What is the essence of Navarātri Vratam?
Navarātri is not a festival or celebration, unlike Diwali. Navarātri is a Vrat; it is a strict observance you undertake with the sole purpose of getting closer to Devi, attaining that purified state to receive the grace of Devi. It is time to connect with Devi one-on-one.
There are five main Navarātris every year, two of which have already passed. This is the third one, called Chaitra Navarātri. It differs significantly from the Sharad Navarātri, which we celebrate around September to October. It is also very different from the three other Gupt Navarātri, during which Dasa Mahavidyas are worshipped.
But during Chaitra Navarātri, the cosmological and astrological elements present an excellent opportunity to connect with the Mula Prakriti. It is the season of new beginnings, which is why even Ugadi is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra Navarātri. The energy in the atmosphere is entirely different. It is an excellent time to connect with Devi and submerge in Her essence.
Why the nine nights of Navarātri?
In its simplest form, Navarātri is an auspicious occasion consisting of nine nights during which we immerse ourselves in the grand essence of Devi.
But why?
Why only these days?
Because on these nine nights, she fought the powerful Asura Mahishasura, who was not defeated even by all the Devas and Trimurti together and was born in the lineage of Brahma through Rishi Kashyapa and Danu (daughter of Prajapati and sister of Devi Sati).
So, during these nine nights, a lot of Her essence was released into this Universe before She finally killed him on the tenth day of Vijaya Dashami. The Vrata of Navarātri reminds us to surrender ourselves to the Great Devi and dwell in Her supreme motherhood.
Important Links:
1. How to take Navarātri Sankalpam (click here)
2. How to correctly pronounce the Mantra - Navarna Mantra (click here)
3. How to install the Mantra on your palms - Kara Nyasa (click here)
4. How to place the Yantra during Kalasha Sthapana (click here)
5. To understand Devi in-depth and to improve your Sadhanas (click here)
6. To download the Yantra (click here)
7. Amba Stuthi or Durga Saptashloki (click here)
START OF SANKALPA PROCESS
How to take Sankalpa for Navarātri?
Sankalpa means an oath or a vow signifying that no matter what difficulty, you will perform the Vratam. The Sankalpa for Navarātri simply means that ‘To accomplish all your desires, to destroy all your sins, to the best of your abilities, you will do the Navarātri Vrata’. For Video and Pronunciation (
click here)
I will give the meaning of each word here:
अथ atha - Hereby, now upon
शुभ दिने śubha dine - This auspicious day
शुभ मुहुर्ते śubha muhurte - This auspicious time
मम सर्वाभीष्ट सिद्ध्यर्थे mama sarvābhīṣṭa siddhyarthe - For the accomplishment of all my desires ( mama - mine, sarva - all,abhīṣṭa - desires, siddhyarthe - for accomplishment or fulfilment)
मम समस्तपापक्षयार्थे mama samastapāpakṣayārthe - For destroying all my sins (mama - mine, samasta - all, pāpa - sins, kṣayārthe - for reducing or destroying)
यथाशक्ति yathāśakti - To the best of my abilities
अहं नवरात्रि व्रतं करिष्ये ahaṃ navarātri vrataṃ kariṣye - I am doing this Navarātri Vrata
इतिः मम दृढ सन्कल्पम् itiḥ mama dṛḍha sankalpam - This is my absolute vow or oath
Keep the water with all the ingredients in your Puja room or home for nine days, then finally dispose of the water and rice at a nearby tree or plant on the tenth day, and donate the coin to someone in need. Make sure you take only 3-4 grains of rice in an ample amount of water.
Timing for taking Sankalpa:
The best time to take Sankalpa depends on your location. So, it's best to check any online Panchang and enter your location accordingly. The one I generally refer to online is here (click here). Consider Ghatasthapana Muhurat for taking sankalpa.
END OF SANKALPA PROCESS
Four mandatory things to do during Navarātri:
1. FIRST POINT: Chant one Mantra with Kara Nyasa and the following Stotras
Kara Nyasa is the method of installing the Deity or Mantra on both palms. This is the best way to activate our body to receive the energies of the Devi and the Mantra.
There are more than 16 Nyasa procedures. No need to bother about them for now; I will teach them in the days to come. As of now, please do only Kara Nyasa. (click here)
The Mantra you will be chanting is called the Navarna mantra. Now, understand that there are many different Navarna mantras. Navarna Mantra simply means a Mantra with nine syllables. There are multiple such mantras with nine syllables. I will give clear pronunciation and a method for chanting the Navarna mantra that gives the best results (click here).
ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे
aing hrīng klīng cāmuṇḍāyai vicce
You can chant it for one round (108 times) or up to three rounds. You can also use any existing beads or mala (Rudraksha, Spatika, etc.) or count on your fingers.
How to do Kara Nyasa?
As you chant each of the Mantra below, touch parts of both your palms
ॐ ऐं अंगुष्ठाभ्यां नमः ।
ॐ aing anguṣṭhābhyāṃ namaḥ |
(Touch the origin of the thumb with the index fingers of both hands)
ॐ ह्रीं तर्जनीभ्यां नमः ।
ॐ hrīng tarjanībhyāṃ namaḥ |
(Touch the index fingers with both thumbs)
ॐ क्लीं मध्यमाभ्यां नमः ।
ॐ klīng madhyamābhyāṃ namaḥ |
(Touch the middle fingers with both thumbs)
ॐ चामुण्डायै अनामिकाभ्यां नमः ।
ॐ cāmuṇḍāyai anāmikābhyāṃ namaḥ |
(Touch the ring fingers with both thumbs)
ॐ विच्चे कनिष्ठिकाभ्यां नमः ।
ॐ vicce kaniṣṭhikābhyāṃ namaḥ |
(Touch the little fingers with both thumbs)
ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे करतलकरपृष्ठाभ्यां नमः ।
ॐ aing hrīng klīng cāmuṇḍāyai vicce karatalakarapṛṣṭhābhyāṃ namaḥ |
(Touch front of your palms and their back side)
Check the Kara Nyasa video above for correct movements.
In Addition,
You have to chant one Stotra of Devi along with this one Mantra. It can be either
Argala Stotra, Siddha Kunjika Stotra, Tantroktam Devi Suktam, Mahishasura Mardini Stotra, Amba Stuthi or Lalita sahasranama. You can chant just one of them, or if you know all, then you can chant all of them. Note, you have to understand their meaning thoroughly before you chant them.
There are two critical points while chanting Stotras: pronunciation and meaning must be understood clearly. One must also emotionally chant it with feeling. Never chant mechanically.
Best ones to chant - Argala Stotra, Siddha Kunjika Stotra and Lalita Sahasranama. If you don’t have time, then chant atleast Argala for the nine nights. If you can’t chant for all nine nights then atleast on Sandhya Kaal of Ashtami Tithi.
Do you need Diksha and Initiation to chant these?
You don’t need Diksha or initiation to chant these Mantras or Stotras. Diksha is given for a different reason. It is to initiate one, to a tradition by transfer of consciousness, which a Guru does after thoroughly testing a student.
Mantras and Stotras given to us by the scriptures are for us to chant and benefit from. Why else would they be provided in the scriptures otherwise?
Back in the day, thousands of years ago, there were no books, the Internet, or social media. One had to learn the Mantra from a person. There was no other means to transfer that knowledge. That is why, in Devi Saptasathi, too, Rishi Sumedha gave the Mantra to Suratha and Samadhi to practise. He didn’t do anything else there. He didn’t give his powers and energy to them. He simply told them about Devi's greatness and asked them to chant this Mantra. That’s all.
Guru and Diksha are required for different reasons, but not for Navarātri vratam. I have included a complete chapter on this in the Devi Rahasyam book, explaining different types of Diksha and when you receive them. Do refer to it. I will also include the link to the Instagram post for reference on Diksha (click here).
2. SECOND POINT: Read the scriptures of Devi.
Every day, set aside time to read Devi's scriptures. You can read the Devi Bhagavad Purana (click here), Devi Mahatmyam (click here), or any other scripture of Devi.
For whatever reason, if you can’t read any of these, then you can read Devi Rahasyam book, too. The point is to immerse ourselves in the glory and grandeur of Devi. So, any Devi book is fine.
3. THIRD POINT: Very Important, that is Brahmacharya
You are observing a Vratam of the Great Devi. So, you have to maintain Brahmacharya. Now, Brahmacharya does not mean just celibacy. Celibacy is just one of the points of Brahmacharya. Multiple other things come along with Brahmacharya.
So, during Navarātri, one will have to follow a few points, such as being mindful of one’s thoughts and actions, celibacy, and fasting (if complete fasting is not possible, then eating less than regular).
Haviṣyānna is considered the best. It is prepared by boiling rice and moong dal in ghee, milk, and jaggery.
Fasting is the best, but if one can’t fast for nine days, then just have one or two meals daily. Please don’t overindulge in food. Please don’t use solid spices and pungent herbs. No onion, garlic, or heavy seasoning. Light food only.
The point is to focus on Devi and not on making delicious recipes without onion, garlic, etc. Haviṣyānna can also be offered as Naivedya and later consumed.
