| Why
do we do garba?
The
festival of Navratri (nav = nine and ratri = nights) or Nine Nights
is one of the greatest festivals in the lives of Hindus. It is celebrated
by Hindus all over the world in the month of Aasho, which is between
October and November according to the English calendar. The essence
of this festival consists of fasts and worship of nine aspects of
Durga, one on each of the nine days.
This celebration is in honour of Shakti, the goddess of Power. She
is known by many names. The different aspects of Devi are worshipped
over the nine days. These are the most popular forms under which
she is worshipped:
Ø Durga - the goddess beyond reach.
Ø Bhadrakali - the auspicious power of time.
Ø Jagdamba (Amba) - mother of the world.
Ø Sarvamangala - the auspicious goddess.
Ø Bhairavi - terrible, fearful, power of death.
Ø Chandika (Chandi) - wrathful, furious.
Ø Lalita - playful.
Ø Bhavani - giver of existence.
Ø Kalika (Mahisha surmardini) - the destroyer of the evil.
Ø Laxmi - the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Ø Sarasvati - the goddess of knowledge
The total period of worship lasts for nine days out of which the
first three are dedicated to Durga (the Goddess of Valor), the next
three to Lakshmi (the Goddess of Wealth) and the last three to Saraswati
(the Goddess of Knowledge). The Deity images of different forms
of Durga are created, worshipped and immersed in a sea or lake.
In Gujarat, the Garba dance is performed. In the South, houses are
decorated and toys by the name of Bomma Kolam are displayed.
The name Durga means inaccessible and she is the personification
of the divine energy of Lord Shiva. She represents the furious powers
of all the deities, and is the ferocious protector of the righteous,
and destroyer of evil. Durga is usually portrayed as riding a lion,
and carrying weapons in her many arms. Below is a picture of goddess
Durga.
Why celebrate Navratri?
Navratri is celebrated in reverence to goddess Durga who killed
the evil demon Mahishasur after a battle which lasted nine days
and night. Each of the nine days and nights each representing a
different form of Durga.
According to the Hindu scriptures, the demon Mahishasur began to
destroy lives on earth after he was endowed with power by the blessing
of Lord Shiva. Troubled by such an outcome, the Gods invoked Goddess
Durga and asked for help to put a stop to this barbarism. Hence
the Goddess, astride a lion, and armed with Her weapons, the "shul"
(pike), "chakra" (wheel), >"parshu" (axe) and "talvar" (sword),
started her fight against this demon on the first day of Navratri
until he was defeated on the ninth day.
The significance of the Navratri puja is to eliminate our negative
tendencies and gain true knowledge and freedom through consistent
practice. Night represents our ignorance of the Self and worship
conducted during the night time is telling us to wake up from this
sleep.
The festival of Navratri is dedicated to the female aspect or the
power of creation, preservation and destruction.
The three forms of Iswara are represented by Brahma the creator,
Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. The female aspect
of Brahma is Goddess Saraswati, His consort who is the embodiment
of wisdom which is essential for creation. The female aspect of
Vishnu is Goddess Lakshmi, who represents wealth and prosperity
which is essential for preservation. The female aspect of Shiva
is Mother Durga who is the Shakti or energy which is essential for
destruction.
Ø The first three days of Navaratri are devoted to the worship of
Goddess Durga or Mother Kali to destroy all our negative tendencies
with her supreme power or Shakti.
Ø Once we have gotten rid of our negative qualities, the next three
days we pray to Goddess Lakshmi to gain positive and nobler qualities.
Mother Lakshmi blesses her devotees with material and spiritual
wealth.
Ø After our mind is purified we are ready for knowledge. The final
three days we worship Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning to bless
us with the highest knowledge of the self and remove all our ignorance.
It is believed that by praying to Devi for nine days, you too would
be able to defeat the most powerful enemy.
The Garba & Dandia Dance
People in western India, especially in Gujarat, spend the nine nights
of Navratri in song, dance and merriment. Garba is a graceful form
of dance, wherein women dressed in exquisitely embroidered choli,
ghagra and bandhani dupattas, dance gracefully in circles around
a pot containing a lamp. The word "Garba" or "Garbha" means "womb",
and in this context the lamp in the pot, symbolically represent
life within a womb.
