Article: Navaraatthiri

There are Four Navaraatthiris in a Year

The term, Navaraatthiri, can be expected to be a very well-known and lovable term for almost all the Hindus. Non-hindus should also be quite familiar with it, all the more in the present digital era. The meaning of ‘Navaraatthiri’ is ‘nine nights; ‘nava’ is nine, and ‘raatthiri’ is night. It will be interesting to note that the ‘Navaraatthiri’ which is celebrated by most of us in the Tamil month of Purattaasi (mid-September to mid-October), is supposed to be one of the four Navraatthiris which occur in a year. The periods for the four Navaraatthiris are the Tamil months of Pangguni (mid-March to mid-April: Vasantha Navaraatthiri), Aadi (mid-July to mid-August: Aashaada Navaraatthiri), Purattaasi (mid-September to mid-October: Shaaradhaa Navaraaththiri) and Maasi (mid-February to mid-March: Mahaa or Shyaamalaa Navaraatthiri); they respectively mark the beginnings of the seasons, spring (March 20-23 to June 20-22), summer (June 20-22 to September 21-24), autumn (September 21-24 to December 20-23) and winter (December 20-23 to March 20-23). 

Among these four, the two which are generally celebrated are the Shaaradhaa Navaraatthiri and Vasantha Navaraaththiri; of these two, the one which is celebrated by a majority of people is the Shaaradhaa Navaraaththiri which occurs in the Tamil month of Purattaasi.  It is said that, the transition periods of seasons bring along with them, some adverse effects on people both physically and mentally. Our great ancestors had found a religious way to save us from such adversities by introducing important religious festivals which will keep us deeply and fully engaged in elaborate special prayers.

With this small general introduction about Navaraaththiri, let us continue to see the Shaaradhaa Navaraatthiri which is celebrated almost by everyone of us in the Tamil month of Purattaasi.   

The Puraanic Story about the Navaraatthiri, Celebrated in the Tamil Month of Purattaasi

Once, there lived a sage known as Varamuni. As he excelled in many aspects, he became very haughty. He went on belittling other sages. Once, he took the form of a buffalo and behaved rudely toward the great sage Ahatthiyar. As a result, the sage Varamuni was cursed by sage Ahatthiyar to continue to be a buffalo, thereafter. In the meantime, there was a demon, Ramban, who was doing penance. Being pleased by his penance, Lord Agni (God of fire) appeared in front of Ramban, who asked Lord Agni to bless him with a son, who will be all powerful. Lord Agni granted Ramban his request, and said that the latter will get a son through the girl of his choice. Ramban happened to ‘fall in love’ with a buffalo (which was originally sage Varamuni), and as a result Ramban was blessed with a son, who had a human body with a buffalo head, thus being known as Mahishaasuran (Mahisham = buffalo).

Mahishaasuran prayed to Lord Brahma, and did penance for many thousands of years. When Lord Brahma appeared in front of him, he obtained the boon from the Lord by which he will not be killed by anybody except a woman. Therafter, Mahishaasuran started illtreating and killing Devas and others. When the Devas asked the Lord to save them from Mahuishaasuran, the Trinity (Lord Siva. Vishnu and Brahma) and other Devas invoked Aadhisakthi, passed on all their power and weapons to her, and sent her to fight Mahishaasuran. Devi fought with Mahishaasuran and killed him on the ninth day and was pleasantly seated as Mahishaasuramarddhini on the tenth day.

Navaraatthiri Worship

It is quite a well-known fact that Navraaththiri prayers stretch for ten days, the tenth day being specifically known as Vijayathasami. Of the nine days, Devi is prayed to as Dhurggaa Paarvathi for the first three days, as Sri Lakshmi for the second three days and as Devi Sarasvathi for the last three days. The three Devis are looked upon, respectively as the consorts of Lord Rutthira Siva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma.

Devi Paarvathi, being the consort of Lord Siva, is depicted as the one with immense power, courage and mental strength. Therefore, when we pray to her for the first three days, we should ask her to relieve us from all our negative attributes such as unhealthy thoughts, words and actions, and especially our ego which makes us haughty, jealous, revengeful and do things with unhealthy intentions.

