Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara,
The significance of Navarathri told in a very short and simple way. We can educate ourselves as well as explain to our kids. Thanks to Kanchi Periyava forum for this article. Ram Ram.
Navaratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of Goddess Sakthi.
The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit; nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The 10th day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or Dussera.
The festival commences on the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Puratasi. Navaratri is celebrated all over India in different ways.
In Gujarat people celebrate the festival with garba and dandiya. In West Bengal they make pandals, and worship idols of Goddess Durga. Exquisitely crafted and decorated clay idols and set up and they are immersed in the river on the fifth day.
In Tamil Nadu, people set up steps and place idols on them. It is called the Golu. The first three days goddess Durga is worshipped, in order to destroy all our impurities. The second three days Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped, who bestows her devotees with wealth and abundance. And the final three days Goddess of Wisdom, Saraswati is worshipped.
On the 9th day, Saraswati pooja is performed, all books are stacked along with an idol of the goddess. Ayudha Pooja is also performed on this day. All kinds of tools and equipments are cleaned and worshipped . Even vehicles, shops are decorated and pooja is perfomed.
They distribute sweets and flattened rice mixed with peanuts, fried gram, jaggery. The 10th day, Vijaya Dasami – It’s the day when evil is destroyed by good and a new prosperous beginning is made.
All new ventures started on this day is believed to flourish. All kids read a book from the stack of books kept along with the idol on Saraswati pooja. Many parents admit their children to play school or other arts courses on this day.
Categories: Bookshelf
just want to point out that in Bengal the pooja starts on the 6th day called Maha Shasti and the immersion happens on the 10th day the Vijayadasami day.
Can you please let us know what this immersion is about? Ram Ram
They make an idol of Durga Mata and worship it during Navratri. On the tenth day they go and immerse it in the sea. Just like how we celebrate Ganesh Visarjan.