The Householder Nine Nights — Saptashati by Mahavidya Krama, Navdurga Japa at Night, Havan and Paran

The speaker opens by naming the subject: at the time of Navratri, especially, what mantras connected with Bhagavati should a common sadhak who has not received diksha of any kind jap over the nine days, and what vidhan should he keep, such that the tantrokta effect of that mantra — meaning, he says, its most intense effect — is obtained by him, Jagadamba's kripa is also obtained, and his work is accomplished. Along with this, the paths of the Durga Saptashati are included. The whole vidhan he is about to give, he says, is also for those who are working, who are not getting leave, and who nevertheless want to do Navratri. Establishing full harmony between one's work, one's daily life and this Navratri anushthan, the sadhana will be done. This sadhana, he says, will be dedicated entirely to householders. He asks listeners to hear it out in a settled and quiet frame, to churn it over well, and only then to prepare their own plan for how the nine days of sadhana are to be completed.

The first thing, the speaker says, is that in this new samvatsar that is beginning, every person — even someone going to keep Navratri for the first time — may do it. On the day of Pratipada, do the kalash sthapana and so on in a shubh muhurat. One may also do it according to one's own region. Whatever knowledgeable brahmins and scholars there are in your area, and whatever time they have stated, on that day too, according to your own convenience, you may perform kalash sthapana and Ghatasthapana in that manner and kindle the Akhand Jyot.

When you begin the Navratri vrat, the speaker says, on the first day you will take a sankalp at the time of pujan in the morning, seated at your own place. First the guru and Ganpati pujan will be done; after performing svastivachan, take the sankalp. If svastivachan is not known to you, take the name of Bhagwan Narayan three times, take Ganpati ji's name, do Ganpati ji's path, and after that, taking water, akshat and flowers in the hand, take the sankalp that you are resolving to keep the nine-day Navratri vrat. If you are not going to keep the fast, and fast only on the first day and the last day, then you will state this with clarity within that sankalp.

Now, as to how you are to do it: two things have to be carried along, the speaker says. The first thing is to do the path of the Shri Durga Saptashati. The second thing is that in the night hours, according to whichever tithi it is, whichever swarup of Bhagavati Mahadurga stands for that day, to jap the mantra of that Durga swarup and obtain her kripa.

You should have with you either a rakta chandan mala or a RudrakshaA sacred seed strung into rosaries and worn during shiva worship. mala, the speaker says — whichever of these two you have, you may jap upon it. Japa may also be done upon a sphatik mala. Have the mala given pran pratishtha and made chetan-yukt. The vidhan for this has been given on the channel. You may also do it on the Amavasya tithi — the Somvati Amavasya that is falling is a divya kaal — and keep it ready on that day, if you have not yet had it pran-pratishthit. Those who have tantrokta rudraksha or other such malas, which have come to them through him at the time of some anushthan or at some other such time, need do nothing at all to them: they are to begin japping directly.

Now the first point, the speaker says: we are not to do the complete Saptashati path every day. We will do it in the Mahavidya krama. The full vidhi of the Mahavidya krama has been given separately on the channel, and listeners may watch that too and become clearer. Today as well he will describe how the nine days are to be done, one after another, all together.

Then the first day's pujan — what will the vidhan of Bhagavati's seva-pujan be, the speaker asks. On the first day a little time will go simply in doing the Ghatasthapana and the rest. After that, the morning and evening aarti must certainly happen. If you are doing the pujan along with your family, and the family is going to join in the aarti, then fix a definite time and do the aarti at that time. Your own path is to be done after that.

In the Mahavidya krama we will do the path in the morning, the speaker says, and in the night hours, or at the time of sandhya, we will do the japa of Bhagavati's mantras. This is to be kept in mind. Make a full effort to wear red cloth, or yellow cloth. It should be coloured: wear red, yellow or orange. These three cloths will serve. The asana should be of kusha, red or yellow; red remains the very best. The direction should be towards the east or the north.

