India is a land of varying cultures and the rich cultural
heritage of India in clearly depicted in the numerous festivals of the country.
India is often termed as the “Land of Festivals”. There are festivals for every season and every
state during which people all over the country indulge in the zeal and
festivities of the events. All the festivals and celebrations depict the
cultural unity and integrity of the country. During the festivals, people take
part in the ceremonies and rituals irrespective of their caste, creed, age and
status.
Navratri is one of the largest Hindu festivals celebrated every
year. The exact dates of the festival are fixed by the movement of the moon
according to the Hindu lunar calendar but approximately it takes place around
September or October. The festival of Navratri is marked by the celebrations of
nine days. On each day one of the nine incarnations of the Goddedd Shakti is
worshipped. The nine incarnations of the Goddess can be listed as follows; “Maa
Shailputri”, “Maa Brahamcharini”, “Maa Chandraghanta”, “maa Kushmanda”, “Maa
Skandamata”, “Maa Katyayani”, “Maa Kalratri”, “Maa Mahagauri” and “Maa
Siddhidatri”. The festival of Navaratri owes its origin to a number oh historic
legends and stories. The festival is
celebrated in various parts of the country along with different rituals but
however the central idea remains the same. Apart from India the festival is
celebrated with much pomp and rejoicings in different parts of the world
wherever Hindu societies exists.
History & Origin Of Navratri
In different parts of India, different
legends describe the history of Navratri:
North India: The legend in North India goes that Mahishasura,
the mighty demon, worshipped Lord Shiva and obtained the power of eternity.
Soon, he started killing and harassing innocent people and set out to win all
the three lokas. The gods in swargaloka appealed to Lord Shiva, to find a way
to get rid of the demon. To protect the world from the atrocities of
Mahishasura, the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva united their powers and
created a divine female warrior, known as Goddess Durga. Mahishasura, when he
saw the divine beauty of Goddess Durga, got mesmerized. So fascinated was Mahishasura by Goddess Durga's
beauty that he approached her with the intention of marriage. The goddess
agreed to marry him, but put forth a condition - Mahishasura would have to win
over her in a battle. Mahishasura, proud as he was, agreed immediately! The
battle continued for 9 nights and at the end of the ninth night, Goddess Durga
beheaded Mahishasura. The nine nights came to be known as Navratri, while the
tenth day was called Vijayadashmi, the tenth day that brought the triumph of
good over evil.
Eastern Belief : As per the legend prevalent in East India, Daksha,
the king of the Himalayas, had a beautiful and virtuous daughter called Uma.
She wished to marry Lord Shiva, since her childhood. In order to win over the
Lord, she worshipped him and managed to please him as well. When Shiva finally
came to marry her, the tiger-skin clad groom displeased Daksha and he broke off
all the relationships with his daughter and son-in-law. One fine day, Daksha
organized a yagna, but did not invite Lord Shiva for the same. Uma got so angry at her father's rude behavior,
towards her husband, that she decided to end her life by jumping into the
agnikund of the yagna, where she was united with eternity (since then, she came
to be known as Sati). However, she took re-birth and again won Shiva as her
groom and peace was restored. It is believed that since then, Uma comes every
year with Ganesh, Kartik, Saraswati and Laxmi and two of her best friends or
'sakhis', called Jaya and Bijaya, to visit her parent's home during Navratri.
Another Legend - Ram and Ravana: Yet another legend of Navratri relates to
the Hindu epic Ramayana. It goes that Lord Rama worshipped Goddess Durga in
nine aspects, for nine days, in order to gather the strength and power to kill
Ravana. He wanted to release Sita from the clutches of powerful demon king
Ravana, who had abducted her. Those nine nights became to be known as Navratri
and the tenth day, on which Lord Rama killed Ravana, came to be called
Vijayadashmi or Dusshera, signifying Rama's (good) triumph over Ravana (evil).
Types of Navrartri Festivals:
Navratri festival is the joyous way of worshipping Goddess
Durga. The festival is celebrated all over the country with joy and fervour.
‘Nav’ means nine and ‘Ratri’ means night. The festival is celebrated over a
period of nine nights and 10 days. Navratri festival is celebrated 5 times in a
year. But the main Navratri festival is celebrated in the month of October/
November. The different types of navrartri festival are:
1. Vasanta Navratri: - this is celebrated in the Chaitra month
of Hindu calendar. This is generally the month of March according to modern
calendar. It is the seasonal transition time. The winters had almost gone by
this time and spring is greeted with enthusiasm. The 9th night of the festival is
celebrated as ‘Rama Navmi’.
2. Gupta Navratri: - these navratri falls in the month of June/
July. The Hindu month is named as ‘Aashada’. These are also known as Gayatri
navratri.
3. Sharad Navratri: - these navratri days fall in the month of
October/ November. It is again the seasonal transition time. The winters are
advancing during this time of year, bidding adieu to longer summer duration.
According to Hindu calendar, the Navratri are celebrated in the month of
Ashwini. The 9 forms of Durga are worshipped with fervour. The 8th day is quite significant in
Bengalis as Durgashtami. The 10th day of the festival is
celebrated as Vijaya Dashmi which is the Lord Rama’s victory over ‘Ravana’. On
the 10th day Bengalis submerge the
idols of Durga in water marking the completion of the festival.
4. Pausha Navratri: - these navratri festivals are celebrated in
the month of Pausha according to Hindu calendar. Generally it falls on
December/ January according to modern calendar.
5. Maagha Navratri: - these 9 days are celebrated in the Maagha
month of Hindu calendar. This happens to be the month of January/ February
according to modern calendar.
The first three days of Navratri festival are related to the
worship of Goddess Durga. The next three days are related to worship of Goddess
Laxmi and on the last three days worship of Goddess Sarswati is done with all
rituals. Some people observe fast on all the nine days while consuming food
only once a day. While some take only fruits and water and avoid even a single
morsel.
Navratri Celebrations :
Apart from worship, dance and music forms an integral part of
the cultural event and are carried out in various ways across the various parts
of the country according to the regional traditions. The garba dance of Gujrat
organized in various places of the state is an interesting event and people from
all over the country and various parts of the world visit to experience the
exotic celebrations. After the nine days of the worships, there comes the event
of Ramnavami which is also a popular event of the country. The day is marked by
the ritual of inviting young boys and girls and food is served to them who are
considered as the incarnations of the great Lord himself. The initial day that
is the 1st day of the
festival of Navratri is also considered as the commencing day of the New Year
as per the Indian traditional culture. The day is celebrated with much pomp and
vigor and is considered to be a holy day for starting any new venture.
Thus to conclude, it can be said the Navratri is one of the
biggest festivals of the country that not only brings its people together, but
the event also symbolizes the national integrity and unity.