Navratri is an auspicious Hindu festival specifically dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga. This annual festival is celebrated not just in India but all around the globe and holds a lot of importance for the Gujarati, Bengali and Maharashtrian communities. The first three days of Navratri are dedicated to Goddess Durga and her various forms, including Sailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Maha Gowri and Siddhidayini. Before the festival, devotees start preparing various cuisines and purchase new clothes, especially for the Garba and Dandiya dance. In fact, the best part about this festival is the traditional dance forms performed for nine nights. The entire Navratri festival is about praying, fasting as well as savouring delicacies, dancing and enjoying for the nine days.
Navratri 2020 Date
Navrati 2020 begins on October 17 on October 17 with Shailputri puja, and end on October 26 with Vijay Dashami and Durga VIsarjan.
Navratri 2020- Why is it celebrated?
The story associated with Navratri is the battle that occurred between Goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura. Mahishasura had been granted immortality by Lord Brahma and had been told that he could only be defeated by a woman. He attacked Trilok (Earth, Heaven and Hell), and the Gods were not being able to defeat him.
Finally Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva together created Goddess Durga, who finally defeated Mahishasura. She fought with him for 15 days, and the demon kept changing his form. Mahishasura would take various forms to confuse Goddess Durga. Finally, when he turned into a buffalo is when Goddess Durga killed him with her trishul. It is on the day of Mahalaya that Mahishasura was killed. Each day of Navratri has a separate colour attached to it. The word Navratri is derived from Sanskrit, meaning nine nights - nava (nine) ratri (night). On each day a different form of Goddess Durga is worshipped. They are Goddess Shailputri (Day 1), Goddess Brahmacharini (Day 2), Goddess Chandraghanta (Day 3), Goddess Kushmanda (Day 4), Goddess Skandamata (Day 5), Goddess Katyayani (Day 6), Goddess Kaalratri (Day 7), Goddess Mahagauri (Day 8) and Goddess Siddhidatri (Day 9).
