Chaitra Navratri 2018: Why we celebrate the navratri? All you need to know

New Delhi : Talk about festivals and you’ll find each one hold its specific significance. Like most Hindu festivals, Chaitra Navratri, also carries importance in the life of devotees. It is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga and her nine avatars.  This year, the festival will start from 18th March and will conclude on 26th March.

As per the Hindu festival calendar there are four Navratris in a year. But, the most widely celebrated one is Sharad Navratri and the other is Chaitra Navratri. 

Sharad Navrati also known as Maha Navratri takes place in around September-October. It coincides with Durga Puja and winds up with Dusshera. The other one falls in the month of March-April.

Besides worshipping to Goddess Durga, Chaitra Navratri is also observed as Lord Ram’s birthday and devotees also consider it as Ram Navami. The festival marks the beginning of summer season. Pilgrims perform rituals and havans to pay homage to God and Goddess and consider believe to receive blessings of lifetime. 

They believe to fast during the festival time which is said to bring peace, prosperity and happiness in life. Moreover, they believe to receive strength and power to work hard and achieve success in their life.

The Nine-day Chaitra Navratri or Ram Navami has certain holy rules and rituals to follow. Pilgrims celebrate the first day as the incarnation of Shailaputri. The second day is considered as Brahmacharini while the third day is known as Chandraghanta. 

The fourth day marks the celebration of the incarnation Kushminda and the fifth and sixth days goes with the name of Skandmata and Katyayani. Lastly, the seventh, eighth and ninth days highlights the celebration of Kalratri, Mahagauri and Sidhidatri.

During Chaitra Navratri, devotees consider eating sattvik food (pure vegetarian no onion, no garlic food). Some holy spots become a busy with make-shift food stalls where one may find Navratri food preparations like ‘Kuttu Ki Puri’, ‘Singhade Ka Halwa’, ‘Sabudana Vada’ and so on. If you are a foodie and want to tasty Navratri special food, then find out some time to find those popular place and make a trip, for sure. What say!