Kalash Visarjan Vidhi: Navratri Closing Rituals and Fast-Breaking Guidelines

The first question, the speaker says, is when the Navratri vrat's parana should be done. Those who fast from Pratipada to the NavamiThe ninth tithi of a fortnight, on which a navaratra anushthan is completed. TithiA lunar calendar day — some idols (like a Shivling) need daily bathing regardless, while others only need it on their dedicated weekly day or tithi. should always do their parana on the day of Vijayadashami. One should never, on Navami or AshtamiThe eighth tithi of a fortnight, held especially favourable for shakta rites., do Kanya Pujan and then eat the grain that is eaten to break the fast. He stresses this specially: when a nine-day Navratri fast is kept up to Navami, the parana is not on Navami but on Dashami. So never do parana on Navami — after kanya pujan and the rest on Navami, the parana comes only after the Vijayadashami pujan. He adds that the question then arises of what pujan happens on Vijayadashami, since havan and kanya pujan were already done on Navami. The Vijayadashami tithi, he says, is very important: it is the time when the nine days of vrat, puja-path, sadhana, havan, japa and tapa are strung together into one thread, and it has its Vijay Muhurat. Know that first, he says, and only then take up the subject of Visarjan.

First of all on the day of Vijayadashami, the speaker says, one should do Shastra Pujan — ayudh pujan. A weapon should be there in the home of every follower of Sanatana DharmaThe 'eternal law' — the traditional name for the Vedic-Puranic-Tantric religious and philosophical tradition now commonly called Hinduism., and its pujan is done on that day. At the puja place, the weapon is bathed with panchamritaA five-ingredient offering (commonly milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar) used to bathe an idol before worship. and PanchagavyaA purifying mixture of five cow-derived products, used with Panchamrita and Tulsi leaves to purify a home, especially its threshold., then bathed with GangajalWater from the Ganges, used to purify and re-consecrate ritual items exposed to impurity.; RoliA red vermilion powder applied to ritual offerings such as the lemons in a sacrificial Bali, before they are circled with water and offered., kumkum and tilak are applied, dhoop and deep are shown, and then it is dedicated to Bhagavati — established near her — and worshipped by showing dhoop, deep and the rest.

After the shastra pujan, the speaker says, ShamiA leaf used in remedy rituals — conventionally not to be picked on a Saturday; if needed for a Saturday rite, it's picked the Friday before. pujan and Aprajita pujan must certainly be done. Those who have a Shami tree or plant and an Aprajita creeper at home are fine. Those who do not should, even if only mentally, light two lamps — one in the name of the Shami tree and one in the name of Aprajita. If possible, city-dwellers without the plant can ask where they buy flowers, or bring one from a nursery and plant it beforehand for the pujan; if the plant takes root at home, that is very good. Shami, he says, destroys enemies; Aprajita grants victory in every field. The nine-day Navratri vrat reaches completion only through the grace of these two, so their pujan is very necessary for everyone — without prakriti puja no vrat, festival or parva of ours is ever complete. The method: whatever will be used to cut — a knife or scissors — is first washed well and itself worshipped as a shastra. Then, taking RoliA red vermilion powder applied to ritual offerings such as the lemons in a sacrificial Bali, before they are circled with water and offered., kumkum, a deepak, AkshatUnbroken raw rice grains, held in hand along with water and flowers while taking a Sankalpa., a little NaivedyaThe food offering (Bhog) presented to a deity during worship, accompanied by water offerings and dedicatory mantras., paan leaf, SupariAreca nut, used as a stand-in for the deity in sankalpa and offered in pujan., clove, cardamom, GangajalWater from the Ganges, used to purify and re-consecrate ritual items exposed to impurity. and a little mouli thread, one goes to the Shami and the Aprajita. In the full vidhan, he notes, this is done outside the boundary — beyond the limits of one's town — but that is not possible in today's time, so go wherever you have planted them. First worship the Aprajita: offer water, tie the mouli, offer akshat and kumkum, flowers, show dhoop and deep, offer naivedya. Bow to Ma Aprajita again and again and pray repeatedly that the Navratri vrat you completed bear its full fruit and that you win victory in every field. After praying so, cut a little of her creeper with the shastra, knife or scissors you brought, asking forgiveness again and again, and keep it in your thali. Then do the same at the Shami tree — cut and keep a small twig or leaf after the pujan — and bring both back and place them on the Kalash you have established.

