Chaitra Navratri 2027

How to observe Chaitra Navratri

1. 1Day 1 only: perform Ghatasthapana (Kalash Sthapana) in the morning muhurta -- sow barley (jau) in a bed of clean soil and set a kalash of water on it, topped with mango leaves and a coconut wrapped in a red chunri.
2. 2Light the Akhand Jyoti (a ghee lamp kept burning for all nine days) if your family keeps one.
3. 3Every morning and evening, worship the day's form of the Devi with red flowers, kumkum, akshat and her bhog; recite the Durga Saptashati (Chandi Path) or Durga Chalisa, then do aarti.
4. 4Fast as you are able -- all nine days, or the first and last -- on phalahar: fruits, milk, kuttu or singhara flour, sabudana and sendha namak, with no grains, onion or garlic.
5. 5On Ashtami or Navami, do Kanya Pujan: invite nine young girls (and a boy as Langur/Bhairav), wash their feet, serve puri, halwa and chana, and give them gifts.
6. 6Perform a havan on Navami and break the fast (Parana) after it or on Dashami, as your family does.

The bhog listed for each day is the most widely followed association; families and regions vary. Wearing a set colour each day is a Maharashtra/Gujarat custom whose colours change every year.

Samagri (what you need)

• Kalash (copper or clay), mango leaves and a coconut
• Red chunri and a red cloth for the altar
• Clay bed and barley (jau) seeds
• Durga idol or image
• Red flowers (hibiscus) and garlands
• Kumkum, sindoor, haldi and akshat (unbroken rice)
• Solah shringar items for the Devi
• Ghee, cotton wicks and a lamp for the Akhand Jyoti
• Durga Saptashati or Durga Chalisa
• Fruits, dry fruits and sweets for bhog
• Puri, halwa and black chana for Kanya Pujan
• Havan samagri, mango wood and a havan kund