Navratri Puja
Nine nights with the Goddess: ghatasthapana, daily puja, kanya pujan
Common way — most homes
Sharad and Chaitra Navratri, from Pratipada. Set the kalash in the morning muhurat on the first day. Muhurtha shows it on the festival card.
30 minutes on the first day; 15–20 minutes each day after
For nine nights the Goddess is worshipped in nine forms. On the first day barley is sown and a kalash is set up to hold her presence (ghatasthapana). The same short puja follows each day, then young girls are honoured as the Goddess on Ashtami or Navami, and the kalash is closed on Dashami. If a mantra is hard, "Om Dum Durgayai Namah" can stand in for any of them.
Prayers in this puja
Shubham Karoti ›Vakratunda Mahakaya ›Shuklambaradharam ›Mushikavahana ›Sarva Mangala Mangalye ›Navarna Mantra ›Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu ›Durga Gayatri ›Ambe Tu Hai Jagdambe Kaali ›Shanti Mantra ›
Get ready
The day before
- Clean the puja place and set a small low table facing east.
- Soak nothing yet; keep clean soil and barley ready for sowing.
Before the nine days
- Decide whether to keep an unbroken lamp, and whether someone will always be home to watch it.
- Buy red cloth, a red chunri for the Goddess, and enough ghee or oil for nine days.
What you need
For the Goddess
- 1Durga picture or idol
- 1Clay pot or kalash, with water, mango leaves and a coconut in red cloth
- 1 wide dishClean soil and barley for sowingKeep it damp through the nine days.
- 1 setRed chunri, red flowers and a garland
- 1Large lamp and ghee or oilFor the unbroken lamp, if you keep one.
- For 2–9 girlsFor kanya pujan: halwa, puri, chana, small gifts
For the altar
- 1Clean cloth to place it onRed or yellow is traditional.
- 1Puja plate (thali)
On the plate
- 1Oil lamp (diya) with a cotton wickGhee or sesame oil.
- 2Incense sticks (agarbatti)
- A pinch eachKumkum and haldi
- A littleSandal paste (chandan)No chandan? Use kumkum.
- 1 tablespoonAkshat — unbroken rice grains mixed with a little kumkum
- A handfulFresh flowers
- 1Small vessel of clean water with a spoon
- 1Small bellOptional.
To offer
- A littleFruit, jaggery, sugar crystals (mishri) or anything cooked fresh at home
- 1 or 2 piecesCamphor for the aartiOptional; the lamp can be used instead.
The puja
Settle in
Sit facing east or north before the deity on a mat or folded cloth. Keep the plate on your right. Take a breath and let the day wait for a few minutes.
Achamana — sip water three times
Pour a little water into your right palm and sip it three times, saying the first three names, one with each sip. Then wash your right hand with a little water while saying the fourth.
ōm kēśavāya namaḥ. ōm nārāyaṇāya namaḥ. ōm mādhavāya namaḥ. ōm gōvindāya namaḥ.Salutations to Keshava, Narayana and Madhava; salutations to Govinda.Purify yourself and the place
Hold a flower dipped in water and sprinkle a few drops on yourself, the plate and the altar while saying this verse.
ōm apavitraḥ pavitrō vā sarvāvasthāṁ gatō'pi vā. yaḥ smarēt puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ.Whether pure or impure, in whatever state, one who remembers the lotus-eyed Lord is pure within and without.Light the lamp
Light the lamp and place it to the right of the deity. Fold your hands to it.
śubhaṁ karōti kalyāṇamārōgyaṁ dhanasampadaḥ. śatrubuddhivināśāya dīpajyōtirnamō'stu tē.I bow to the flame of the lamp, which brings good fortune, well-being, health and wealth, and destroys ill will.Remember Ganesha
Every puja begins with Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Fold your hands and say the verse once.
vakratuṇḍa mahākāya sūryakōṭisamaprabha. nirvighnaṁ kuru mē dēva sarvakāryēṣu sarvadā.O Ganesha of the curved trunk and mighty form, radiant as a crore suns, keep my every work free of obstacles, always.Sankalpa — state your intention
Hold a little water, akshat and a flower in your right palm. Say your name, today's date in the Hindu calendar, and why you are doing the puja — for example, for the well-being of the family. Then let the water fall on the ground or into a plate. Tap "Make sankalpa" to read today's full sankalpa.
