Navratri 2018: India commences the nine-day fest
New Delhi [India], Oct 10 (ANI): The auspicious nine-day period of Navratri has commenced and devotees all over India are celebrating occasion.
ANI
Oct 10, 2018 12:24 IST
New Delhi [India], Oct 10 (ANI): The auspicious nine-day period of Navratri has commenced and devotees all over India are celebrating occasion.
Also known as Sharad Navratri, the fun-filled festival is celebrated in different ways across the country and involves worship of Goddess Durga and her nine avatars. Over the next nine days, devotees offer prayers to Goddess Durga and observe fasts. The tenth day of Sharad Navratri is celebrated as Dussehra or Vijayadashami.
The occasion is believed to mark Goddess Durga's victory over demon Mahishasura , which signifies victory of good over evil.
The festival is popularly and prominently celebrated in Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and the southern state of Karnataka.
The people of Varanasi and Delhi marked the first day of the festival by offering prayers and sweets at different temples.
While in West Bengal, the last four days of Navratri is celebrated with much pomp and enthusiasm and is known as Durga Puja.
On the first day of Navratri, Maa Durga is invoked into a Kalash with full Vedic rituals along with chanting of mantras/bhajans. The invocation and dwelling of the Goddess into the Kalash is known as Ghatasthapana or Kalashsthapana which happens at an auspicious time of the day.
Jyoti Kalash, Kumari Puja, Sandhi Puja, Navami Homa, Lalitha Vrat and Chandi Path are other famous rituals and events which are observed during the nine days of Navratri.(ANI)
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