Devi as Yoganidra rouses Hari from cosmic slumber to end Madhu and Kaitabha
Adishakti manifests as the invincible warrior to become Mahishasura Mardini
Devi Ambika, Kali and the Matrikas manifest to vanquish the demon army
Sita and Rama are immortal & timeless icons of Dharma in Bharat. How we choose to tell their story & mould the Dharma of our times will make all the difference.
Read the essay →Navratri and its narrative backbone – the Devi Mahatmya can help in re-evaluating and recasting gender equations in contemporary Indian and perhaps even global social orders.
Raktabij is akin to our pride, greed and inertia. If and only if we conquer the Raktabij within us, we will be able to move ahead on the path of Dharma.
Read →One Supreme Goddess, Many Celebrations
Welcoming Maa Durga – the beloved daughter and the invincible warrior
Worshipping the ‘Mother of Life’ - Gauri with colourful flowers and foods
Arranging stunning dolls in tiered arrangements to embody the macrocosm
Celebrating the eternal victory of Dharma over Adharma
Navratri or Navaratri (literally nine nights) is a festival celebrated in India (primarily by Hindus) that honours the Devi, the Shakti, the indomitable Divine Feminine. The three most commonly known and revered forms in India of the Goddess are Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
There are four Navratris during the course of a year. The most popular and widespread of these is the Ashwin or Shardiya Navratri which usually comes in the months of September/October and is synonymous with the worship of Maa Durga as she is fondly called. Chaitra Navratri, which falls in the months of March/April, is also observed by many devotees and marks the beginning of the new year in many regions of India. The other two Navratris are not observed by most lay devotees and are also referred to as gupt navratri.
The ‘Nava Durga’ are nine manifestations (also referred to as forms or avatars) of the Great Goddess Durga. The Nine Avatars worshipped on the nine days of Navaratri are – Devi Shailaputri, Devi Brahmacharini, Devi Chandraghanta, Devi Kushmanda, Devi Skandamata, Devi Katyayani, Devi Kalaratri, Devi Mahagauri and Devi Siddhidatri.
Some years ago, Cultural Samvaad was born during Navratri with just one essay on our favourite text – Durga Saptashati. Since then, we have continued to add and amend.
This page is an attempt to bring together the multicoloured hues of the Devi’s grand celebration to facilitate conversations around the texts and images, their symbolism and the unity in diversity of Bharat’s age-old traditions.
Sharad Navratri 2026 - 11–20 October | Vijayadashami 20 October
