Navratri 2020, one of the biggest festivals getting celebrated throughout India. God is praised in many forms all over the world. In India, Goddess Durga is praised in different forms by the devotees during the nine days of Navratri. All Hindus celebrate this festival with great zeal, joy and devotion. The word “Navratri� means “Nine Nights� in the Sanskrit language.

During these sacred nine nights and ten days of Navratri, nine forms of Goddess Durga are venerated. According to the Hindu Panchang, the festival of Navratri occurs four times in a year but it is majorly celebrated in the two Hindu months named Chaitra and Sharad.

Navratri 2020: Goddess Durga & Her Nine Manifestos

• Goddess Shailputri- The daughter of the Parvat Raj (King of mountains).
• Goddess Brahmacharini- The Goddess who matches Lord Brahma in his Penance.
• Goddess Chandraghanta- The Goddess who shines like the moon.
• Goddess Kushmanda- The whole world bows at her feet.
• Goddess Skandmata- Mother of God Kartik Swami or Skand Kumar.
• Goddess Katyayani- The Goddess born in the ashram of Rishi Katyayan.
• Goddess Kalratri- The Goddess who is known to kill the evil or darkness.
• Goddess Mahagauri- The Goddess adorning white color, which means pure.
• Goddess Siddhidatri- The Goddess who blesses with everything

Navratri 2020: Chaitra Navratri

In this part of Navratri 2020 we will talk about Chaitra Navratri and its importance. Chaitra Navratri is one of the major festivals celebrated by the Hindus, in which people fast and praise the Goddesses with utmost devotion for nine consecutive days. It is believed that worshipping Goddess Durga brings health, wealth and happiness in one’s life and frees one of all the problems in life.

Apart from this, Navratri is known to provide mental peace to the one who celebrates the festival with devotion. During this time, the families and homes are filled with positive vibes all around. Chaitra Navratri is celebrated in the month of March or April according to the Georgian calendar.

Navratri 2020: Auspicious Muhurat for Ghatasthapana

Note: Above mentioned muhurat is applicable in New Delhi.

Navratri 2020: Shardiya Navratri

The Shukla Paksha in Ashwin month of the Hindu Panchang is the time when Sharad Navratri is celebrated by Hindus. It is after the Shardiya Navratri that it starts getting cold in India. Hence this Navratri marks the beginning of the winter season, especially in North India. During the Shardiya Navratri, Goddess Durga is praised in all her glory for nine days where the family members fast and pray for the happiness and peace of everyone.

This festival is celebrated in various parts of India in different ways with great zeal. These nine days are considered auspicious by the Hindus and this is the reason any auspicious event like weddings are conducted during this time.

Navratri 2020: Auspicious Muhurat for Ghatasthapana

Note: Above mentioned muhurat is applicable in New Delhi.

Navratri 2020: Mythological Significance

According to a popular tale, for gaining victory in the battle of Lanka from Ravana, Lord Brahma asked Lord Rama to offer 104 Blue Lotus to Goddess Chandi to make her happy. To create disturbance in the prayer, Ravana made one of the flowers disappear with the help of his powers. This way, Lord Rama felt that his prayer will go useless without the total of 104 Blue Lotuses. It was then when Lord Rama remembered that he was known by the name of “Kamal Nayan� which means “Lotus Eyes�. Lord Rama decided to offer one of his eyes to the Goddess as an offering along with the leftover 103 Blue Lotuses. When Lord Rama was about to take his eye out, Goddess Chandi appeared and gave him her blessings to win the battle.

There is another tale according to which the Devtas got impressed with Mahishasur due to his devotion and prayers and decided to bless him with the power of being invincible. The Devtas were afraid that he might use this power in a wrong way and he proved them right by extending the way of hell till the doors of heaven. All the Devtas decided to end his powers, created Goddess Durga with their powers and provided her with their weapons to bring his evil deeds to an end.

Goddess Durga fought Mahishasur for 9 days and in the end, won the fight by killing him. That is why Goddess Durga is also popularly known as “Mahishasur Mardini�.

Navratri 2020: Navratri as per Hindu Panchang

Most of the people only know about Navratri as a festival celebrated in the Hindu months of Chaitra and Shardiya, but Navratri comes four times in a year. According to the Hindu calendar, Navratri comes in the months of Paush, Chaitra, Aashad and Ashwin. In all these months, the first nine days of the month’s beginning are venerated as Navratri.

The Navratri in the Hindu month of Chaitra is known as “Badi Navratri� or “Basant Navratri� and the one in the month of Ashwin is known as “Chhoti Navratri� or “Shardiya Navratri�. Out of the manifesto of Goddess Durga, “Tulja Bhawani� is known as “Badi Mata� and “Chamunda Mata� is known as the “Choti Mata�.

“Chhote Navratri� or Shardiya Navratri is celebrated with great zeal by the Hindus, as this is the time when Durga Puja and other festivals are celebrated in the country. The Navratri which occurs in the Hindu months of Ashad and Paush is known as “Gupt Navratri�. This Navratri is considered very fruitful and many people worship Goddess Kali, Goddess Taradevi, Goddess Tripura Sundari, Goddess Bhuvneshwari, Goddess Chinnamasta, Goddess Tripura Bhairavi, Goddess Dhumavati, Goddess Bagalamukhi, Goddess Matangi and Goddess Kamala Devi.

Navratri 2020: Why is Gupt Navratri Celebrated?

In this update of Navratri 2020 we will explain you about the Gupt Navratri and its reason for celebration. It is believed that during the sleeping period of Lord Vishnu, the good powers decrease on the Earth, hereby increasing the evil powers. Hence, Goddess Durga is worshipped at the time of Gupt Navratri to protect from evil forces. Shardiya Navratri is celebrated with more zeal. The whole nation is filled with the joy of festivity during the Shardiya Navratri. Ganesh Utsav is celebrated in Maharashtra and after the completion of Pitru Paksha after Ganeshutsav, Navratri begins. People give up meat, alcohol, onion and garlic during this time.

People pray Goddess Durga during these nine days with all the devotion. In Gujarat, “Dandiya� and “Garba� are performed by the people during Navratri. Garba is performed before Aarti and Dandiya is performed after the Aarti.

Navratri 2020: Food Eaten During Navratri Fasts

People prefer eating fruits during the fast in Navratri. People take fast for the whole day with devotion and eat Kuttu, yogurt, milk, sabudana, potatoes or other things which are considered as forms of fruits. Normal salt is not eaten by the people who do fasting and a special type of salt is added to the food along with chilli.

Navratri 2020: Navratri Mantra

In this section of Navratri 2020 update let’s talk about why people worship young girls in Navratri. People fast for nine days during Navratri and on the last day, cook dishes like halwa, chana and poori for young girls and feed them as an offering as they are considered the forms of Goddess Durga. Some people perform this ritual on the eighth day of Navratri, while some do it on the ninth day.

A two year old girl is known as “Kumari�, three years old is known as “Trimurti�, four years old is known as “Rohini�, a six year old is known as “Kalika�, a seven year old is known as “Chandika�, eight year old is known as “Shambhavi�, nine year old is known as “Durga� and a ten year old is known as “Subhadra�.

It is believed according to the Hindu Shastra that a girl older than 10 years cannot be worshipped during the Navratri. The reason behind this is that after 10 years, hormonal changes occur in the body of a girl.

We hope that you liked our article about Navratri 2020 and hope that your life stays blissful. We wish you and your family a very Happy Navratri!