Things To Follow/Avoid On A Chaitra Navratri

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Chaitra Navaratri is an important festival that is celebrated in most parts of India. Regardless of whether a household celebrates the festival or not, the time is still considered immensely auspicious.

The festival goes on for nine days and people pray and honor the nine forms of the Goddess Durga. As per the Gregorian calendar, the festival of Chaitra Navratri will be celebrated from March 18 to March 25.

The festival is a celebration of the feminine and its unaccountable power. The followers of the Shaktha sect of Hinduism celebrate the festival with a lot of pomp and show. They leave no stone unturned to show their devotion and love for the Goddess.

The festival is considered to fall during the most auspicious of times. It is said that if you need to start a venture and find no suitable muhurat in the rest of the year, you can just go ahead and start it during the Navratri period and you will surely find success.

But there are certain things that you need to be careful of and must make sure to never do during this period. Today, we shall talk about these things to help you have a happy, successful and prosperous Chaitra Navratri.

Things to be careful about during the Chaitra Navratri

Go To The Temple

Many people install the Goddess’s image in their house and pray to it. This often means that they do not visit the temple during this period. The important thing to note is that while it is a good thing that you have installed the Goddess Durga in your home, it is not a replacement of the blessings you receive by going to the temple.

Clean Water

Make sure that you offer clean and fresh water every day to the Goddess if you have her in your house.

Do Not Wear Chappal

It is not considered appropriate to wear chappals or footwear of any kind in the house; more so during the days when the Goddess Durga is installed in your house.

Decorate The Goddess

It is important to decorate the Mother Goddess’s image - be it a kalasha or an idol. Use flowers and a red piece of cloth to beautify her.

Clean Clothes

Just like the cleanliness of the mind is important for the worship of the Goddess, the cleanliness of your body and your clothes are important too.

Performing Fasts

If at all your health permits, make it a point to keep the Navratri fasts. This will not only invite the blessings of Goddess Durga, it will also help you be healthy by detoxing your body.

The Pooja On Ashtami

The worship done for the Goddess on the eighth day is very important. Chant the mantras and stotras of the Goddess and feed nine girls to perform the Kanya Pooja too.

Akhanda Deep

Light a holy lamp in front of the Goddess Durga. Make sure that it does not go out for the whole period of Navratri. Remember to refill the lamp with wicks and oil.

Brahmacharya

Try and be celibate during the nine days of Navratri. This will help you to concentrate more on the spiritual and the divine.

Never Do The Following

Do not do tadka in your food.

Commonly, in Indian homes, after a curry like dal or sambar is prepared, a tadka made with oil and a few spices is poured on the cooked dish as a finishing touch. This is prohibited during the days of Navratri.

Do not discard waste

One must not cut hair, nails and beard during this period or discard them.

Avoid non-vegetarian food.

Sattvik food is said to awaken the spiritual side of a human being. This is the reason that such food is preferred during the Navratri period.

No black clothes

It is said that the use of black clothes causes the mother to be angry. It is therefore important that you do not use the colour black in your attire.

Do not sleep in the day time

According to Vishnu Puran, it is considered inauspicious to sleep during the day time or in the afternoon.

You should always have someone stay back in the house if you need to go out. It is believed that the Goddess Durga may visit your house at any given time during the period of Navratri. Hence, it is inauspicious to shut the door and go away.

Never offer rice

It is not auspicious to offer the Goddess Durga a Bhog of rice or 'anna’. Fruits are the best kind of offerings. You can offer a kheer made out of Makhana.

Do not eat rice or salt

It is considered bad luck to consume salt or food items made from rice during the Navratri. It is best to avoid eating them during the period of the pooja.