Alongside, the speaker says, we have to do the pujan of Ganpati ji, Bhairav ji, Hanuman ji and Bhagwan Narsingh — of all four of them. If you offer akshat and flowers in the names of all four, your puja is accepted, so you should not do too much thinking about it. If the vidhan is known to you, that is fine; if not, then only this much. How? You have sat on the asana and done achman and the rest. You have done the dhyan of Ganpati ji and of your guru ji. If there is no guru ji, then Bhagwan Dattatreya, who is the mahaguru and the guru of all, and within whom Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh are a single gathered form — doing dhyan of that swarup, we will offer akshat and flowers in his name. Then in the name of Ganpati ji, and then in the name of Batuk Bhairav ji.

After that you will begin the path of the Shri Durga Saptashati, the speaker says. In the Saptashati path, when the pujan and the path are done in the Mahavidya krama, there is no need in it to perform the utkeelan and the Mrityu Sanjeevani, the sanjeevan krama, and all of those. He has explained this separately in that video and has given the proofs for it there as well. You have only to do the path of the kavach, the argala and the keelak, and on the first day the path of the first adhyaya. After doing the path of the first adhyaya, you will then do the path of the Tantrokta Devisuktam.

If you do Navarna and the like, the speaker says, then make a samput with one mala each: one mala before, ahead of the first adhyaya, and one mala afterwards. If you do not do that, then do the Navarna at least nine times over. Do it without the pranav. For japa and siddhi and so on in greater measure, and for the vidhi belonging to that, you should take Diksha and then do it.

Here, the speaker says, those who do not know how to do the path in Sanskrit should please not do a wrong path. Do the complete path in Hindi, with bhav. There is no trouble in it. However much anyone may say that doing it in Hindi achieves nothing, and that Maa is hungry only for bhav — both of these subjects do come up, and you are not to be anxious about it. If you are doing it for the first time, begin in Hindi.

Over two or three Navratris, four or five Navratris, Sanskrit will slowly begin to come to you, the speaker says. You will begin to understand Sanskrit and will come to know what the subject is. After that, when time is left over, practise for Sanskrit; there are many videos on YouTube, and watching them you will practise, and slowly you will come to be able to do the Saptashati path. He is never saying, he adds, that you should now read only in Hindi for the whole of your life. You have to learn Sanskrit. Give half an hour or fifteen minutes of time and you will learn it in six months. Give very little time — there are, after all, only 700 shlokas. If you do ten shlokas daily you will learn it in two months and ten days. And if you have learned the Saptashati in two months and ten days — only the pronunciation, since it does not have to be learned by heart — then know, he says, that generation upon generation will be carried across. That is to be remembered. But for now this is for the entirely ordinary person: if we do not know Sanskrit pronunciation, we will simply do the path in Hindi.

On the night of Pratipada, or at the time of sandhya once the aarti and the rest have been done with the family or alone, japa may also be done earlier, the speaker says. Otherwise, at around eight o'clock, sit again upon your asana. The Akhand Jyot is burning; kindle one karma sakshi deepak separately as well, and offer dhoop, deep, naivedya and the rest. You will offer akshat, flowers and so on in the names of the guru, Ganpati, Batuk Bhairav ji and Bhagwan Narsingh, and after that the mantra of Bhagavati's first swarup, Shailputri Durga. The PDF for this will be placed in the description of the video — which mantras are to be japped on each of the nine days of Navratri in the night hours: on the day of Pratipada whose, and on the second day what the mantra of Brahmacharini will be. Nine malas of each are to be japped.

The first mantra of Shailputri Durga — the first swarup of Bhagavati Durga ji — is japped nine malas at night and then offered up to Bhagavati, the speaker says. That much only is to be done by you. If you wish, kindle nine camphors and nine cloves in some vessel. Your pujan of the first day is complete. Very little time will be taken, the time will be altogether authentic, and Bhagavati's complete kripa will be obtained.

On the second tithi you will again do the path of the kavach, argala and keelak, the path of the second and third adhyayas of the Durga Saptashati, and the path of the Tantrokta Devisuktam, the speaker says. And in the night hours you will do nine malas of Bhagavati Brahmacharini. Her mantra too will be found in the PDF in the description; all of them, for the nine Durgas, will be together in one place. On the Tritiya tithi you do the kavach, argala and keelak, the fourth adhyaya and the Tantrokta Devi Suktam by day; at night you do nine malas of Bhagavati Chandraghanta. On the Chaturthi tithi: the kavach, argala and keelak, the path of the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth adhyayas, the Tantrokta Devi Suktam, and in the night hours nine malas of the mantra of Bhagavati Kushmanda.

