Navaratri festival guide

Month

September or October

Duration

Nine nights, ending with Vijayadashami on the tenth day

Deities

Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati

Key rituals

Kolu, Ayudha Puja, Saraswati Puja, Vidyarambham

When it happens

Navaratri begins on the first day of the bright fortnight of the lunar month Ashvin, so the dates move each year but almost always fall in September or October. In the Malayalam calendar it falls in the month of Kanni. The festival ends with Vijayadashami on the tenth day.

The meaning of the nine nights

The nights are commonly grouped in threes. The first three are for Durga, invoked to destroy negativity and vice; the next three honour Lakshmi, who grants prosperity; and the last three belong to Saraswati, goddess of learning and the arts. Devotees pray to the goddess in all three forms for a balanced and successful life.

How it is celebrated

In Tamil Nadu, and in many homes in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, families set up a Kolu (also called Golu or Bommai Kolu): an odd number of steps covered in dolls and figures. Plants and animals sit on the lower steps, people above them and gods at the top, a picture of the soul's climb towards the divine. Neighbours visit each other's displays in the evenings, and women exchange gifts.

Kerala gives the final three days special weight. On Durgashtami evening, books and tools are placed before the goddess in a ceremony called Poojavaipu, and study and skilled work stop. Mahanavami is given over to Saraswati and Ayudha Puja. On Vijayadashami morning the books are taken back (Puja Eduppu), and at temples young children are initiated into learning through Vidyarambham, tracing letters of the alphabet in a plate of rice or on sand.

Where to see it

Some places are especially rewarding during the festival:

• Mysuru, where the Dasara celebrations end with a grand procession of decorated elephants.
• Srirangam in Tamil Nadu, where the temple arranges an extensive Kolu display.
• Kulasekarapattinam near Tiruchendur, where huge numbers of devotees dress as forms of the goddess for the Dasara festival.
• Kolkata, for Durga Puja with its elaborate pandals.
• Temples across Kerala on Vijayadashami, for Vidyarambham.

Planning a trip

Mysuru and Kolkata get very busy during the festival, so hotels and trains should be booked well ahead. We can plan a Navaratri temple circuit in Tamil Nadu or a Mysuru Dasara trip from Virudhachalam and nearby towns.

Where to experience it