Navratri
Every question on the site tagged Navratri, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
- Sun, 11 Oct 2026–20 Oct in 17 days
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- Thu, 30 Sep 2027–9 Oct in 371 days
30 Sep: The tithi began and ended without ever falling at sunrise (kshaya); the day it runs through is kept.
Computed for New Delhi. Sunrise decides which tithi a day belongs to, so these can differ elsewhere.
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The nine-night festival honoring the nine forms of Durga, celebrated twice yearly (Chaitra and Sharad).
270 notes from our sourcesNotes from our sources
Devi worship in Navratri is incomplete without her attendant deities
The speaker says that in Navratri people worship the Navadurgas, the ten Mahavidyass or one chosen form of Jagdamba, but while doing her puja and japa they forget certain deities whose worship is compulsory; without it, he says, the Devi's puja and japa is never complete. The reason he gives is that in Navratri, and especially chaitra-navratri, every shakti is at its peak and comes from its own loka to the earth, to its holy places and to its devotees' homes. Her Anga Shaktis and Mandala Shaktis are like a family: invite her and she does not come alone, her sons and children come with her, so all of them are to be worshipped and remembered, as far as one knows them.
Minimum Bhairav worship in Navratri
The speaker says that alongside Hanuman, Bhairava must also be worshipped in Navratri according to one's capacity. At the very least one should remember him, do japa of his name-mantra, and light a Chaumukh Deepak lamp in his name. The reason he gives is that these two shaktis are the ones who carry out all of Bhagavati's work, and the responsibility of protecting her devotees rests on them; so both are to be worshipped in Navratri without fail.
Are fasting, Kalash establishment, and an unbroken flame mandatory for Navratri recitation?
No — if you lack the financial means to maintain an unbroken flame or a full Kalash-based worship for nine days, you can recite Saptashati without either, and there is no fault in this for devotion to the Goddess; fasting depends purely on physical capacity.
What is the correct timing for morning Aarti and recitation during Navratri?
Morning Aarti and offerings must be completed by 7:00–7:30 AM at the latest during Navratri — earlier is better — because divine powers gather at fixed times when the Kalash and unbroken flame are established, and absence at that time causes divine displeasure (Dev Dosha).
Should Saptashati recitation happen before or after Aarti, and can it be done at night?
Complete basic morning worship and Aarti by 7:00–7:30 AM regardless of body constraints, then recite Saptashati afterward at a comfortable pace; night recitation is also acceptable starting around 8–10 PM, but morning Aarti timing is never relaxed even after a late night.
How should food offerings (bhog) and fruit-fasting be handled during Navratri?
Offer bhog according to your own financial capability rather than rigidly following claims about specific day-wise offerings, and during fasting consume only enough fruit, coconut water, or clean juice to sustain the body.
Sutak pauses regular worship, a permanent idol under about six inches replaces paper photos and is not moved or bathed daily, and havan may be substituted with extra chanting or donated materials.
Sutak pauses regular worship, permanent idols should be used instead of paper photos, the main idol should not exceed about 6 inches, the primary idol should not be moved or bathed daily after installation, pregnant women past three months should avoid the core worship area, and Havan can be substituted with extra chanting or donated materials.
What is Sandhi Puja in Navratri, and when does it fall?
The speaker says there is one time in Navratri when puja, path and prayer to Bhagwati through a special vidhi-vidhan — for destroying enemies, Abhichara, Preta, Pishach and other negative forces — bears fruit without fail: the transition when the Ashtami tithi ends and the Navami tithi begins, the Sandhi Kaal, announced in Durga Puja pandals as the time of Sandhi Puja. He says this window is so divine and supremely effective that in it Bhagwati Chamunda is held to pervade the entire world in her direct ugra form, and by that fierceness every negative force in the whole world is eclipsed, bound and pressed completely beneath her feet.
Why the sandhi kaal of 25 to 45 minutes is so intense for a Chamunda prayoga
The speaker says Chamunda is so ugra and so intense because the tantra texts hold that the kaal of her appearance is exactly the Sandhi Kaal in which she manifested. The sandhi-kaal is very short, and she finished the war with Chanda and Munda within it — by today's reckoning of the sandhi-kaal puja, a window of roughly 25 minutes to a maximum of 45. The senior, experienced tantriks of the guru tradition, when they describe it, say that in those few moments Bhagwati cleared away who knows how many crores of akshauhini armies — so swift, so intense was she. That, he says, is why this prayoga is extremely intense, excellent and beneficial.
