Festival Special – Navaratri

Samoohik Divli  pooja is also conducted. A lamp is lit  by the purohit /bhatmam or elderly lady of the group  and they read out Lakshmi Stotras,Namavalis and others repeat while offering flowers to the lamp. .Kumkumarchane is also done. Some invite friends home to read lalitha sahasranama,lakshmi sahasranam etc. Few light ghee lamps during navarathri at home and prepare only saatvik food for all the 9 days.In some parts the custom of keeping bomma kolu is also  followed and various types of dhanya upkaris is prepared  everyday to be  distributed to all .

There is a custom of Vidyaarambh ( also called “Aksharabhyasa ) in many temples or kuldevta temples where a special pooja is performed on any one of nine days or as per the date informed by the  temple committee ,The tiny tots in the family are made to write on rice and blessings seeked from the deity and the priests..This is the first step towards his/her education and then the kids are admitted to schools or playschools.

In most homes on Mahanavami day – childrens books ,business ledgers and other articles are kept and  Saraswati pooja performed. Weapons and vehicles are also decked with flowers and offered  pooja.

On Vijaya dashmi day  new rice and  sheaves of paddy which is got from the  temple is brought home and  kept  near  the tulsi  plant , aarti is waved and the  senior  male of the family keeps it on his head and brings it inside  the house .This then is tied along with a mango leaf and a jack fruit leaf and tied to entrance of house, deva mantapa, almirah ,  to the kheeri vessel to be used on that day,and to the copper bhann kept in deva kood ( pooja room),the new rice from the temple is  used in rice and kheer prepared for the feast on that day along with Ghashi, valval, sasam ,phodi, cheppi kheeri,paysu, thousali  (recipes for all these dishes can be found in this blog ). This Nave jevan or Navanna means using of seasons first crop of  vegetables  like thoushe,maddi,yam etc .This jevan is also traditionally done according to their kuldevu day  – for example for mahalasa narayani it is shashti,  In south kanara many families celebrate together in their ancestral house .The Devi ‘Durga Sapthashati is read on Navrathri days and last day a mangal pooja is performed,  inviting  ladies and giving them kumkum with veedo or vonti. In  Mangalore,udupi side Goddess Saraswati moorti is brought on moola nakshatra and pratishtha is performed keeping the idol for 5 days. Chandika havan ,akshrabhyas ,tulabhaar are  performed at the devasthanams ,On Shravan nakshatra  the vigraha is taken on grand procession and then immersed in temple lake.