Rituals Of Navratri: A Sneak Peek

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Navratri is the nine day long celebration in Northern part of India. It commences on the first day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashwin and continues till the ninth day of the same month. The festival of Navratri is very significant for all Hindus. Goddess Shakti is worshipped on all these nine days through various means like fasting, singing religious songs, dancing, and a number of other ways.

The Hindus follow a strict vegetarian diet for all the nine days. During this time they follow many rituals such as the continuous burning of lamp, fasting, staying awake for the night, worshipping a virgin girl, offering various offerings to the Goddess, singing and dancing to divine tunes.

Let us have a quick look at the various rituals of Navratri:

The Lamp
One of the rituals of Navratri is the lighting and continuous burning of a lamp for nine days. It is significant because the light of the lamp is said to destroy all kinds of negative energies surrounding us. It is also the medium through which one can worship the Supreme Power or Goddess Shakti.

Fasting
One of the most important ritual of Navratri is the fasting. People observe all day long fast on all the nine days of the festival. However some people also keep fast only on the first and the last day. Fasting does not mean going completely empty stomach. They can eat only special type of fasting dishes.

Staying Awake
During Navratri, it is believed that the Divine Energy is continuously battling with the bad elements. Hence sleeping is considered inauspicious during the nights of Navratri. Therefore people usually stay awake during the whole night by singing devotional songs in praise of Goddess Shakti.

Worshipping A Virgin Girl
A virgin girl is considered to be the form of Shakti. Hence, a virgin girl is worshipped on all the nine days of the festival to seek blessings and to awaken the inner divine energy within us.

Performing Garba
Since Navratri is the most important festival in the state of Gujarat, people there perform their special folk dance known as the Raas Garba. This dance is performed on the beats of the devotional songs praising the Goddess and is played by clapping hands or sticks.

These are some of the most important rituals associated with Navratri. If you know of some more then do let us know.