"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine
nights." The 9 Divine Nights.
Nava – that means 'new' – denotes
'nine' the number to which sages attach special significance. Hence we have
Nava-ratri (9 nights), Nava-patrika (9 leaves / herbs / plants), Nava-graha (9
planets), and Nava-Durga (9 appellations).
During Navaratri, we invoke the
energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to
as "Durga," which literally means the
remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi"
(goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which
helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. God
is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother Durga, does
everything. Her energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It
is always there.
Navaratri is divided into sets of
three days to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On the first
three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices
and defects. The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual
wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the
power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth. The final set of
three days is spent in worshipping the mother as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order have all-round success in life, the
blessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; worship for nine nights.
In 2012, Navaratri starts on
October 16 and ends on October 23.
Navaratri is celebrated with nine
nights of dancing. The traditional dances of Gujurat, known as garba and
dandiya raas, are performed in circles with dancers dressed up in colorful
clothes. Small, decorated sticks called dandiyas are used in the dandiya raas.
The worship, accompanied by
fasting, takes place in the mornings. Evenings are for feasting and dancing.
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