Shardiya Navratri 2023 Puja Vidhi: Follow These Rituals to Please Goddess Durga

Navratri festival is dedicated to Goddess Durga. During this nine-day festival, people worship nine forms of Maa Durga. True devotion to the goddess can relieve a person of all their troubles. During Navratri nine forms of Goddess Durga, known as Navdurga, are worshipped with each day dedicated to an incarnation. During these auspicious days, many devotees observe a fast and follow specific rituals to seek blessings of Navdurga.

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Navratri Puja Vidhi

Ensure that you follow the rituals noted below to successfully complete the Navratri Puja Vidhi.

1. On the first day of Navratri, take a vow to fast for nine days or two days. Hold water in your hand, along with akshat (raw rice), flowers, a betel nut, and a coin. Make your resolution for fulfilling your desires and then offer the water at the feet of the goddess.
2. Those fasting should wake up early, take a bath, purify their homes with Ganga water, and prepare for the puja. Offer a sacred bath to the goddess with
   

   pure water

   and milk. Light lamps, recite the mantras, and chant Durga Saptashati. Use kumkum, sandalwood, akshat, flowers, and fragrances in the puja, offer sweets, and perform the aarti. Some people also keep a continuous lamp burning throughout the nine days.

3. Those observing the fast should perform the puja with devotion in the morning and evening and offer her bhog or prasad. After the morning puja, they should have a light sattvik meal. The evening puja is followed by another meal, which can be a fruit or a light dish. If fasting is not possible, a regular meal can be consumed after the evening puja.
4. If possible, offer food to a young girl (kanya) daily after the puja and offer dakshina (a small gift).
5. Break your fast on the ninth day by serving a meal to nine young girls (kanyas), seeking their blessings, and this concludes the Navratri fast.

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Rules for Navratri Puja

To complete the Navratri Puja Vidhi successfully, you need to follow some basic rules that include avoiding “tamasic” or impure foods during Navratri. These restrictions include avoiding garlic, onions, meat, and consuming leftovers from someone else’s plate. In addition, refrain from cutting hair and nails during Navratri. Avoid sleeping during the day.

Also, make sure to wake up in the “Brahma Muhurat” or before sunrise, take a bath, and avoid lying or getting angry. Control your senses, and do not let impure thoughts enter your mind. Further, cutting lemons during the nine days of fasting is not allowed. Moreover, fasting individuals should refrain from wearing black clothes and leather items like belts or shoes.