9 Goddesses You Should Worship This Maha Navaratri To Gain Health, Wealth And Liberation
Various legends abound about the origin and significance of the great, dazzlingly beautiful and colorful festival of Maha Navaratri, but the common thread running through them all is that it is celebrated to pay our obeisance to the Goddess Durga. Marking the beginning of the festive season, for nine days and nights, across the length and breadth of the country, the festival is celebrated with great pomp and ceremony. In Gujarat, where it is celebrated with the greatest enthusiasm, day merges seamlessly into night and night into day as people, young and old alike, take to the folk dance called Garba. Concentric circles of dancers in myriad-colored chaniya-cholis and dhoti-kurtas move in rhythmic steps to the beats of enchanting music, with an idol of Goddess Durga placed in an improvised temple in the center of the arena. Navaratri festivities are not restricted to Gujarat and India, but it is celebrated across the world wherever Indians reside. Goddess Durga has nine incarnations, and one each is worshiped on each of the nine days of the festival. A brief account of the significance of the nine incarnations follow: