Sarva mangala mangalye shive sarvartha sadhike
Sharanye trayambake gauri, Narayani namostute ll
Meaning :
O Mother ! You are the personification of all that is auspicious, You are the benevolent form of Lord Shiva, You bestow Divine energy and help people achieve Righteousness, wealth, fulfill desires and Liberation, You are worthy of being surrendered to.O Narayani Devi, I pay obeisance to You !
What is Navratri :
Navratri, Navaratri, or Navarathri is a festival of worship of Shakti and festivities.The word Navaratri literally means
nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights.During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi Maa are worshiped.
God manifests Himself in numerous shapes and forms. One of them is that of the Mother. The manifestation of Supreme Brahman
in the form of power, compassion, forgiveness, and benevolence has been termed as Maa (Mother) and Navratri is the time to adore and worship the Mother in her various forms.
In the ‘Srimad Devi Bhagawata’, it is written that one desirous of knowledge, wealth and begetting a son should meticulously
observe the Navratri Vrata, which has the power of returning the kingdom to a dethroned king. Sri Rama worshipped Durga at the
time of the fight with Ravana, to invoke Her aid in the war. He fought and won through Her Grace.
Significance of Navratri:-
The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn are two very important junctions of climatic and solar influence.
These two periods are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the Divine Mother.
Navaratri represents celebration of Goddess Durga, the manifestation of Deity in form of Shakti [Energy or Power].
Dasahara, meaning ‘ten days’, becomes dussehra in popular parlance. The Navaratri festival or ‘Nine Nights festival’
becomes ‘ten days festival’ with the addition of the last day, Vijayadashami which is its culmination. On all these ten days,
the various forms of Mother Mahisasura-mardini (Durga) are worshipped with fervour and devotion.
Navaratri is celebrated four times a year. They are Vasanta Navaratri, Ashadha Navaratri, the Sharada Navaratri,
and the Poushya/Magha Navaratri. Of these, the Sharada Navaratri(which comes in normally in October) and the Vasanta Navaratri
(which normally comes in the month of April) are more important.
How to perform Navratri-
There are no strict rules for any fasting in Hindu religion and usually, the devotees decide how they want to do the fasting
during the period.
The festival of Navratri should be celebrated with great fanfare through the rendition of devotional songs, music and dancing.
One should sleep on the ground. One should offer food to as many young girls as one can afford to feed. But girls less than
one year of age cannot be considered. Only girls from the age of 2 to 10 years can be served food on this occasion.
One unable to observe fast on all Navratri days should fast on the 7th, 8th and 9th lunar days and worship
Goddess Durga. This affords religious merits of observing a fast on each of the Navratri days.
Night vigil during Navratri is beneficial when there are discussions according to the guidelines of the scriptures, the mind
is cheerful, a pious lamp is lit throughout the night before Goddess Durga’s idol, and there is devotional chanting of the
Divine Mother’s pious name with music. Sattvik dance should be performed, not disco or some other western dance.
The worship of Devi, the universal Mother, leads to the attainment of knowledge of the Self. Hinduism is the only religion
in the world which has emphasized to such an extent the motherhood of God. One's relationship with one's mother is the dearest
and the sweetest of all human relations. Hence, it is proper to look upon God as mother.
SALUTATIONS to the Divine Mother, Durga, who exists in all beings in the form of intelligence, mercy, beauty, who is the consort
of Lord Shiva, who creates, sustains and destroys the universe
Jai Mata Di.