Ghatasthapana — set the kalash
Spread soil in the dish and sow the barley. Place the kalash in the middle on a little rice, filled with water, a coin and betel nut, mango leaves around the mouth and the coconut in red cloth on top. Do this once, on the first day only.
The lamp
Light the large lamp beside the kalash. If you keep it unbroken for nine days, top up the ghee morning and evening, and never leave it unwatched.
Dhyana — invite the deity
Close your eyes and picture the deity before you. Offer a pinch of akshat as you invite them to be present.
ōm duṁ durgāyai namaḥ. dhyāyāmi, āvāhayāmi.Worship the form of the day
The nine forms in order: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. Say the day's name, and offer a flower to her.
Gandha — sandal paste
Apply a dot of chandan or kumkum to the deity with your ring finger.
ōm duṁ durgāyai namaḥ. gandhaṁ samarpayāmi.Pushpa — flowers
Offer the flowers at the deity's feet, one or a few at a time.
ōm duṁ durgāyai namaḥ. puṣpāṇi samarpayāmi.Dhupa — incense
Light the incense and wave it gently before the deity three times, clockwise. Ring the bell with your left hand if you have one.
ōm duṁ durgāyai namaḥ. dhūpam āghrāpayāmi.Deepa — the lamp
Lift the lamp and show it to the deity, circling it clockwise three times.
ōm duṁ durgāyai namaḥ. dīpaṁ darśayāmi.Naivedya — food
Place the food before the deity. Sprinkle a little water around it, and offer it with folded hands. Wait a moment, as if it is being received.
ōm duṁ durgāyai namaḥ. naivēdyaṁ nivēdayāmi.Sarva Mangala — praise the Goddess
Fold your hands and say this verse.
sarvamaṅgalamāṅgalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē. śaraṇyē tryambakē gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē.O auspicious one who brings all good, who fulfils every aim, the refuge, the three-eyed Gauri, Narayani: I bow to you.Chant the Navarna mantra
Chant this on a mala 108 times, or as many as you can.
ōm aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍāyai viccē.Aarti
Light camphor and sing Ambe Tu Hai Jagdambe Kali with the family, circling the flame clockwise. Pass the aarti around so everyone can take its warmth.
Pradakshina — circle in reverence
Turn around clockwise in your place three times (or walk around the altar if there is room), saying this verse.
yāni kāni ca pāpāni janmāntarakr̥tāni ca. tāni tāni vinaśyanti pradakṣiṇapadē padē.Whatever wrongs were done in past lives are destroyed with every step taken around the Lord.Kshama prarthana — ask forgiveness
With folded hands, ask forgiveness for anything done wrong or left out. This closes every puja.
āvāhanaṁ na jānāmi na jānāmi visarjanam. pūjāṁ caiva na jānāmi kṣamasva paramēśvara. mantrahīnaṁ kriyāhīnaṁ bhaktihīnaṁ surēśvara. yatpūjitaṁ mayā dēva paripūrṇaṁ tadastu mē.I do not know how to invite you, nor how to send you off, nor even how to worship; forgive me, O Lord. Whatever I have offered — lacking in mantra, in action or in devotion — may it be made whole.Kanya pujan — on Ashtami or Navami
Invite two to nine young girls, and a small boy if your family does. Wash their feet, apply a tilak, serve them halwa, puri and chana, give a small gift, and touch their feet.
Close on Dashami
Offer a last flower and thank the Goddess. Sprinkle the kalash water around the home, keep some sprouted barley for blessings, and place the rest in a garden or under a plant.
Prasad
Bow down. Take a little of the offered food as prasad and share it with the family. Let the lamp burn out on its own.
Fasting
Many fast for all nine days on fruit, milk and fasting foods such as sabudana and kuttu; others fast on the first and last days. Follow your family and your health.
Good to do
- Keep the barley damp and the puja place clean through the nine days.
- Offer the day's flower and lamp at the same time each day if you can.
Tradition avoids
- Tradition avoids meat, alcohol, onion and garlic in the home through these days.
- Do not leave an unbroken lamp unwatched; a safe small lamp lit at puja time is enough.
Nine days are a long time for a busy home. A lamp, her name and one flower each day count as keeping Navratri.
Traditions vary. Follow your own family's way.