On the Panchami tithi, do the path of the ninth and tenth adhyayas along with the kavach, argala and keelak, the speaker says, and in the night hours jap the mantras of Skanda Mata. On the Shashthi tithi it will be the eleventh adhyaya, along with the kavach, argala and keelak and the Tantrokta Devisuktam. This will be daily: the kavach, argala and keelak will be done every day. Do the path of the adhyayas that belong to the Mahavidya krama, and after that read the Tantrokta Devi Suktam — the stuti that runs "Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu". And in the night hours on the Shashthi tithi, nine malas of Bhagavati Katyayani will be done.

On the Saptami tithi you will do the path of the twelfth and thirteenth adhyayas along with the kavach, argala and keelak, the speaker says. You will do the path of the Devi Suktam, and in the night hours you will jap nine malas of Bhagavati Kalratri. Now your thirteen adhyayas stand complete, so on the Ashtami tithi you will do the path of the three Rahasyas along with the kavach, argala and keelak. The three Rahasyas are those given after the thirteen adhyayas and the Tantrokta Devisuktam — the Murti Rahasya and the others. Do the path of these three Rahasyas, and after that, in the night hours, you will jap the mantras of Mahagauri.

Now comes the Navami tithi, the speaker says. On the Navami tithi the Havan is done early in the morning, because the Kanya Pujan has to be done. Do not be anxious: do Bhagavati's havan in the morning and do the kanya pujan. There is no difficulty; it is completed there. But you are not to take the paran yet — keep that in mind. This is according to what we follow, he says, in the Vindhya region and in the whole vidhan as we see it. Now if anyone gives any proof, or speaks on some other subject, that is theirs — look to it according to your own understanding. On the Navami tithi, in the night hours, you are to jap nine malas of the mantra of Bhagavati Siddhidatri, and on the Dashami tithi you are to take the paran. You have made the Purnahuti, but the night sadhana which was running for you should also be completed by you.

If a doubt is in your mind — that no, how can it be so, how will it be done — then there is no difficulty in that either, the speaker says. There is a second road for you. On the Ashtami tithi itself, in the night hours, when you jap the nine malas of Mahagauri, after that jap nine malas of Bhagavati Siddhidatri as well, at one and the same time. On the Ashtami night you have japped both of them. Then on the Navami tithi, in the morning, with the mantras of each one of the nine Durgas, offer at least twenty-seven ahutis each into the fire.

If you are a woman, offer with guggul; if you are a man, offer with ghee, the speaker says. Do it in this manner. One further subject may be raised as a question, he says: if we are women, can we offer Ahuti or can we not? See — in the Vedic vidhan it should not be given; in the Vedokta vidhan it is not done. Other people, he remarks, have become very clever nowadays. This is the tantrokta vidhan. This is Jagadamba's vidhan. In this you may make ordinary ahuti and the rest; there is no difficulty in it. This, he says, is the ordinary subject and the ordinary vidhan, and he has tried to cover everything up; in this manner you can do it and complete it.

If you wish to take the paran on the Navami tithi, the speaker says, that is your subject; look to it according to your own understanding. And there is a complete separate vidhan both for the japa of the two Durgas on the Ashtami night and for the pujan of the sandhi that will come between Ashtami and Navami. Meaning, the Ashtami-Navami japa you will do — that much has been told. In Navami, the final twenty minutes of Ashtami and the opening twenty minutes of Navami are called the sandhi kaal. It is in this that Bhagavati's foremost swarup, which is called Jagadamba's Chamunda swarup — which is to say, the greatest tantrokta swarup of the greatest Jagadamba — had its appearance. So the pujan of this swarup should be done at this time.

There is a separate video, the speaker says, on how deepdaan is to be done, how Bali is to be given, to whom bali is to be given and to whom it is not — the whole subject is there, and he asks listeners to watch that as well. If it is possible, do that too. If you will not be able to perform so large a vidhi, then at the very least give a bali of one coconut and three lemons, without fail. Burn camphor, cloves and the like.

After doing this much, on the last day, before you take the paran, some anna and the like must be given in daan, and dakshina and the like given in daan, with a sankalp made, the speaker says. And at the end there is samarpan: that the whole Navratri vrat which we have kept, Jagadamba, we offer up to you. Only after that should you take the paran.