Having subdued our negative thoughts, words and actions with the grace of Devi Paarvathi, we will pray to Mother Goddess as Devi Lakshmi for the next three days. The mention of Devi Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, will at once strike our minds with the thought of wealth. Nevertheless, when we reflect on the names of the eight Lakshmis (Ashta Lakshmi), we will realize that the concept of wealth encompasses many aspects such as grains, child, victory, courage and other noble things. All the noble thoughts, words and actions are appreciable assets for us. Therefore, we shall pray to Sri Lakshmi, and earnestly request her to gracefully confer on us all the good qualities like love, patience, responsibility, humility, good conduct and kind concern for the welfare of all. All such qualities must be reflected in our actions, words and thoughts.

After having acquired all good qualities with the grace of Devi Lakshmi, we pray to Devi Sarasvathi, the Goddess for knowledge and education, for the last three days. As we pray to Devi Sarasvathi, we request her to bestow on us good education, which will enable us to have a well-established and progressive life in this world; nevertheless, having a life of pomp, power and status in this world, through the acquisition of tertiary education, is not the only thing to be achieved in life. The primary purpose of this birth is to achieve the permanent blissful state under the Feet of the Lord. To attain this sort of great and blessed blissful state, we have to learn philosophical treatises, the Saiva Siddhantha texts in particular, which impart TRUE KNOWLEDGE (mey nyaanam). Accordingly, we pray to Devi Sarasvathi to help us to acquire both these kinds of knowledge, live a peaceful and prosperous life on this earth, and subsequently achieve the blissful life beneath the Feet of God.

Sarasvathi Poojaa and Vijayathasami

Having had a general introduction about Navaraatthiri, and seeing how we can pray to Mother Goddess to receive Her fullest blessings for us to lead a meaningful and fulfilling life, let us proceed to ponder over the fact, that the Sarasvathi poojaa on the ninth day is also called the ‘Aayutha Poojaa, and also see the significance of Vijayathasami, which is observed on the tenth day.   

In the context of Navaraatthiri, the term, ‘Aayutham’ (weapon), has to be understood as the object which is specifically used in a particular field. As for instance, objects such as sword, bow and arrow are the weapons of the soldiers whereas books are the main tools for the pursuit of knowledge. Objects like violin, veenaa, mirudhangam and flute are tools for music students. On the ninth day of the Navaraatthiri festival, we place the objects which serve as tools for us in our fields, in front of Goddess Sarasvathi. These objects, which are placed at the feet of Devi Sarasvathi on the ninth day, will be left there for the whole day. These objects will be taken and used on the tenth day in front of Devi after the day’s prayer is completed. This practice gives an assurance that we will be doing all the more well in our respective fields in which we are engaged. As for example, school children will place one or more of their books in front Devi Saravathi, while the soldiers will place their war weapons instead.

In Tamil schools, books will be tied up into bundles, on the basis that one bundle belongs to one particular class, and they will be kept at the feet of Devi for the last three days of Navaraatthiri, as these days are meant for offering our prayers for Goddess Sarasvathi. These books will be given back to students after the prayers on the tenth day, and the students will open and read the books at the prayer room itself, thus feeling assured that they have been blessed by Devi, and therefore feeling assured that they are going to be successful in their education with Devi’s grace. 

One interesting observation of the day of Vijayathasami is that teachers, especially in the fields of music and dance, take in their new students on this day. The fact is that, it is a general belief amongst the Hindus that any new effort which is taken up with the grace of Goddess, who is seated as the victorious Devi after destroying Mahishaasuran, will also be victorious. It is one of our cultural beliefs to consider the Vijayathasami day as a very suitable day, for initiating the educational career of their young children, generally at the age of three or five; this ritual is known as ‘Vidhyaarambam’ (Vidhya = learning; aarambam = beginning) or ‘Edu thodakkudhal’ (edu = strip of palmyra leaf/leaf of a book/ book; aarambam = beginning). Parents are encouraged to take their children to Tamil schools where the Navaraatthiri festival is being celebrated or to temples, taking along with them, a tray with the usual auspicious things like fruits, flowers, and betel leaf and betel nut, and get their children ceremoniously initiated into the field of learning with the graceful blessings of the Victorious Devi. This is supposed to be one of the samskaras which a Hindu child is expected to go through, before setting out his / her foot in the field of formal learning. It will be ideal if the child undergoes this ritual, even before the parents start teaching basic writing and reading to the child at home.  

Although there are other festivals like Deepavali and Kantha Sashti, which celebrate the death of demons, why Vijayathasami is chosen for the ritual of ‘Vidhyaarambam’? The demon who is killed in the festival of Navaraatthiri is Mahishaasuran. The word, mahisham, denotes the buffalo. Buffalo is generally associated with stupidity; in other words, stupid people are generally compared to a buffalo. Therefore, Vijayathasami is looked upon as a day well suited for the pursuit of knowledge in general.  

