Sharad Navaratri शरद नवरात्रि

Navaratri means nine nights, and the autumn one begins on Ashwin Shukla Pratipada in the usual reckoning. It is the great season of the Goddess, and the principal text recited is the Devi Mahatmya, also called the Durga Saptashati, part of the Markandeya Purana. In it the Goddess takes form from the combined energies of the gods and defeats the buffalo demon Mahishasura, as well as Shumbha and Nishumbha, who could not be killed by any ordinary power.

The nine days are given to the Nava Durga forms, from Shailaputri to Siddhidatri, though other schemes exist. Gujarat is famous for the garba and dandiya dances performed around a lamp or an image of the Goddess in the evenings. In Bengal the same period is the lead-up to Durga Puja, in Mysuru and Kullu it merges with the royal Dussehra processions, and in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka homes arrange golu or bombe habba, displays of dolls on tiered steps. In many South Indian families the last three days honour Lakshmi and Saraswati, and books and tools are worshipped on Ayudha Puja.

Seen as a season, Navaratri falls at the change from rain to the clear autumn, and Ayurvedic and folk reasoning treat the fasting and plainer food as a way to adjust the body between seasons. Fasting rules differ by household: some eat once a day, some live on fruit and milk, and some keep a full fast only on certain days. Choose what is manageable and keep it gentle.