5 Essential Navratri Rituals That You Should Perform

 The wait is finally over and the festival of Navratri is finally here, devotees are all set to celebrate the nine day festival with full gusto to revere the Goddess Durga. Different customs prevail in different parts of our country, some people celebrate with a number of rituals and traditions, while others make it extremely creative and quirky with innovative ideas.

Here are some essentially significant rituals that must be performed to celebrate the festival in the right way:

1.       Dressing up Goddess Durga with a Navratri special new dress

The idol of Goddess Durga is bathed with the Holy water and cleaned with a new cloth, and then a new Navratri dress is adorned to the idol with dupatta and proper shringar before starting the prayers. Shringar of other Hindu Deities is also performed to celebrate the auspicious nine days.

2.       Fasting and praying

Devotees often observe fast during the nine days. Others, who can’t fast, avoid eating onion and garlic. A puja is performed in the morning and evening after sunset.

3.       Ghatsthapna

A kalash along with Nariyal is placed in the temple on the first day of Navratri which symbolizes universe, to purify and bring happiness into your home. The coconut is cut on the last day or on Ashtami and is distributed as Prasad to everyone.

4.       Burning of Lamp

In many Hindu homes, devotees burn an uninterrupted Navratri Lamp and keep it lit till the last day of the festival. The Lamp is lit before commencing the Navratri puja and it is a symbol of peace, reduces negativity in the house and increase contented mindfulness amongst the devotees.

5.       Sowing of Barley

Barley is the first fruit which is harvested and it symbolizes growth and prosperity. The longer it grows during the period of Navratri, the better it will be for your fortune.

All these rituals are essentially performed during the festival of Navratri and to revere the Goddess Durga.

India is an incredible land of varied traditions and customs, and in a land as massive as ours, it should come as no surprise that every region has a distinctive style of celebrating a festival. Each part of our country celebrates the 9-day festival in its own unique way. The celebrations during Navratri may differ across regions, but that by no means signifies a lack of zeal and enthusiasm.