Besides the Garba is the "Dandia" dance, in which men and women
participate in pairs with small, decorated bamboo sticks called
dandias in their hands. At the end of these dandias are tied tiny
bells called ghungroos that make a jingling sound when the sticks
hit one another. The dance has a complex rhythm. The dancers begin
with a slow tempo, and go into frenzied movements, in such a manner
that each person in a circle not only performs a solo dance with
his own sticks, but also strikes his partners dandies in style.
The diagrams below show a representation of the garba (left) and
dandia (right) dances.
Vijayadashmi or Dashera
Dashera, as the name suggests occurs on the "tenth" day following
the Navratri. It is a festival to celebrate the triumph of good
over evil, and marks the defeat and death of the demon king Ravana
by Lord Ram in the epic Ramayana. Huge effigies of Ravana are burnt
amongst the burning of fire crackers.
It is believed that Lord Ram had to pray to the nine different aspects
of Devi to be able to kill Ravana. He then accumulated enough power
to kill Ravana on the tenth day, which was called Vijayadashmi or
Dashera. Since then, the tradition of praying to Devi for nine days
has continued. The nine days therefore are celebrated in honour
of victory of good over evil.
Jay Adhya Shakti Maataani Aarti
Jaya aadhya shakti Maa
jaya adhya shakti
Akhand brahmand nibhavyan (2) padave pragatyan maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Dwitiya bay swaroop Shiva shakti janoo maa Shiva shakti janoo
Brahma Ganapati gaavun (2) har gaavun har maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Tritiya tran swaroop tribhuvanman betha maa tribhuvanman betha
Traya thaki taraveni (2) tun taraverni maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Chothe chatura mahalaxmi maa sacharachar vyapya maa sacharachar
vyapya
Char bhuja chau deesha (2) pragatya dakshina maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Panchame pancha rushi maa panchame goon padama
Pancha sahast tyan sohiya (2) panche tatwo maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Shasthi tun Narayani mahisasur maaryo maa mahisasur maaryo
Nar naree na roope (2) vyapya saghade maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Saptami sapta pataal sandhya saveetri, maa sandhya saveetri
Gau ganga Gayatree (2) Gauri Geeta maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Asthami astha bhooja aayee ananda maa aayee ananda maa
Suranar moonivar janamya (2) Devo daityo
maa om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Navami navakul naag seve navadurga maa seve navadurga (2)
Navratri naa poojan Shivratri naa archan kidha har brahma
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Dashami dash avataar jay vijiya dashmi maa jay vijiya dashmi
Rame ram ramadya (2) Ravan rodyo maa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Ekadashi agiyarash, katyayani kaamaa maa katyayani kaamaa (2)
Kaam doorga Kalika (2) Shyama ne Rama
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Barase bala roop Bahuchari Amba maa maa Bahuchari Amba maa
Batuk bhairava sohiye kal bhairava sohiye tara chhe tujamaa
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Terase tulaja roop tun taruni mata maa tun taruni mata
Brahma Vishnu sadashiv(2) Guna tara gata
om jay om jay om maa
jagdambe
Chaudashe chauda roop chandi chamunda maa chandi chamunda
Bhava bhakti kain aapo, chaturaee kahin aapo sinhavahani mata
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Pooname kumbha bharyo sambhalajo karoona maa sambhalajo karoona
Vashistha deve vakhanya markanda deve vakhanya, gayee shubha kavita
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Savant sole sattavan solashe baavish maa solashe baavishe maa
Savant sole pragatyan (2) reva ne teere re ( maa ganga neti re)
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Trambavati nagari aayee roopavati nagari maa manchhavati nagari
Sola sahastra tyan sohiye(2) shama karo gauri maa daya karo gauri
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Shivashakti ni aarti je koyee gaashe Maa je bhave gaashe
Bhane Shivananda swami, sukha sampati thaasey
har kailashe jashey maa Amba dookha harashey
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
Eke ek swaroop antar nava dharasho, maa antar nava dharasho
Bhola bhoodar ne bhajata, bhola Ambane bhajata bhavasaagar tarasho
om jay om jay om maa jagdambe
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