Kanni vaazhai vettudhal / Maanambu Festival in Temples

Turning toward the special prayers conducted in the temples, on the day of Vijayathasami, the ceremonial ritual, ‘kanni vaazhai vettudhal’ (felling the young plantain tree, which has not produced fruit yet) takes place in the evening. It is also referred to as ‘maanambu (shooting of the arrow by Devi)’. In the Tamil tradition, a very dull student who cannot grasp imparted knowledge easily, is compared to a plantain tree; especially, in the context of teaching and learning, the brain of a student who grasps all that is taught by the teacher immediately and aptly, is compared to ‘camphor’ (katpoora putthi); the brain of the one who takes some time to grasp that, which is taught by the teacher, but once grasped, he / she is able to retain that knowledge thereafter, is compared ‘coal’ (karipputthi); the brain of the one, who is very, very slow to understand the matter which is being taught by the teacher, and even if he / she eventually understands a bit, he / she will soon get confused, is compared to ‘banana stem’ (vaazhaith thandu putthi). Therefore, it seems very suitable that the young banana tree is cut off by Devi Dhurggaa to remind the felling of Mahishaasuran. 

Incidentally, there is an interesting mention of cutting the young plantain tree together with the tree known as ‘Vanni’; its scientific name is Prosopis Spicigera. The author of the book, ‘Saiva Viradhanggalum Vizhaakkalum’, P. Sivanantha sarma, mentions this and also gives related puranic facts along with it. Apart from Mahishaasuran, our Goddess Paraasakthi had destroyed many other demons over the time, either as Dhurggaa or in some other form of Devi. Once Durggaa found it challenging to destroy one demon, known as Pandaasuran. When she sought the grace of Lord Siva, He suggested that she fight the demon on the day of Vijayathasami. When Devi was fighting with Pandaasuran on a Vijayathasami day, he hid in the Vanni tree when he realized that he was losing in the fight. Devi cut the tree and destroyed him. The cutting of Vanni tree seems to have become ‘the cutting of kanni vaazhai’ with the passage of the time.  Nevertheless, the cutting of ‘kanni vaazhai’ seems to be an apt episode to remind the felling of Mahishaasura, as explained in the previous paragraph.

P. Sivanantha sarma mentions that, the Vanni tree seems to have had some sort of a long-term connection with Vijayathasami, which was considered to be a very auspicious day for starting anything that was good. He says that, at one time Devi Uma took some rest under the Vanni tree. Rama is said to have gone around this tree and prayed to it, before setting out to go in search Seetha. When the Pandavas had to spend one year in hiding, ensuring that no one would identify them, they hid all their weapons beneath a Vanni tree. A website says, “The great Hindu Text Mahabharata has a legend that when ‘Pandavas’ were in exile for 14 years, they had to spend one last year in disguise. It was during that period that they submitted all their arms to a Shami tree and received them back intact after the period of disguise was over i.e. after one year. They worshipped the tree and asked for power and victory in the ensuing battle that was fought in the battle field of Kurukshetra between Pandavas and Kauravas. Pandavas won the battle and hence it is believed that the Shami tree gives power and victory to those who pray to it.” (https://sacredtress.blogspot.com/2014/01/sacred-trees-plants.html). Shami is another name for Vanni.

Navraatthiri Kolu

When we talk about Navaraatthiri, most of us will be reminded about ‘kolu’, although it is not seen everywhere, nowadays. The ‘kolu’ has a significant message for us. Accordong to the website, https://kalkionline.com/lifestyle/art/navarathiri-2024-do-you-know-tatparyam-of-navratri-kolu-clay-dolls, Ambaal has said in the ‘Devi Puranam’ that if she is worshipped  in the vigraham, made out of earth, which is one of the five basic elements, she will bestow on the devotee all of life’s comfort and all good fortunes. The Kolu consists of steps in odd numbers like, 5,7,9 and 11. Most of the websites explain about arranging the dolls, etc. in nine steps. 

Among the 9 steps, living things with one sense to six senses will be arranged respectively from the first step to the sixth step; the steps are counted from the bottom to top. Grass, plants and creepers are with one sense (sense of touch); creatures like the snail and conch are with two senses (touch and taste); creatures like termites and ants are with three senses (touch, taste and smell); creatures like dragon fly and beetle have four senses (touch, taste, smell and sight); animals and birds have five senses (hearing along with the previously mentioned four); human beings and devas have the extra sense of being rational along with the earlier mentioned five senses.

