Navratri A Festival to Worship Divine Mother

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Rameshk

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Navratri is a Sanskrit language word in which Nava means Nine and Ratri means nights. This a blessed opportunities for the worshipers of the Divine Mother. These nights are devoted to Goddess Durga (Maa Durga) who exists in many forms and is the manifestation of the absolute energy that pervades the Universe. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti are worshiped. Which are: Shailputri, Brahmcharñi, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. During the festival of Navratri fasting take preference over all normal daily activities amongst the Hindus.
 
The Navratri or Durga festival is starting in the end of this month which is from 25th Sep to 03 Oct 2014. So start your preparations for navratri keeping the date in mind.
 
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Those images of the shakti are simply beautiful. Thanks for sharing this festival, it sounds like a truly profound experience!

A couple questions:

I seem to remember Durga somehow being associated with the horrific image of Kali. Can anyone elaborate on this?

What part of India is this festival normally observed? Is it overseen by a priesthood? What are the socioeconomic realities of the people who would normally celebrate Navrati?
 
theophony said:
I seem to remember Durga somehow being associated with the horrific image of Kali. Can anyone elaborate on this?

What part of India is this festival normally observed? Is it overseen by a priesthood? What are the socioeconomic realities of the people who would normally celebrate Navrati?
Click to expand...

Durga and Kali are both particularly predominant in Bengal.

Navarathri is observed in all parts of India by the Shakta sect. Other Hindus may or may not celebrate it. There are many regional variations.

Yes, a temple priesthood would oversee it at temples, but its also done in homes. It's a festival done along all classes of people so there would be no socio-economic implications.

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=3073
 
theophony said:
I seem to remember Durga somehow being associated with the horrific image of Kali. Can anyone elaborate on this?

What part of India is this festival normally observed? Is it overseen by a priesthood? What are the socioeconomic realities of the people who would normally celebrate Navrati?
Click to expand...
You associate 'the horrific image of Kali' with Durga, we find it a Mother in terrific anger to save her progeny and destroy those who threaten it, like a female lioness. Kali is still the Mother. And Mother is always the resort of her progeny. She had to take this form when confronted with a demon (Raktabeeja - whose every drop of blood touching the ground will produce his clone, he had such a boon). So, the Mother would strike him and collect the blood in a gourd and drink it, not letting even a drop fall on the ground. In this way she killed Raktabeeja and at the same time honored the boon. So goes the story. :)

Mother Goddess in her (literally) thousands of forms is worshiped all over India by every section of the society. Most villages had their distinct Mother Goddesses (today we have some 500,000 villages). Hinduism assimilated them all in the form of Durga. Don't you think it was a master stroke, without the need to break any idol? 'Nava ratri' (Nine nights dedicated to the Mother Goddess).
 
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