Today, September 22, 2025, is the start of Navarātri in India. Navarātri (literally “nine nights”) is celebrated across India for nine nights and ten days. The nine nights are nights of battle between good and evil, and the tenth day, Vijayadashami, is the day of victory of good over evil.
Navarātri is primarily a Goddess worship festival, and its history goes back at least to the early centuries of the common era, when Goddess worship became widespread across the Indian subcontinent.
The Goddess is worshipped in all her aspects in Hinduism. Sarasvati is the Goddess of wisdom and learning; Lakshmi is the Goddess of prosperity and fertility; Parvati is the divine Mother; Durga is the Mother who protects her children when they are in peril.
Hindu sacred texts such as the Devī Mahātmya and Devī Bhāgavata Purāna tell the story of Goddess Durgā and her slaying of the demon Mahishāsura following a fierce battle that lasted nine days and nights. On the tenth day, Mahishāsura was finally killed, and morality was restored.
The Story of Durgā Slaying Mahishāsura
Mahishāsura, the buffalo demon, was as powerful and ambitious as he was evil. He had earned a boon of invincibility through great penance, and having done so, went to war against the Gods, rampaging, destroying the cosmic order, and bringing in a reign of terror and evil.
What made Mahishāsura so formidable was his ability to shape-shift – he took on the forms of buffalo (symbolizing brute strength, resilience, and chaos), lion (symbolizing agility and speed), elephant (symbolizing mass and size), and human warrior (symbolizing intelligence, strategic thinking, and skill with weapons), changing at will in response to different situations.
Mahishāsura also had a massive army that included other terrifying demons. One of these was Raktabīja, the demon who could create a clone of himself out of every drop of his blood that was shed, resulting in a never-ending army of demons.
The Gods were at their wits’ ends. Indra, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and others, powerful as they were, could not defeat Mahishāsura and his army individually. So, they combined all of their powers (shakti) and created Goddess Durgā (also called Shakti).
It is interesting that the combined powers of all the Gods manifested as the divine feminine. This probably reflects how men tend to be driven by competition, while women are good at bringing people together. It took a Goddess to unite the Gods and inspire them to work together for a common purpose.
Durgā is depicted with many arms, each holding a different weapon – Shiva’s trident (trishūla), Vishnu’s disc (sudarshana chakra), and Indra’s thunderbolt (vajra), sword, spear, mace, and various other weapons given to her by the Gods. She rides the lion, a symbol of cosmic law, righteousness, courage, strength, and ferocity.
For nine days, Durgā waged war against Mahishāsura and his army, manifesting herself in different forms to defeat his different aspects. On the tenth day, with Mahishāsura taking on the form of a buffalo, Durgā finally pinned him down with her foot and beheaded him, restoring cosmic order.
Kālī and Her Symbolism
An important side chapter in the story is the defeat of Raktabīja, the demon who spawned countless clones of himself with every drop of his blood that fell to the ground. Overwhelmed and enraged, Durgā manifested as Kālī, the terrifying goddess with a dark complexion, wild hair, a garland of skulls, and a protruding tongue.
Kālī’s role was to drink Raktabīja’s blood before it touched the ground, preventing new demons from forming. Kālī devoured Raktabīja’s clones and drank his blood, ultimately enabling him to be slayed.
Kālī’s bloodlust and destructive energies, however, became uncontrollable after having defeated Raktabīja. To subdue her, Shiva lay down on the battlefield directly in her path. When frenzied Kālī stepped on Shiva, she was instantly calmed and came back to her senses.
Kālī symbolizes how great power can be harnessed for great good, but also has the potential to become uncontrollable and destructive, requiring moderation and stability to wield it.
Celebrating the Girl Child
A common feature of Navarātri celebrations across India is Kanyā Pujā, or the worship of pre-pubescent girls (kanyā), who are seen as living manifestations of the Goddess.
In every neighborhood, little girls dressed in great finery are invited to people’s homes and treated to specially prepared foods, sweets, and gifts. Protein-rich legumes are an essential component of food prepared for Kanyā Pujā as an offering to the Goddess and her living manifestations.
Regional Variations in Navarātri Celebrations
Durgā Pujā
In East India, Navarātri is celebrated as Durgā Pujā. Each neighborhood erects elaborately decorated pandāls (temporary structures) housing massive clay idols of the various forms of Durgā and the stories associated with each form. The festival features vibrant processions, traditional music and dance, recitation of the Devī Mahātmya, and offerings of fruits, flowers, and sweets.
On the tenth day, Vijayadashami, the idols are immersed in the river in an emotional culmination to the festival, symbolizing Durgā’s return to her divine abode and the impermanence of everything in life.
Golu
In South India, Navarātri is celebrated with golu, a tiered display of dolls depicting Gods, sages, mythological figures, ordinary people, animals and birds, in a hierarchy from top to bottom. The dolls are traditionally made of clay, wood, and other natural materials, and arranged in an odd number of tiers (typically 3, 5, 7, or 9).