Having placed the Shami and Aprajita on the Kalash, the speaker says, you sit there again; the dhoop and deep will already be burning, or you will have done that day's pujan. Then on the day of Dashami you should recite the aprajita-stotram, the Ramraksha Stotram and the Aditya Hridaya Stotram. This is to be done in every Navratri, whether chaitra-navratri or Sharadiya Navratri — be sure to do these three. If you do not do these three, he says, do a path of the Kavach, and along with the Kavach a path of what the transcript renders as "satnam" and the like; after that, do AartiA ritual of waving a lit lamp or flame before a deity's image, performed here at the close of Deepdan once the lamps begin to burn down..

Once the AartiA ritual of waving a lit lamp or flame before a deity's image, performed here at the close of Deepdan once the lamps begin to burn down. is done, the speaker turns to how the Visarjan is done. First take AkshatUnbroken raw rice grains, held in hand along with water and flowers while taking a Sankalpa. and flowers in hand. If you know the Sanskrit mantra, say the visarjan mantra in Sanskrit — "उत्तिष्ठ देवी चामुंडा", as the transcript has it. Otherwise you can say it plainly in Hindi. The Hindi prayer he gives: O Bhagavati, by your grace and by the intellect and strength given by you, I have completed this Navratri vrat SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit.; now I present myself with humility to bid you farewell. O Ma Durge, may you and all the devas who came with you go happily to your own lokas, and from there always protect my family and me, and grant me happiness and prosperity. O Bhagavati Lakshmi, O Shri Ganesha, may you always remain established in my storeroom. After saying this, asking forgiveness again and again, place the akshat and flowers on the Kalash or in front of it. Then the Kalash should be shifted, and whatever mandal you have established should be shifted too. He adds that after the Koncha has been tied and kshama prarthana done again and again, the jaware you sowed, the Aprajita twig and the Shami twig should all be offered to Ma — on her murti if there is one, or on her photo — and the rest of the pujan done.

Here, the speaker says, many people in many regions have a custom given the name khoincha bharna, or in some places bhaat bharna. It means that in a chunri one places AkshatUnbroken raw rice grains, held in hand along with water and flowers while taking a Sankalpa., flowers, dhoop, grass and DakshinaThe offering made to a guru or officiant that completes a rite; a ritual is held incomplete without it. for Ma and ties it into her aanchal — because when a daughter is sent off from her home, she is not sent empty-handed, and Ma is sent off the same way. The married women (suhagan) of the house are the ones who do it. He specifies the order: this Koncha is filled before the visarjan mantra is read — the farewell bundle first, then the mantra.

A question had come, the speaker says: if there is only one married (suhagan) woman in the house and she has become rajaswala — has her monthly period — then who will do the Koncha? In such a situation, he answers, the men of the house can fill the koncha; they can tie it in the chunri and keep it there before giving Ma her farewell. As with the usual case, this is done before the visarjan mantra is read.

The Kalash has been shifted, the speaker says; but now, if you want to do a bandhan of your house and the like, take the ash of the Havan you performed, the barley, the flowers that were offered on Ma through the nine days of Navratri, the SupariAreca nut, used as a stand-in for the deity in sankalpa and offered in pujan. and whatever else you offered and kept — put all of it in a red cloth and, at that same time, tie it at the main door.

The Akhand Jyot that burns through Navratri, the speaker says, should keep burning until the Visarjan — that is, until the Kalash has been shifted. Once you have read the visarjan mantra and shifted the Kalash, the Akhand Jyot should go out. Whatever oil is left in it, take it out into a box and keep it; it will be of use through the year — mix RoliA red vermilion powder applied to ritual offerings such as the lemons in a sacrificial Bali, before they are circled with water and offered. into it and apply tilak. If someone's health is bad, it can be applied on their forehead and the like while praying and making a request to Bhagavati. The ash that remains should also be taken out and kept. He asks listeners to note: before the Kalash goes out of the house, the Akhand Jyot must have burned out completely, and only after cooling the lamp — sprinkling a little GangajalWater from the Ganges, used to purify and re-consecrate ritual items exposed to impurity. on it — should the Kalash be taken out of the house for visarjan. The jyot still burning, left behind in the house, while you pick up the Kalash and go to the river for visarjan — that must not be done. If some vidhi-vidhan of this kind has been coming down in your family from before, he says, that is a different matter.

Now, the speaker says, comes the question of how to do parana. Before parana you should do Annadaan. Annadaan means five kinds of grain, or according to your capacity a sava kilo (1.25 kg) of grain — the whole sidha, as it is called: flour, rice and so on. Take it, touch it with your hand and take the SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit.: "I am giving this in daan to a Brahmin." After completing Navratri, this touching is done and the grain set aside; then send it to a Brahmin, to some pandit ji, or to a temple. After that, whatever food you have cooked, offer it as BhogThe food offering placed before a deity before anyone in the household eats. first of all. Before parana, offer bhog to Ma and make the nivedan. Then first eat the PrasadWhat returns from the deity after an offering, and is then eaten rather than discarded. that was offered to Bhagavati, and then eat the bhog you offered. In the bhog you may break the fast with khichdi, or with whatever puri, sabzi and so on you cook and offer on Dashami — only after offering do you eat. Everything that goes systematically is done in this order, he says. Only after doing the parana is the Kalash taken out of the house. It is not, he says, that we will immerse the Kalash and then come back and break our fast — do not make that mistake. After parana, when the Akhand Jyot has completely gone quiet, then pick up the Kalash and go to the river however you wish — by car, by bike, however you travel.

