"Yaa Devii Sarvabhuuteshhu Maatrirupena Sansthitah
Yaa Devii Sarvabhuuteshhu Shaktirupena Sansthitah
Yaa Devii Sarvabhuuteshhu Shaantirupena Sansthitah
Namastasyaih Namastasyaih Namastasyaih Namo Namah"
Meaning: Goddess Durga is omnipresent. She is the personification of Universal Mother. She is a Mother, who is present everywhere and who is embodiment of power and energy. Great mother, who is present everywhere and who is embodiment of Peace. I bow to that mother, I bow to Durga, I bow to Shakti.
Navratri, is a festival of worship and dance. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit.The festival is celebrated for nine nights every year during September or October based on Hindu calander.
There are many legends attached to the conception of Navratri like all Indian festivals but all of them are related to Goddess Shakti (Hindu Mother Goddess) and her various forms.
Navratri is divided into three-day sets, each devoted to a different aspect of the supreme goddess.
The first three days are devoted to Goddess Durga (Warrior Goddess to destroy all our vices, impurities, and defects) dresses in red and mounted on a lion.
The next three day set is devoted to Goddess Lakshmi (the giver of spiritual and material wealth) dressed in gold and mounted on an owl.
The last three days is devoted to Goddess Saraswati (the goddess of wisdom) dressed in milky white and mounted on a pure white swan.
In some communities people undergo rigorous fasts during this season that lasts for the nine days of the festival, only to be opened on the tenth day of Dussehra.
Traditionally, Navratri was celebrated by Hindu women only, in the honor of goddess Amba/Durga. Amba/Durga is believed to be a Shakti, originating from Lord Shankara.
On the tenth day of Navratri, the holiday of Dussehra, an effigy of Ravana is burnt to celebrate the victory of good (Rama) over evil.
During this colorful event of Navratri,young men and women dance around an earthen lamp,representing Goddess Durga, kept in a decorated mud jar called Garba,singing songs accompanied by the rhythmic clapping of hands.
An expression of gratitude towards goddess Durga for saving the world from the atrocities of the Mahishasur,a Rakshasa (demon)
Garba
The name Garba comes from the Sanskrit term Garbha Deep. Garbha, when translated, most closely resembles the English preposition 'inside", and Deep is a small earthenware lamp.
Traditionally, either the lamp (the Garba Deep), or an image of Amba is placed in the middle of the concentric rings. People dance around the deity clapping rhythmically. At every step they gracefully bend sideways, the arms coming together in beautiful sweeping gestures, up and down, left and right, each movement ending in clap. The songs of the Garba are often historic and melodious and have been handed down through generations.
The Garba is the most popular women's folk dance.
Dandiya
It is essentially associated with the agricultural rites. Dandiya raas was traditionally performed by men only. Traditionally,this was a pseudo practice of the sword fight with footwork, you can call it as in poomse in Tae Kwon Do or Kata in Karate.
Dandiya Raas is performed in groups of pairs, with a pair of sticks in their hands played to the beat of a dhol. These sticks, which can vary from 1.5 to 2 feet in length, and is meant to represent the sword of the avenging Goddess Durga. The circles formed by men and women move in clockwise and anticlockwise directions.
Raas is a very energetic, colorful and playful dance providing an opportunity for acting and exchanging messages through eye contact. The most impressive artistry of the Rasa dances is displayed in the Dandiya Rasa by men.
It is a counterpart of the Garba of the women.
May This Navratri be as bright as ever.May this Navratri bring joy, health and wealth of spirituality to all of us.
__/\__ Aum Girijayei Vidmahe,Shiva Priyayei Dhimahi,Tanno Durga Prachodayat __/\__
May the Divine Shakti, help us gain victory over enemies, attackers and obstacles.(that come in the way of our rising to the ultimate pinnacle of spirituality )
Jai Sai Ram !