Odd numbers are seen as incomplete or in motion and, therefore, symbolize the dynamic and transformative power of the Goddess.
Little girls in each neighborhood get together in the evenings and visit various houses to admire their golu display and eat sundal, a flavorful legume preparation. A different legume is cooked on each of the nine days.
The girls are egged on by the hosts to show off their artistic talents (singing or dancing) and lovingly sent home with gifts of jewelry and knick-knacks.
Garbā
In West India, especially Gujarat, Navarātri is synonymous with the vibrant folk dances of Garbā and Dandiya, performed nightly to honor Goddess Durgā, particularly her form as Ambā (“mother”). Garbā, derived from the Sanskrit word garbha (womb), symbolizes life, creation, and the divine feminine energy of the Goddess. Dancers move in circular patterns around a central clay lamp or Durgā idol, mimicking the rhythm of the universe, the cosmic cycle and the womb of existence.
Garbā is performed during each of the nine nights of Navarātri, with each night honoring a specific aspect of the Goddess. Before the dance beings, an āratī (ritual offering of light) is performed to invoke Durgā’s blessings.
Dussehrā
In North India, Navarātri (worshipping the Goddess) is celebrated alongside Dussehrā, which commemorates the battle between Prince Rāma of Ayodhyā and Rāvana, the ten-headed demon king of Lankā. Rāvana had kidnapped Rāma’s wife Sītā and many other women. Rāma went to war with him and eventually defeated him, rescuing his wife and the other women. The victory of Rāma over Rāvana (i.e., of good over evil) is celebrated as Vijayadashami.
The Rāmayana was originally composed in Sanskrit by the sage Vālmīki sometime around the 7th century BCE. However, after a highly popular vernacular adaptation was composed by the saint-poet Tulsidās in the 16th century, celebrations of Rāma’s victory over Rāvana became widespread as part of Navarātri in North India.
Rāmlīla, the dramatic reenactment of Rāma’s life, is performed in open-air stages across towns and villages during the nine nights of Navarātri, and on the 10th day, there is a grand Rāvan Dahan, or burning of Rāvana’s effigy, accompanied by fireworks and celebration to symbolize the destruction of evil.
Historically a Pre-Harvest Period of Fasting?
The Autumn Navarātri is celebrated with great pomp and splendor across India, and this may be the only Navarātri many young Indians are aware of. However, a Spring Navarātri is also widely observed in many parts of the country. Some people additionally observe a winter and summer Navarātri, but these are relatively more obscure.
A common feature of Navarātri across India is partial fasting. Many people avoid animal protein, pungent foods, and stale foods, limiting themselves to fresh, natural, and easily digestible sātvik foods for the duration of Navarātri. One theory is that this may be intended to boost immunity and promote physical health during a change of seasons.
However, an interesting aspect of fasting during Navarātri is the avoidance of staple grains such as rice and wheat, replacing them, instead, with tubers, legumes, and fruits. This, combined with the fact that the Autumn and Spring Navarātri fall right before the major harvesting periods in India, seems to indicate that Navarātri may originally have been a period of fasting observed during a period when grain stores were running low. As far back as the Rigveda (a pre 1500 BCE text), there are mentions of rituals tied to the end of the growing season that involved offerings of non-grain foods like roots and pulses.
One of the reasons little girls are prioritized for receiving nutritious food in the form of protein-rich legumes during Navarātri may be to make sure that the most vulnerable members of society are fed and looked after even during the lean period.
Both the Spring and Autumn Navarātri are closely followed by post-harvest festivals of abundance. Diwali falls a couple of weeks after the Autumn Navarātri. Similarly, the Hindu New Year is celebrated as a harvest festival of plenty across India roughly a week after the Spring Navarātri.
Similar Festival in Faraway Japan – Hina Matsuri
The Japanese festival of Hina Matsuri, which originated in the Heian period (794-1185), is strikingly similar to the South Indian golu in many ways, even though historians are yet to find a direct connection.
Hina Matsuri, which is celebrated on March 3 in Japan, prays for the healthy growth and future happiness of girl children while warding off evil sprits and misfortune.
The festival involves a display of Hina dolls, which represent the ancient imperial court, on a tiered platform. Similar to the Indian golu, Hina displays also have an odd number of tiers.
The timing of Hina Matsuri also roughly coincides with the spring Navarātri. In the past, Japan, like India, used the lunisolar calendar, and Hina Matsuri fell on the third day of the third lunisolar month (typically early April in the Gregorian calendar), coinciding with the blossoming of peach blossoms. Another name for Hina Matsuri, therefore, is Momo no Sekku (Peach Festival).
However, after Japan officially switched from the lunisolar calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the date for Hina Matsuri was standardized to fall on March 3 each year.
The world is more inter-connected than we realize.
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