नवरात्री – Navaratri: Nine Nights

Navaratri means nine nights. It starts on the first day of the Dasain festival. Devotees visit nine different goddesses: one each goddess early in the morning and then in the evening.

Nine different goddesses are the manifestations of the Goddess Durga Bhavani. Each one of these goddesses is located on the periphery of ancient towns. They protect the towns from the evil spirits.

A myth has it that one goddess after another appeared on each of the nine nights of ‘navaratri’, and fought against the demons, and finally on the tenth day, all of them together fought against the demons and defeated them. So, on the tenth day, devotees make offerings to the eighteen-limbed Durga Bhavani, and celebrate the victory of good over evil.

Nine goddesses devotee visit in succession are Brahmayani, Maheswori, Kumari, Bhadrakali, Barahi, Indrayani, Mahakali, Mahalaxmi, and Tripurasundari.

Usually, the goddesses are located next to a small river or a pond where devotees take a dip in the water or simply scoop water in their hands and wash their faces before visiting each goddess. In the evening, devotees visit the same goddess they had visited in the morning to offer light.