Statues of those people who have attained enlightenment on earth are placed on the seventh step.  Sages, Sitthar and Maharishis belong to this category. Statues of Devas like the Navakkiraha devas and Ashtathikku Paalahar (guardian deities of the eight directions) will be placed on the eighth step. 

The trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Rutthira Sivan) and along with their consorts will be placed on the ninth step. The Vigraha of Adhi Parasakthi (Raajaraajesvari) should be placed centrally in the midst of these deities; Lord Vinaayahar is also placed along with Devi Adhi Parasakthi.

The Kolu with such arrangement mentioned above is meant to remind us that we are born on earth to rise in our spirituality steadfastly and achieve the status of Sages and Devas, and subsequently attain the Divine Feet of the Almighty. 

Navaraatthiri inclusive of Vijayathasami can take place for 11 or 9 days, occasionally 

Before concluding, we have to be aware that, although Navaraatthiri festival is celebrated for nine days along with the Vijayathasami on the tenth day, there are years when we do have the festival going on for 11 days (10 days of Navaraatthiri with Vijayathasami on the 11^th day), and when it ends with nine days (8 days of Navaraatthiri with Vijayathasami on the 9^th day).

The important fact to be noted, before going further, is that ‘a day’ is not equivalent to ‘a thithi’. A ‘thithi’ can be generally said to be ‘a phase of the growing (waxing) or fading (waning) moon’. One such phase of the moon is not always equivalent to a day. A day is always equivalent to 24 hours; but a thithi is not. Apart from the ‘pauranami’ and ‘amaavaasai’ ‘thithis’, there are fourteen ‘thithis’. 

Due to the fact that a particular ‘thithi’ lasts for more than 24 hours at times, and for less than 24 hours at times, two ‘thithis’ are registered to be occurring in one day or one ‘thithi’ will be registered as existing for two days, occasionally. Certain days will be indicated to be ‘soonya thithi’ or ‘athithi; this means there ius no effective thithi on that day. Though we define a ‘thithi’ to be a phase of a waxing or waning moon, yet establishing the existence of a particular ‘thithi’ for a day involves technical and minute calculations. 

Without going into intricate technicalities, let us try to get a relatively clear picture of the idiosyncrasies in fixing a ‘thithi’ for a particular day. If we look through the ten days, during which we are observing the Navaraatthiri fast for the year 2025, the seventh ‘thithi’, sapthami, is indicated to be occurring on Sunday 28.09.2025; but, the eighth ‘thithi’, attami, is recorded to be occurring on Tuesday 30.09.2025. Logically, attami will be expected to occur on 29.09.2025, i.e. the day following that of sapthami.

P.Sivanantha Sarma, whom we referred to, earlier, has given some guidance to manage such a situation where a question would arise in allocating the days for the three aspects of Devi. He says that there is another rule, which tells us to start praying to Devi Sarasvathi on the day when the asterism, Moolam, is in the ascendant, and give her a ceremonial send off on the day when the asterism, Thiruvonam, is in the ascendant. After fixing these days, the remaining days can be sorted out for the worship of Devi Dhurgga and Devi Lakshmi.    

Conclusion

The following words given in the website, https://dharmayana.in/articles/navratri-a-celebration-of-divine-feminine-energy-1b1032b7-6540-4817-8d3b-b853ab05e075, will serve as an apt conclusion for this article: “In Hinduism, Shakti represents the dynamic, creative force of the universe, often personified as Goddess Durga or her various forms. While the masculine aspect, symbolized by gods like Shiva and Vishnu represent stillness or pure consciousness, Shakti is the energy that makes everything move and evolve. It's a powerful concept that shows how both masculine and feminine energies are equally important and interconnected.

Shakti is the force behind all creation, destruction, and transformation. Without her, there is no change or growth—just stagnation. She is also the power behind our emotions, our creativity, and our ability to overcome obstacles in life. And this is exactly what we celebrate during Navratri.

In Hindu philosophy, feminine energy is not just about nurturing or caring—it’s also about being a warrior, a protector, a creator, and a destroyer when needed. These traits are beautifully symbolized by the various forms of Durga worshiped during Navratri.

This energy isn't just external—it exists within all of us. When we talk about empowerment, we're really talking about awakening this Shakti that lies within. Whether it’s finding the courage to stand up for ourselves, the resilience to keep going when life gets tough, or the creativity to bring new ideas to life, Shakti is the driving force behind it all.”

Prepared by

Dr. K.Thilagawathi