Navratri 2021 Starts Today: Know The Practices and Significance

Navaratri is one of the very well-known and most prominent festivals of Hinduism celebrated in different parts of the country and worldwide. The Sanskrit meaning of the term 'Navratri' is 'nine nights' which signifies that devotees worship Goddess Durga for the next nine days in nine different forms and avatars known popularly and collectively as Navdurga. Navratri is celebrated with great honour as it is believed that Goddess Durga fought battle and defeated Mahishasura who was a demon and the incident led to the great victory of good over evil, therefore the festival is meant to honour Goddess Durga and it symbolizes the victory of good over evil. It is the festival of Hindus that lasts for the longest time celebrating each day with great joy and enthusiasm. It takes nine days to complete the festival, this year it starts from the 7th of October and will last till the 15th of October, 2021. For the devotees, Navratri is a very significant festival as they keep fasting and worshipping the avatars of Goddess Durga eagerly and with great excitement.

The glorious festival Navratri usually occurs four times a year but only two times it is celebrated broadly i.e. during March-April called Chaitra Navratri and in September-October called Sharad Navratri. The one that starts from 7th October this year is Shardiya Navratri which is considered to be very much special for the devotes as they keep waiting for it for a long time. The beginning of the festival season in India starts with Navratri which thereafter is followed by Dussehra, Diwali and Bhai Dooj. Each year Dussehra marks the end of the auspicious festival as it is the last day of Navratri which will be celebrated this time on 15th October 2021 and it is also known by another name i.e. Vijayadashami.

Though Navratri is a very eminent festival, many may be aware of its values and in depth practices. As Navratri is a nine-day festival, each of the days is devoted to a different spirit or avatar of Ma Durga and it goes as Mata Shailputri which is for the initial day it means the daughter of mountains, the day is connected with the colour yellow as yellow brings brightness and the word Shailputri symbolizes Mother Nature. The 2nd day is for the prayer of Goddess Brahmacharini, the day is linked with the colour green which signifies energy, nature and renewal. Devotees wear this colour on the second day as it is believed to bring harmony, growth and positive energy to the life of people. The 3rd day is for Mata Chandraghanta, the third form of Goddess Durga, this day is linked with the colour grey as it is of the faith that Devi carries a half-moon on her forehead grey is her best-loved colour. Grey along with negativity also indicates the willpower to demolish the evil. The 4th day is for Goddess Kushmanda also considered as 'smiling goddess' and therefore connected with the colour orange which often represents happiness, brightness and good energy.

A fifth of day Navratri is for Skanda Mata holds Lord Kartikeya in her right arms so worshipping Skanda Mata also means to worship Lord Kartikeya, this day to get more blessing the devotees wear white colour which signifies peace, purity and meditation. The 6th day is for Goddess Katyayani or Bhadrakali, the warrior goddess believed to be the most powerful form of Ma Durga, related to the colour red as it shows the anger of Goddess for her enemies. The 7th day is for the seventh avatar Kaalratri means 'the death of Kaal', the enormous power of the Goddess is expressed with the colour dark blue and is believed to bring an end to all the demons and evils. The 8th day is for Goddess Mahagauri, that one form of Ma Durga with the power of fulfilling the wishes of her devotees and is connected with the colour pink which symbolizes self-refinement, social upliftment and hope. The last day that is the 9th day of Navratri is for Goddess Siddhidatri which comes from the two words 'Siddhi' and 'Dhatri', Siddhi means supernatural power and Dhatri means awarder. The ninth day is related to the colour purple as it is dedicated to the Devi who brings knowledge and achievements.

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