  Navratri, as the name suggests, means nine nights. It is one of the important Hindu festivals and is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga, the deity of Power.
Navratri is celebrated with fun and religious fervor by Hindus across India. Each day of the nine-day festival are dedicated to the worship of different forms of Goddess Durga, which unfolds the religious importance of the occasion. The festival is celebrated twice a year. As per the Gregorian calendar, Chaitra Navratri is celebrated in March-April, while Sharadeya Navratri is celebrated in October-November. Both the celebrations concentrate on the worship of Goddess Shakti.
The merrymaking is different in different regions of the country, depending upon which legend the people would follow, for the festival. This clearly shows that Navratri is purely religious, although it involves many fun filled activities like scintillating dance performances (Garba and Dandiya). In the following lines, we have provided the detailed description of the legends of Navratri.
Some popular legends
Victory over Mahishasura (Northern India)
According to a very popular legend, Mahishasura, the mighty demon worshipped Lord Shiva and obtained invincible power. Soon, he started killing the innocent lives on earth and set out to win the seven lokas. He acquired the swarglok. Nobody could save the living creatures from his tyranny. Even the three mighty gods of the Hindu Trinity - Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva - were unable to defeat him. Therefore, all the gods, including the Hindu Trinity, united their supreme powers and created a divine being called Ma Shakti or Durga, the Warrior Goddess.
With all the accumulated power and the weapons given by the gods, Goddess Durga set her trail to defeat Mahishasura. To accomplish the task, she entered a war with him, which extended for nine days. After fighting hard with him for nine days, Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura on the tenth day. Consequently, she lifted the tyranny of the demon off the innocent lives on earth and restored the swarglok to the devatas (Gods). Therefore, Navratri is celebrated to commemorate her victory over the demon, which symbolizes the victory of the good over the evil. The nine nights of Navratri symbolize the nine nights of the war between Goddess Durga and Mahishasura.
Legend of Sati (Eastern India)
According to a story in the Hindu mythology, King Daksha of Himalayas was blessed with a beautiful and virtuous daughter, named Uma. She wished to marry Lord Shiva. In order to tie the wedding knot with the god, Uma worshipped him and pleased him. Consequently, Lord Shiva married Uma. One fine day, Uma, now the consort of Lord Shiva, wished to take part in a Yagna conducted by her father. Since her father was not in good terms with him, Lord Shiva refused her to witness the Yagna.
When she turned up at the Yagna, her father - King Daksha - insulted Lord Shiva. Unable to withstand the insult, the angry Uma decided to end her life by jumping into the agni kund. Soon after doing this, she was united with the eternity. Therefore, Uma came to be known as Sati. Sati was reborn again. In the second birth, Sati married Lord Shiva and the divine couple lived happily, thereafter. It is believed that Sati comes to stay with her parents for nine days, every year. This is celebrated as Navratri.
Other Legends
A story says that in the ancient times, the Kshatriyas abstained from taking part in any warlike activities during the monsoon season. Once the season was over, they made a fresh start with their war activities. Therefore, before commencing their new activities, they would worship different avatars of Maa Durga, the Goddess of Warriors, for nine whole days, which is now celebrated as Navratri.
A popular legend associated with the celebration of Navratri is the story of Lord Rama, who wanted to rescue his wife Sita, from the demon king- Ravana. To freed her from the clutches of the demon king, Lord Rama worshipped Goddess Durga in her nine different forms, for nine days, so that he gets all the strength and power to kill Ravana. All the nine days became Navratri and hence, celebrated every year. On the tenth day, Rama killed Ravana and that day is called Vijayadashmi or Dussehra.
Significance of Navratri
First Day PoojaM
The first form of Goddess Durga is called Shailputri . She is considered the daughter of the Himalayas. She is a form of Shakti, the consort of Lord Shiva.
Second Day Pooja
The second form of Goddess Durga is known as 'Brahmacharini'. Her name is derivative of the word 'Brahma', which means 'Tapa' or penace. She is also a form of Uma or Parvati, a form of Mata Shakti.
Third Day Pooja
On the third day the goddess is worshipped as Chandraghanta. She is the symbolic representation of beauty and bravery.
Fourth Day Pooja
Kushmanda, is the form of the goddess which is worshipped on the fourth day. It is believed that Kushmanda is the creator of the entire Universe and she has created the entire Universe by her laugh.
Fifth Day Pooja
On the fifth day, the form of Goddess is called Skand Mata. She is actually called so because she is here represented as the mother of Skanda, the chief warrior of the Gods army.
Sixth Day Pooja
On the sixth day, the goddess is worshipped as Katyayani. Seated on her vehicle lion, Katyayani has three eyes and four hands.
Seventh Day Pooja
On the seventh day, the Goddess is worshipped as 'Kalratri'. As the name suggests, Kalrati is as black as a dark night. She has four hands, she is meant to make the devotees fearless.
Eighth Day Pooja
On the eight day, the Mata Rani is worshipped as 'Maha Gauri'. She is considered to extremely beautiful, white like snow and accessorized with white colored ornaments. She represents calmness and exhibits wisdom.
Ninth Day Pooja
On the ninth day, Durga is worshipped as Siddhidatri. It is believed she consists of all the eight siddhis. She lives on lotus and is worshipped by all the Rishis-Munis, Siddhas, Sadhakas and Yogis.
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