A question arises here, the speaker says: should the coconut and the whole decoration of the Kalash be taken off and kept? If you have offered more than one chunri and want to keep them, the chunris can be lifted off and kept at home; but the whole Kalash goes to the river exactly as it is. Pay attention here, he says. At the river, place the Kalash on the bank and first show dhoop and deep. Pray there once more: O Bhagavati, if any offence has been committed, forgive it; protect me always; and again and again grant us the good sense to serve you every year without fail. After this prayer, turn in pradakshinaClockwise circumambulation of a deity or shrine, keeping it to one’s right. on the spot — going round and round — five times, or at least three. Then dip the Kalash into the water together with the coconut. Keep holding the coconut in your hand after it goes under, so it does not float away. Whatever DakshinaThe offering made to a guru or officiant that completes a rite; a ritual is held incomplete without it., SupariAreca nut, used as a stand-in for the deity in sankalpa and offered in pujan. and so on you had put inside the Kalash: once the Kalash is fully submerged, remove the lid and then take them out. If you keep a purna patra — the vessel of rice — that rice may be put into the river when you dip it, the fish will eat it, no problem; or it may be given to sparrows and other birds. The dakshina from inside the Kalash, the supari, and any other dravya you put in are all taken out, tied in a chunri and kept where you keep your money and the like. The Kalash is left in the river; the coconut is also to be released. The jaware you sowed, he adds, can be immersed directly in the river — no pollution comes from them.

The coconut is released too, the speaker says, but the cloth wrapped over the coconut — the cloth you wrapped on the Kalash for nine days — is wrung out there and lifted off and kept. He says he is repeating it again and again: it is brought back only after the Visarjan in the river, that is, only after being dipped in the river. We do not have the capacity, he says, to directly use the chunri Ma wore for nine days or the cloth that was wrapped on her. Many people do it, but the thing that sat on top of the main Kalash should first be immersed in this way and only then brought back from there. The whole shakti and power of the nine days stays in it just the same — it is not that everything ends when it is put in water. You can do it this way; if you do not want to, then at least sprinkle river water over it from above first, and only then remove the cloth and do the visarjan.

The coconut kept on the Kalash should never be broken, the speaker says — never make such a foolish mistake, for it is the very form of Durga. If you break it, the dosh of hatya will attach to you; straightforwardly, the dosh of deva-hatya attaches. So such a mistake should never be made. And the Kalash, he adds, should never be broken either.

Whether or not one can reach a river, the speaker says, after shifting the Kalash a little of the water in it can be kept for drinking. Even if you are going for Visarjan, you can take out a little of the Kalash water — take it out with a small glass and keep it — and everyone should drink it: the shakti of Bhagavati from nine days is in it.

If you have no river and the like — you cannot go to immerse the jaware or the Kalash — then, the speaker says, after shifting the Kalash you can pour its water at a PeepalA sacred fig tree dedicated to Lord Dattatreya — Pitru Tarpan performed beneath it calms agitated ancestral spirits causing domestic unrest. tree, a Banyan tree or a Tulsi plant, and let the Kalash stay right there in the puja place, in a clean spot; there is no problem. Later, whenever you go somewhere, immerse it — but it must not be touched by feet, and if the Kalash is of clay it must not break. What about the coconut in this situation? If you are not able to go anywhere — there is no river, no pond, no lake — let the coconut too remain in the puja place in the same way; put the rice from the purna patra out for the birds; let the coconut stay as it is, the pujan keeps going, and when you go somewhere you will immerse it there. If you get a chance to go to a river later, do the Visarjan then — but it is to be removed in this way.

What to do with the Jaware? The upper green part, the speaker says, we put on the ear, offer to Bhagavati, and keep at the place where money is kept — and even after all that a great many jaware remain. In today's situation, if you have no facility to immerse them, never make the mistake of throwing them in the garbage or tossing them aside. The green plants on top — the lower part is white, the upper part green — cut off the whole green part with scissors, and later take out its juice, make a sharbat and the like, and all of you can drink it; no dosh attaches, once the visarjan — that is, the shifting of the Kalash — is done. And the lower part that remains, put it in some flower pot, cover it well with soil, and plant some plant in it.