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The Navarthri dedicated to Devi, the Divine
Mother, is celebrated all over India. In some
places it is called Dussera, in some other
places `Kalipuja' or `Saraswathi Puja' and
in still others, `Ayudha Puja'. During Navarathri
days the Divine Mother is worshipped in one
or the other of her different manifestations
namely Durga, Saraswathi, Kali, etc. The
Puja in connection with Navarathri is known
as Bhuvaneswari puja which means, the worship
of `Universal Mother'.
The festival is celebrated during the first
nine days in the bright half of Aswina or
September-October. The last three days of
the Navarathri are called Durgashtami, Mahanavami
and Vijayadasami, and they are considered
more sacred than the other days for Devi worship.
It is believed that by offering prayers to
Devi during these three days one can attain
the full benefits of observing the Navarathri
rites for the whole period.
People of Kerala celebrate Navarathri with
style. The Saraswathi puja and Ayudha Puja
are performed. The Goddess Saraswathi is worshipped
as the Goddess of Learning, the deity of Gayathri,
the fountain of fine arts and science, and
the symbol of supreme vedantic knowledge.
The importance of Ayudha Puja (the worship
of implements) on this occasion may be due
to the fact that on the Vijayadasami day,
Arjuna took back his weapons which he had
hidden in a Vani tree in order to lead a life
in disguise for the promised period of exile.
It is believed that one who begins or resumes
his learning to work on the Vijayadasami day
will secure a grand success as Arjuna did
in Kurukshetra war.
On the Durgashtami day a ceremony called Poojavaipu
is performed in the evening. In a village,
generally, it is done only in certain households
like the Brahmins who have a reputation for
learning, in temples and also sometimes in
the village schools. The members of other
houses in the village attend the ceremony
performed in these houses or institutions.
In a well-decorated room, books and grandhas
(holy books) are tastefully arranged with
a picture or an image of Goddess Saraswathi
in front. Then sometimes weapons and implements
are kept by the side of books and garandhas.
A Puja is performed to Saraswathi during which
fruit, beaten rice, roasted paddy (malar),
jaggery etc, are offered to Her after which
they are distributed among those present.
The following day, Mahanavami, is totally
devoted to the worship of Saraswathi. Pooja
is performed both in the morning and in the
evening and many more items such as rice,
payasam, thirali, etc are offered to Devi.
On the Vijayadasami day after a Puja in the
morning, the books and implements are removed
from the room and this ceremony is called
`Puja Eduppu'. The time for the break up of
the puja marks the beginning of learning and
work and this moment is considered auspicious.
Some members of the household write the alphabets
on sand, particularly the children, and read
a few sentences from sacred books. Similarly
the craftsmen and other skilled workers do
some work using their implements. According
to custom it is only after this ceremony that
the children are entitled to read or write.
There are certain communities which celebrate
the festival on all days of Navarathri. Images
of Gods, animals and toys of different variety
are arranged for exhibition and this performance
is called `Koluvaipu'.
The perfect place for the Navarathri celebration
is at Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple at Thiruvananthapuram.
Apart form the usual pujas and rituals, classical
music recitals are held on the Navarathri
mandapam every night during the festival in
which luminaries of Carnatic music participate in
a practice which was started by Maharaja Swathithirunal
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