4. FOURTH POINT: Kalasha Sthapana is not Mandatory.
One must perform the Aarti of Devi every day after chanting the above Mantra and Stotras.
The Devi Bhagavad Purana clearly instructs us to worship the four-handed or eighteen-handed Murti or image of Devi as first preference.
Only in the absence of such an image or murti, one can do Kalasha Sthapana along with the Navarna Yantra, etc. Kalasha Sthapana or Ghatha Sthapana is not mandatory for Navarātri.
You can read more about Navarātri Vratam (click here and scroll to page 271 of the pdf. Book 3, Chapter 26 of Devi Bhagavad Purana, particularly verse 21).
END OF 4 MANDATORY POINTS
How to draw the Yantra for Navartari?
Please note that the Devi Bhagavad Purana clearly states that a Kalasha must be installed along with the Devi Yantra. Otherwise, just think where and how the energy or power of the Mantra and Deity is held or contained for nine days? To know about how it works (click here)
This is the original Navarna Yantra which the Purana mentions of.
Now, drawing this is difficult and can be very confusing, so a simple diagram is presented here. You can even print this. Link to download Yantra here to print (click here)
Now this is the simplified version of the Yantra. You simply have to write the nine syllables of the Navarna Mantra along with the other lines and petals. You can either draw it on paper, print it or draw it next to the Kalasha with rice powder. You will see that all nine syllables of the Devi Navarna Mantra are written in the specific order. Just follow that order, and that is the simplest Yantra you can have for Navarātri. You can draw from any direction or any point.
Please note that if you want to draw or invoke the actual Yantra, or learn it, it will take more than two years. This blog is about ‘How to perform Navartari in the simplest way’, not in a detailed or advanced way. So let’s not get confused and do the best with what we have at hand. It’s more important that you chant and pray to Devi than searching for the perfect Yantra, perfect Kalasha or perfect procedure. Because frankly, none exist. I will talk about this in the next blog or post.
END OF NAVARTARI YANTRA
What to offer Devi during Navarātri?
For Naivedyam, Haviṣyānna is considered the best. It is prepared by boiling rice and moong dal in ghee, milk, and jaggery.
But two other things that are very important and considered auspicious to offer to Devi are - Red Sandalwood paste and Bilva Patra. These can be offered to Devi on all nine days during Puja. If you are doing Shodasha Upachara, it is an excellent way to integrate these two into your Upacharas.
If not, then offer it to Devi, atleast during the Sandhya Kaal of Ashtami Tithi. The Sandhya Kaal changes based on your location. (click here)
You should keep certain points in mind before selecting Bilva Patra and when making the red sandalwood paste.
Regarding Bilva Patra:
- The leaves should be Komal, which are fresh and newly bloomed.
- Each Bilva Patra you offer should have three leaves.
- None of the Bilva Patra should have any holes or tears.
- If you are picking the leaves yourself from the tree. Then, first, bow down to the Bilva Tree and state that you are seeking the leaves to offer to Devi.
- If you are buying from the market, make sure you wash it thoroughly and check it carefully.
Regarding Rakta Chandan:
- There are stone plates with coarse textures that is actually used to grind sandalwood. It is best if you use that stone to make paste.
- If not, use red sandalwood powder and mix it with enough water to make a paste.
- The paste should be not be very thick or very watery. It should have the consistency of something like a thick curd.
- It should not solidify soon, nor should it be run down by water.
- This paste can be applied to an image of Devi or anoint the Murti of Devi. Or simply keep it at Devi's feet.
Argala Stotra Audio link (click here)
Other noteworthy posts to read:
1. Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate Navaratri (click here)
2. Immense benefits of Argala Stotra (click here)
3. The actual reality of Diksha that no one tells (click here)
4. Four changes you will observe after Devi Sadhanas (click here)
5. Devi's intervention in the Mahabharata (click here)
6. If you don't feel like praying, force it. Because something else is also forcing you not to pray (click here)
2 comments
Thank you for sharing the details on what needs to be done during Navratri. As you have mentioned there is a particular time frame for taking the Sankalpa on the first day, could you please advise if the remaining such as navarna mantra, kara nyasa, stotra chanting should be done within the same period every day or is there any other specific time?
Harekrishna Prabhuji,
Heartfelt gratitude for sharing, guiding and illuminating our life on spirituality. The Devi Bhagavad Purana and Devi Mahatmayam, the stotrams are written in Sanskrit and not translated in English. Whereas the explanation is in completely in English.
How to go about it? This has been an issue with all the online books, and offline book stores.
Dandawat Pranam you you.
Best regards – Ganesh.