Devi Navratri 2016: Colours to Wear, Forms of the Devi, Alankaram, Naivedyam to Offer

Sharada Navratri or Devi Navratri is one of the most important festivals and is celebrated across almost all parts of India. These 9 nights/10 days (navratri = nine nights) are dedicated to various forms of the Devi or the Goddess.

In 2017, Navratri is from September 21, 2017 to September 30, 2017.

On each of the 9 days, the Devi is worshipped in a different form. In Andhra Pradesh, one way of celebrating Navratri is to worship Navdurga or the 9 forms of Durga. There is a different naivedyam offered each day. I have used the information from the Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada as the primary source for the naivedyam to be offered.

In addition, each day has a specific colour associated with it. This information I got on WhatsApp. 🙂 I have combined the two to create the table shown below.

In addition, in most South Indian and Maharashtrian homes, married women invite other married women and offer “tamboolam”. Along with the taboolam, normally sundal is given as prasadam.

Vijayawada Kanaka Durga is a very revered form of the Devi in Andhra Pradesh and she has a temple dedicated to her on the a hill called Indrakeeladri on the banks of the river Krishna. The Devi gets her name Kanaka Durga (Golden Durga) from her golden hue. Read more about this temple and the story of its origins. 

This post will be a living document for a few days while I refine the Naivedyam list and other details. I hope to finalise it as soon as possible. 🙂