasm and it provides an opportunity to meet friends and promote goodwill.
More tradition-bound people celebrate Navrathri with Pujas and homams to propitiate Goddess Durga. In temples, Goddess Durga is decorated as different incarnations of Paraskthi on each day.
According to Vedic scholars there are some spiritual connotations; the first three days of Navrathri being dedicated to Durga to breed courage and valour in the minds of people. The next three days are devoted to worshipping Lakshmi to bring prosperity and the last three days are spent in the worship of Saraswati, the promoter of learning.


Navaratri Story:

The story associated with Navratri can be found in various Hindu religious texts like Markandeya Purana, Vamana Purana, Varaha Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Devi Bhagavatam and Kalika Purana. The story of Navratra is the symbolic message of the fact that however glorious and powerful the evil become, at the end it is the goodness that wins over all of the evil. The story is associated with Maa Durga and Mahisasura, the buffalo headed demon. The story begins from the life of two sons of Danu called Rambha and Karambha who performed austerities by to gain extreme power and authority. When their prayers became deeper and austerities became exceptional, the King of the heaven God Indra got perturbed. Out of fear, he killed Karambha. Rambha, who came to know about his brother’s death, became more stubborn to win over the Gods. He increased the intensity of his austerities and finally got several boons from gods like great brilliance, beauty, invincibility in war. He also asked a special wish of not being killed by either humans or Gods or Asuras.He then considered himself immortal and started freely roaming in the garden of Yaksha where he saw a female-buffalo and fell in love with her. To express his love, Rambha disguised in the form of a male-buffalo and copulated with the female buffalo. However, soon after that a real male buffalo discovered Rambha mating with the she-buffalo and killed him. It was due to Rambha’s inflated ego that killed him, out of which he has not asked his death to be spared from the wrath of animals. As the pyre of Rambha was organized, the female-buffalo, who was copulated with him jumped into the funeral pyre of Rambha to prove her love. She was pregnant at that time. Thus, demon came out of the with the head of a buffalo and human body and he was named Mahisasura (the buffalo headed demon).Mahishasura was extremely powerful. He defeated the gods and the demons and acruierd power over the entire world. He even won over the heaven and threw devtas outside it. He captured the throne of Indra and declared himself to be the the lord of the gods. The gods led by Brahma approached Vishnu and Shiva and evaluated them of the situation. In order to save the Gods, the three supreme deities emerged a light of anger, which combined to the take the shape of a terrible form and this was Durga. All the gods then granted this Goddess of power with all the supreme weapons they had. This is why; Durga is called the brilliance of all the Gods.When the goddess was seen by Mahishasura, he was mesmerized by her beauty. Her then fell in love with her and proposed to marry her. The goddess said she will marry him, if he defeated her in the battle. Then began a scary and terrible battle between both of then which continued for nine days. Finally, on the last day, Durga took the form of Chandika and stood over the chest of Mahishasura and smashed him down with her foot. She then pierced his neck with her spear and cut off his head off with her sword. It is the day when Vijayadashmi is celebrated.

Mantras For Navaratri:

1.Ya devi sarva bhutesu, shanti rupena sansitha

Ya devi sarva bhutesu, shakti rupena sansthita

Ya devi sarva bhutesu, matra rupena sansthita

Namastasyai, namastasyai, namastasyai, namo namaha!

2.Sarva mangala maangalye shive sarvaartha saadhikeSharanye trayambake GauriNarayani namosthute

3.Namoh devyai mahadevyai shivayai satatam namah

Namah prakrutyai bhadraayai niyataah pranataahsma taam

4. Annapoorne sadapoorne shankarah praanavallabhe

Njana vairaagya sidhyardham bhikshaam dehi cha parvati

Navratri Fasting Procedure:

On the festive occasion of Navratri, fast is observed by people for seven or eight days, depending upon when they want to conduct the Kanya puja(when young girls are worshipped). The devotees, who have observed fast, would get up early in the morning, take bath and offer prayers to the deity. People follow a specific diet for Navratri, if they haven't observed a nirahar (waterless) fast. Most people nowadays perform partial fasting. They would abstain from non-vegetarian food, alcohol and those dishes that are made of common salt or any kind of spice. Singhare ka atta (kuttu ka atta) is used to prepare rotis or puris, for the fast or the prasad that we offer the goddess. One may drink beverages like tea, coffee and milk, on Navratri. Dishes made of sago and potato is generally consumed by the people, when they observe fast on Navratri. Sendha namak (rock salt) is used instead of common salt, for cooking on the festival. All fruits and foodstuff made of fruits are eaten during the seven days. Nowadays, ready-to-eat snacks are available in the stores, especially prepared for Navratri. In addition to this, certain restaurants in the northern parts of India would offer special menu for the people, who have observed fast on Navratri. After seven days of fasting, people would break their fast on the eighth day - Ashtami - by worshipping young girls. The ritual of offering prasad to the young girls is called kanya puja .As per the tradition, puris (deep fried Indian bread), halwa (sweet dish made of suji) and Bengal gram curry are served to the young girls, called upon by the people who have observed fast. After seeking the blessings of the young girls (kanchikayen), the devotees would break their fast by consuming the prasad (puri, halwa and sabzi) that they have prepared for them. While this is the tradition followed by majority of people,navathri vratha in south India is broken by preparing rice with avaiyal, curry vada and payasam. Navratri fast is also broken on ninth day (Navami), wherein the fast is observed until Ashtami. The same procedure is followed in that case as well.

Navratri Gift Ideas:

Here are few exclusive gift ideas for the occasion of Navratri…Idol of Maa Durga What better can you think of gifting a devotee of Mata Rani other than her mesmerizing idol? Gifting a beautiful moderately sized idol of Maa Durga is one of the best gifts to present someone on the occasion of Navratri. This will become a permanent feature of the devotee'd Pooja room.

Silver Coin

Gifting a silver coin engraved with Maa Durga's image is considered auspicious. So, you can also present a silver coin to your dear one on the Navratri festival. It is generally moderately priced but is considered a wonderful keepsake.

Calendars

A calendar or poster of devi is a lso an economic yet wonderful gift for any of her devotees. You can also get a beautiful image of her beautifully framed if you want to make your gift look presentable. It is the easiest available yet nice gift that would be cherished on the occasion of Navratri.

Dry Fruit Box

Dry Fruit is the best option for presenting anyone on any kind of occasion. As most of the devotees of Maa Durga observe fast on this occasion, they preferably consume dry fruits, milk and fruits. So, it would prove to be a very useful gift on the occasion of Navrarti.

Spiritual

If you are planning to gift your elderly parent a surprising and wonderful Navrarta gift, can you think anything better than a tour to Vaishno Devi? Now with availability of so many tour operators, the task has become so easy.

No comments:

Post a Comment