Durga and Kali
The Goddess in forms the tradition never tries to soften.
Festivals
Nine nights of the Goddess, each with its own work.
4 min read · Festivals
Nine nights of the Goddess, each with its own work.
Navaratri means nine nights. It happens four times a year
in the Hindu calendar - once each season - but the most
widely observed is Sharada Navaratri, in autumn, when the
Goddess is worshipped in all her forms across India.
The structure of the nine nights is precise. The first
three nights worship the Goddess in her fierce form -
Durga or Kali - the destroyer of ego and illusion.
The middle three worship her as Lakshmi - the abundant,
the gracious, the one who bestows. The final three
worship her as Saraswati - the illuminated mind, the
one who gives understanding.
This is not arbitrary. The sequence describes a process:
you cannot receive abundance until you have cleared away
what is blocking it. You cannot access wisdom until you
have become a vessel for it.
In Kerala, the last three days of Navaratri are
particularly significant. Books, musical instruments,
tools, and the objects of one's profession are arranged
on a special display and blessed. This is the formal
sanctification of one's work.
The tenth day, Vijayadasami, is traditionally when
children begin formal education. Vidyarambham -
the start of learning - happens on this day, with
the child's finger guided by the teacher to write
the first letters in rice or on a palm leaf.
Navaratri is one of the festivals that NRI families
often find themselves able to observe without a temple
nearby - because the core of it is in the home. A
lamp lit every evening. The Mahishasura Mardini
Stotram read each of the nine days. A small golu.
The festival is portable because the Goddess is not
confined to a single building.
Let the idea move immediately into prayer or temple ritual.
The Mahishasura Mardini Stotram is traditionally read every day of Navaratri. On Prarthana, each of the nine days is a complete occasion to open this prayer. Book an Abhishekam for Vijayadasami as a formal close to the nine nights.
Keep the context connected rather than isolated.
The Goddess in forms the tradition never tries to soften.
The fierce mother who protects without being asked.