Durga Puja - Sashti and Saptami Pujas

During the nine days of Navaratri the book Chandi is recited everyday morning.  This recital is done along with worship of the Goddess Chandi.

Kalparambha, a ritual is done early in the morning of Sashti, sixth day.  It is mainly an act of making the samkalpa or ''sacramental intention'', the firm determination to conduct the Puja properly during the three days.  The ritual consists of installing the ghata, water-filled copper pot, at a corner of Durga mandap and offering worship to Durga and Chandi.

Durga is aroused. The mantra that is used, translates to 'On the Sixth of the evening I arouse thee'.
The arousing of the Goddess, the bodhana, is an evening ritual. As as per the rituals, it is said in the Bhrahmanda Nadikeshwara Purana, that Goddess Chandika resides in the wood apple or the Vilva tree on the sixth day. Prayers are offered to the Goddess and she is welcomed home, from the tree. The word ‘Bodhan' literally means ‘awakening'.  The Hindu mythology holds that all gods and goddesses go to sleep for six months during the southward journey of the Sun.  Autumn (Sharat), during which Durga Puja is done, falls in the middle of this period.  Hence it is necessary to first of all awaken the deity Durga. The awakening of Durga was first done by Sri Rama who wanted to propitiate the Goddess before fighting Ravana.

The ritual of Bodhan consists in installing a water-filled copper vessel at the base of the Bel (Bilva) tree  and praying to the Divine Mother to awaken.

Bodhan is followed by Adhivas.  Adhivas means ''invocation''.  Through Bodhan the Devi has awakened: now the awakened Devi has to be invoked in the Bel tree or branch of the tree.  Adhivas is also a ritual of sanctification.  The actual ritual consists of the following main steps.

• Devi Durga and the Wood Apple tree are first worshipped
• Twenty-six sacramental things (mangalik dravya) are sanctified by touching Devi Durga and the Bel tree with them. These include sari (cloth), kumkum, turmeric etc.
• To ward off evil effects, a red coloured thread is tied around the altar where Puja is done.

On the sixth day only the Goddess enters the house. The navapatrika is yet to come in. Early morning, before sunrise, the navapatrika is bathed in the waters collected from different rivers. The navapatrika then enters the house. The scriptures say Navapatrika coming into the house in the early morning gives rise to health, wealth and victory. It is also said the navapatrika has to be brought in early morning inside the house. Any later, and the scriptures say, it brings about distress and destructiveness.

On Saptami, a living deity is required to invoke the Goddess. On the sixth day , Durga was invoked in the Bel tree or a branch of it.  On the seventh day the Deity is invoked in a group of nine plants known as Navapatrika.  The nine plants, which include a branch of Bel tree also, are bundled together, given a ceremonial bath, covered with an orange coloured cloth and installed on a wooden seat on the right side of the image of Durga, usually on the right side of Ganesha.  This is followed by Mahasnan (great bath) on a mirror, using various materials.  After this, consecration and divinization of the image, known as pranapratishtha, takes place.  This is followed by elaborate worship of the Devi with sixteen items (shodashopacharapuja).  The other deities, attendants and other objects associated with Devi are then worshipped.  The Seventh Day's Puja is concluded with bhog (food offering) and Arati to Devi.

Food offerings constitute of black sesame seeds, Hartaki (myrobalan), flowers, two earthen ware bowls brimming with raw rice (atop chaal), wood apple leaves,  white mustard, (40 or 22 bowls of madhuparka - a drink made with honey, yogurt and ghee (clarief butter), honey, raw sugar, 40 or 22 naivedhyas (cooked food), one main naivedhya (cooked dish) , fruits and items used to prepare the naivedhya.

For the puja one would need Jute ropes, red thread, alta (red liquid or lacquer) , four finger rings, four sacred threads, a pot, a mirror, a tekatha (a triangular frame made of wood), sandalwood, urad dal, hibiscus flower, small naivedya, one big earthen lamp, pancha pallava (five leaves), pancha ratna (five gems), pancha shashya (*five different grains) , five different colors, vermillion, items for arati, sand, wood,  cowdung, cow urine, kusha grass, ghee, 108 vilva leaves and a bowl.

After food and Puja, Cothes are offered to the Gods.

One needs Clothes for the priest, gamcha (towel), 40 or 22 finger rings made of kusha grass, sari for navapatrika, one sari for the main puja, saris for Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati,  clothes for Kartikeya, Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu, clothes for nine planets, clothes for peacock, mouse, lion, demon, buffalo, ox and snake. , Chandmala, a nosering, iron, conch shell are also needed and clothed. Each Chandmala usually comprises three disks, attached with strings and with hanging decorations at the end. Each disk usually has a golden or silver color rim.

Along with this, one needs flower garlands, garland made of vila leaves, Banana plant, turmeric plant, colacassia plant, wood apple stem, pomegranate stem, a stem of Jayanti plant, arum plant, rice plant, ashoka stem, twigs of white aparajita plant and two banana stems.

For the aarti one would need dhakis and dhaak.