Navratri, the nine sacred days, commemorate the most auspicious days of the lunar calendar according to Hinduism. Celebrated with earnestness and merriment at every corner of the states in North India and every Hindu community across the globe, these nine days are dedicated exclusively to Goddess Durga and her nine avatars.
The eminent story pertaining to Navratri is the battle that occurred between Goddess Durga and the Demon Mahishasura, who characterizes egotism. All the nine days of the celebration are pledged to each respective avatar of the Goddess; and each of these festivity days has a remarkable colour connected to it, for the devotees are anticipated to wear while taking part in the celebrations.
She is the personification of the combined power of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The goddess in this form is worshipped as "the consort of Shiva". The colour of the first day is red which portrays action and vigour.
The Goddes is one who practices religious austerity. She is rapturous and confers happiness, peace, prosperity and grace upon all her devotees offering prayers to her. Being full of ecstasy, she is the way to "emancipation" or moksha. The colour of the second day is royal blue, symbolising calm-yet-powerful energy.
She mirrors beauty and grace and is worshipped on the third day of Navratri for peace, tranquillity and prosperity in life. She is the messenger of bravery and occupies great vigour possessing yellow as the colour of the day.
She is represented as the creator of the universe. It is believed that Kushmunda shaped the entire universe through a session of laughter making it verdant with vegetation bearing green as the colour of the fourth day.
She is personified as the mother of Skanda, or Karthikeya, who was preferred by the gods as their commander-in-chief in the battle against the demons. She is escorted by Skanda in his infant form. The colour of the fifth day is grey, as it demonstrates the vulnerability of a mother who can whirl into a storm cloud when the requisite for protecting her child arises.
The avatar was born to the great sage, named Kata, as an incarnation of Goddess Durga. She exhibits immense courage as she is dressed in orange.
She possesses a dark complexion, disarranged hair and a valorous posture. She has three eyes shining bright, with flames emerging from her breath. She is the most ferocious form of Goddess Durga, and she is dressed in white, a colour that represents peace and prayer depicting the colour white.
Maha Gauri represents intelligence, peace and calmness. It is said that due to her long austerities in the deep forests of the Himalayas, the colour was modified from white to back. However, later, when Shiva cleansed her with the Ganga water, her body regained its beauty and she turned out to be known as Maha Gauri, which means 'extremely white'. The colour of the day is pink, portraying hope and a fresh start.
She possesses supernatural healing powers with four arms and is always in a happy state of mind. She bestows blessings to all gods, saints, yogis, tantriks and every devotee as a manifestation of the mother goddess. The goddess is demonstrated to be in a blissful state as much as the sky on a clear day. Thus, the colour of the ninth day is sky blue, r wonderment about the beauty of nature.