NAVARATHRI

NAVARATHRI, THE NINE DAYS OF DEVI 

        Navarathri or the nine nights is a very auspicious period for Hindus. In the north it is celebrated as the period of the war between Ravana and Sri Rama whose victory is celebrated on the 10th day called vijaya Dasami.  Moving to the east it is Durga Puja time with the worship of Mother Durga as the vanquisher of the demonic forces of Mahishasura, Shumba and Nishumba. In the south again it is predominantly the worship of Devi in her more benign form of Tri Shakti – Maha lakshmi, Maha Kali and Maha Saraswati. It is time for fasting, fun and frolick in the west which celebrates the Rasa lila of Lord Krishna with garbha and dandia dances and observance of austerities to propitiate Radha Krishna.
       
        According to shastras there are at least three Navarathris – Vasantha Navarathri which is celebrated during the period of March - April and culminates with the celebration of Sri Rama Navami; Ashada Navarathri which falls during June – July (the month of Adi as per the Tamil calendar) and the Sharada Navarathri which occurs during the months of September – October. Sharada Navarathri is the one celebrated as most auspicious for Devi worship as its fame is expounded by none other than Devi Herself in the great Devi Mahatmyam.  The Goddess is worshipped as Chandika Parameshwari whose form embraces Her three swaroopas as Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswathi.

        The period of Navarathri is considered to be very auspicious throughout the country. In the north it is dedicated to Lord Rama and his vanquishing the demon Ravana to redeem Devi Sita from her plight. It is a battle of good over evil where the good triumphs.  Ravana the great grandson of Brahma Deva himself became unruly after he got the boons from the Creator that neither demon nor deva could kill him.  He thought that man was too weak and foresaw no threat from the humans. The Lord incarnated as Sri Rama, the son of Dasaratha of Ayodhya and got himself banished from the kingdom by the wily queen Kaikeyi who wanted her son Bharata to become the king by claiming from the old king Dasaratha two boons – one that her son should become the king and that Sri Rama should be banished from the kingdom for fourteen long years.

        Sri Rama along with his consort Sri Sita and his brother Laksmana entered the dandakaranya forest where they rid the forests of the demons Kara and Dhushana who were step brothers of the mighty demon king of Lanka Ravana.  Hearing about the beauty of Sita from his sister Surpanaka who was chastened by Lakshmana for intruding on the privacy of Sri Rama and Sita, Ravana took Sita captive and held her in his fortress in Srilanka.  With the help of vanaras like Hanuman and Sugreeva and the king of bears Jambavan, Sri Rama crossed the mighty ocean and killed Ravana and his brothers and sons in a fierce battle that raged for 9 days and reclaimed Sita Mata. 

        The entire episode of Ramayana is a drama performed by the divine to show humanity about the vanity of sensual pleasures which Ravana represents. Ravana was otherwise a highly erudite scholar who could win over the Supreme Lord Shiva by his penance and sama gana.  His prowess was such that he could even move the great mountain Kailas with the intent of uprooting the same with the Lord dear to him and to establish the divine mountain in his abode at Srilanka.  So, in the fitness of things Sri Rama enacted the play of being banished from the kingdom and spent about 13 years in the forests and suffered the pangs of separation from his beloved wife Sita just to build up a valid reason to combat Ravana. Sri Rama is the Maryada Purursha a beacon to all mankind.  Ramayana parayana is done during the Navarathri and on the 10th day, Vijayadasami the annihilation of the demonic forces in the form of Ravana and his mighty army that lead us away from our self is celebrated by enactment of Ravana vadha by burning his effigy and the union of Sita with Sri Rama depicting the union of the self with the supreme is contemplated.

        Sri Krishna, the Supreme Lord Maha Vishnu’s poorna Avataram, spent His childhood in the company of the gopas and gopis of vraja at Brindavan.  The playful Krishna enchanting the gopis and make them pine for Him shunning their familial duties is the theme of Rasa leela.  The gopis represent the entire creation which pines for union with the supreme energy.  In the rasa leela Krishna dances with the gopis and suddenly does the vanishing act. He is then seen with one gopi. When the other looks at this with envy, He is by her side too and there are as many Krishnas as there are gopis.  What else can more explicitly describe that the Lord is with each one of us irrespective of our attainments. 

        Sri Krishna Radha leela vibuthi is to be understood in the context of the interplay of the Supreme Purusha and Prakriti (nature).  God created this universe  for His enjoyment and took the form of Parama purusha and Prakriti came along as mother nature to give Him company. Radha Ma is not mentioned in the Bhagavatham after Sri Krishna departs from Brindavan to Mathura nor does the Lord turn back to her when he is established as the prince of Mathura.  It is so because both the Purusha and Prakriti are complete in themselves with wherever Radha is there is Krishna and with Krishna there is always Radha – the concept of the inseparable Shiva – Shakti.

