Navaratri

Navaratri is a Hindu festival that spans nine nights and is celebrated every year in the autumn. It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian cultural sphere. Theoretically, there are four seasonal Navaratri.

Observances: Goddess Durga is worshipped

Celebrations: 10 days (9 nights)

Observed by: Hindus

Related to: Vijayadashami, Dashain

Also called: Navratri, Nauratri, Navarathri, Navaratra, Navratan, or Nauratan.

Navaratri is a Hindu festival that spans nine nights (and ten days) and is celebrated every year in the autumn. It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian cultural sphere. Theoretically, there are four seasonal Navaratri. However, in practice, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navaratri that is the most observed in the honor of the divine feminine Devi (Durga). The festival is celebrated in the bright half of the Hindu calendar month Ashvin, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of September and October

Navaratri is celebrated in different ways throughout India. Certain people revere different aspects of Durga and some people fast while others feast. The Chaitra Navaratri culminates in Ram Navami and the Sharada Navaratri culminates in Durga Puja and Vijayadashami.

In the past, Shakta Hindus used to recite Durga's legends during the Chaitra Navaratri, but this practice around the spring equinox has been declining. For most contemporary Hindus, it is the Navaratri around the autumn equinox that is the major festival and the one observed. To Bengali Hindus and to Shakta Hindus outside of eastern and northeastern states of India, the term Navaratri implies Durga Puja in the warrior goddess aspect of Devi. In other traditions of Hinduism, the term Navaratri implies the celebration of Durga but in her more peaceful forms, such as Saraswati – the Hindu goddess of knowledge, learning, music, and other arts. In Nepal, Navaratri is called Dashain, and is a major annual homecoming and family event that celebrates the bonds between elders and youngsters with Tika Puja, as well as across family and community members.

Navaratri is celebrated as the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal. It is the most important annual festival to Bengali Hindus and a major social and public event in eastern and northeastern states of India, where it dominates the religious life. The occasion is celebrated with thousands of pandals (temporary stages) that are built in community squares, roadside shrines, and large Durga temples in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, eastern Nepal, Assam, Tripura, and nearby regions. It is also observed by some Shakta Hindus as a private, home-based festival. Durga Puja festival marks the victory of the goddess Durga in the battle against the shape-shifting, deceptive, and powerful buffalo demon Mahishasura.

The festival begins with Mahalaya, a day where Shakta Hindus remember the loved ones who have died, as well the advent of the warrior goddess Durga. The next significant day of Durga Puja is called Shashthi, on which the local community welcomes the goddess Durga and festive celebrations are inaugurated. On the seventh (Saptami), eighth (Ashtami), and ninth (Navami) day, Durga, along with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya, are revered. These days mark the main Puja (worship) which is performed by the recitation of scriptures, legends of Durga in the Devi Mahatmya, and social visits by families to temples and pandals. On the tenth day, also known as Vijayadashami, a great procession is held where clay statues of Durga are ceremoniously walked to a river or ocean coast for a solemn goodbye. Many mark their faces with vermilion (sindooram) or dress in red clothes. It is an emotional day for some devotees, and the congregation sings emotional goodbye songs. After the procession, Hindus distribute sweets, gifts, and visit their friends and family members.