The nine days festival of Navratri is celebrated with the worship of Goddess Shakti in all regions of the country. It is the best time to increase your spiritual practice or to purify your soul. Devotees must know the sacred story of Navratri before doing Navratri fasting.
There are many stories related to the festival. According to the legend, in Navratri, Maa Durga killed a demon called Mahishasura to free all the deities from his suffering. Mahishasura took the unique powers by the worship of Lord Shiva and three dev ‘Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh’ were also unable to defeat him. Gods were frightened by the terror of Mahishasura. At that time, the Gods incarnated Durga with their strengths and Maa Durga removed all sufferings by defeating Mahishasur. So, there are many other legends behind it after which the worship of Maa Durga started and people began the celebration of Navratri.
Navratri fasting is done by majority of people in all over India. In Maharashtra and Gujrat, devotees observe Fasting during Navratri for seven days and break their fast on the eighth day of the occasion after worshipping young girls. On the other hand, some devotees keep the fast until the Ashtami and break their fast only on the ninth day of the festival.
Procedure of Fasting During Navratri
The fast of Navratri is observed by the people for seven or eight days depending upon the kanchika pujan. The worship of young girls is known as kanchika pujan in which devotees offer prasad to the young girls. According to the tradition, they serve puris (deep fried Indian bread), halwa (sweet dish made of suji) and Bengal gram curry to them. After taking the blessings of young girls, the devotees break their fast by eating the prasad of puri, halwa and sabzi that they prepared for kanchikayen.
During fasting, devotees wake up early in the morning and offer prayers to the deity after taking holy bath. People, who have observed fast, follow a special diet for Navtratri if they have not kept a waterless fast. They do not take non-vegetarian food, alcohol and the dishes made up of common salt. To prepare rotis or puris, Singhare ka atta (kuttu ka atta) is used while fasting.
Generally, food made of sago and potato is taken by the people while fasting during Navratri. Sendha namak (rock salt) can be used instead of common salt for cooking food. All foodstuff made of fruits are consumed during the Navratri fast. Now days, special menu is available in the restaurants for the people who observe fast on Navratri. Ready-to-eat snacks are also accessible in various stores.
Some food ingredients allowed during Navratri fast are as follows:
- You can make the dishes of sabudana or tapioca pearls.
- Makhana kheer, roasted makhana or a makhana sabzi can be made.
- All dry fruits are allowed to add in halwas or other dishes.
- You can consume all fruits or fruit juices.
- All milk products and sugar, honey, gur or jaggery are allowed.
Atul Goyal is a professional content writer who loves writing articles relating to festive occasions. you can get very useful information on Navratri 2014 ,Fasting During Navratri,History of navratri,Navratri 2014 date and Navratri Recipies . Find Frestival info on http://www.truthstar.com and much more
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