        In the land of Sri Krishna, Gujarat, Navarathri is celebrated as the period of Ras.  The womenfolk  undertake fasting and offer prayers to Radha – Krishna and dance with the menfolk like the gopis did eons ago expressing their love for the Lord.  Garbha means the womb or denotes pregnancy.  The dance is performed around an earthen vessel containing an earthen lamp which represents the Supreme Shakti Devi Durga who is the sister of Sri Krishna.  The dance is performed by going around in circles around the central lamp which represents that the Shakti moves all around Her while she Herself is unmoving. 

        Dandiya raas is another form of dancing performed with striking of sticks held in the hands of the dancers to the rhythm of dolak beat. Again, like in the Garbha, the dancers move around an earthen lamp or image of goddess Durga kept in the centre.  Some say that the sticks represent swords and the dance is an enactment of the Goddess fighting the evil forces of Mahishasura.

        Durga Pooja is the most colourful of festivals of East India.  The preparations start months in advance with the artisans taking clay from the Ganges river for making images of the Goddess which is beautifully decorated in Pandals where puja is offered from the sixth day of Navarathri till Vijaya dasami (Bijoya). The theme is Mahishasura vada. Chandi paat, the recitation of Devi Saptasathi (700 slokas of Devi Bhagavatham which recounts the avirbhavam of Devi as Maha Kali, Mahalakshmi and Maha Saraswathi) is conducted in the households and in the Pandals and pushpanjali is offered to the Deity.  The evening Aarti performed to the Devi’s image is something out of this world with the priest waving the lamp in front of the image to the reverberating drum beats.  On the Vijaya dasami day people greet each other with Shubo Bijoya in celebration of Devi’s victory over the asuras.  It is a tearful farewell for the wonderful images of the Devi on the vijaya dasami day when the women folk dance around the image and smear vermillion on the cheeks of one another.  The images are then taken in a procession and immersed in the Ganga returning the Devi to where she came from.

        In the south Navarathri is celebrated by special poojas and havans performed in Temples and Muts. Sri Chandi homam is always performed on the Maha Navami day, the ninth day of Navarathri.  The first three days are dedicated to the worship of Goddess Maha Kali or Durga.  The next three days are the days of Goddess Maha Lakshmi and in the final three days are worshipped Goddess Saraswathi.  Householders decorate their houses with beautiful motifs and kolams (Rangoli). They build a gallery where idols of various Gods and Goddesses as well as other objects are exhibited. This is called kolu which means to hold court (darbar).  Normally the kolu is kept in five, seven or nine steps.  A sacred pot containing water or rice decorated with mango leaves and coconut is kept on the top step. It is customary to keep the idols of Devi in the second step from the top, the various avatars of Lord Maha Vishnu on the third step.  Various idols representing Ramayana and Maha bharata, the foremost of the epics of India are kept along with the forms of other gods and goddesses.  Figures of humans and animals are also displayed which makes one feel that the entire creation ranging from Gods to insects are permeated with divinity.  The women folk dress up for the evening and invite their friends and relatives to come and see the display.  Different types of Sundal (a delicacy made from pulses) is made every day and distributed to the visitors as Prasad.  Turmeric and Kumkum are given to the sumangalis who come and compulsorily made to display their musical knowledge.  It is fun time for the children in visiting the kolus of their neighbours and running around the house to the accompaniment of the rustling of their silk skirts. 

        On the Maha Navami day Saraswathi pooja is performed when all the books and instruments are kept near the kolu and worshipped as the embodiment of the Goddess of Learning.  On the tenth day, the books are ceremonially opened and read with the belief that with the blessings of the Goddess of Learning one will not be found wanting in studies.  Vijayadasami is also celebrated as Ayudha pooja, the time for worshipping all sorts of machines and tools like what the Bengalis do on Vishwakarma pooja day.  All the machinery and equipments including vehicles are cleaned and decorated with sandal paste and flower garlands.  Truly the Indian way of paying respect to ones tools emphasizing that divinity does not stop with only animate objects and that it is very much present in inanimate objects as well.

        In Karnataka Navarathri is celebrated as dussera with the king of Mysore (Mahishoor), the place believed to be the spot where Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura, observing austerities and offering pooja at the Sri Chamundeeswari temple.  The dussera procession of the king visiting the temple of Chamundeeswari in all his regal splendor is something worth watching in the years of yore before royalty gave way to democracy.