No full Navratri vrat is needed for the Chamunda sandhi puja bali vidhan
The speaker says that to perform this vidhi it is not necessary that only those who have kept the Navratri Vrat and such do it. Those who have not kept the Navratri vrat can still perform this vidhan if they are merely fasting on the Ashtami.
Samagri for the Chamunda tantrokta bali pujan of sandhi kaal
The speaker lists the materials: one long, large banana leaf; eleven Chaumukh Deepak diyas and three single-wick diyas, all with cotton wicks made into pairs by binding two wicks together with red Mauli thread; only mustard oil in all of them — pure mustard oil, since til oil is often adulterated, and pure ghee may be used if one wishes, but mustard oil is best because the prayoga is for destroying enemies and their tantric schemes. Then coconuts — more than eleven, keep at least 13 — 13 lemons, 13 pieces of camphor and 26 cloves of the flowered kind.
Who may perform the Chamunda bali: red vastra, and the restriction on women
The speaker says that after bathing, one puts on red clothing before the Sandhi Kaal. Asked in advance whether women can do this, he answers that only those women should perform this prayoga whose son is already at least over twelve years of age; if possible, have the prayoga done by one's son or husband. Everything else a woman may do herself, but the Bali vidhan — the offering of the bali — is better done by a male.
Chamunda sandhi puja bali vidhan: the lamps, sankalp, offerings and aarti in order
The speaker gives the procedure. First light one of the three single-wick diyas and invoke Bhagwati Durga as Jatved Agni into its flame; that is the Karmasakshi Deepak from which every other lamp is lit. Holding Akshat, flowers, water and Dakshina, take Sankalpa with name, Gotra and place: to worship Bhagwati Chamunda in the Sandhi Kaal as far as one's ability, understanding and available upacharas allow, for the destruction of all one's enemies and of every tantric scheme and conspiracy worked against one. From the Jatved lamp light the first single-wick lamp in the Guru's name and the second in Ganesha's; then the eleven Chaumukh Deepak diyas in a row before the banana leaf — the nine in the middle are the nine forms of Chamunda, the one on one's left is Hanuman ji, the last on the right Batuk Bhairava — lit in that order: Hanuman, the nine, Batuk Bhairav last. Before every lamp place one coconut and one lemon, sprinkle all with Gangajal and give each a fine red Sindoor tilak. Holding akshat and flowers recite the Tantrokta Devisuktam — the recitation by which Kaushiki was invoked — and offer the flowers. Then the Bali: offer every coconut first, in the same order (guru, Ganpati, Hanuman, the nine Durgas, Batuk Bhairav), then cut each lemon standing upright, applying Roli and dropping a little water three times beside each from an Achamana spoon. Any stuti may follow; before Aarti set one camphor with two flowered cloves before every lamp and light it, then do aarti and Kshama Prarthana. The lemons are immersed under a sacred tree or in a river; the coconuts are eaten only by the household, never by outsiders. By Jagadamba's grace, he says, Chamunda destroys many troubles, sorrows and crises in a moment.
Relighting the akhanda jyoti each day, breaking brahmacharya, and skipping the bali due at 9 or 100 paths
Relighting the Akhand Jyot fresh every 24 hours instead of keeping it continuous, breaking celibacy (Brahmacharya) during the observance, and skipping the symbolic Bali due after set numbers of recitations are named as common errors.
Times when the Kalika Kavach becomes vajra-like: grahan, Diwali, Mahashivratri, Sharadiya Ashtami night and sandhi puja
The speaker says that whenever there is a Grahan, or Diwali, or Mahashivratri, or the Ashtami night of Sharadiya Navratri — the time of Bhagavati Kalika's manifestation — and the time of the sandhi puja, if you light 108 lamps as deep-dan and recite this Kavach then, the kavach becomes like a vajra: most ugra and amogh, and when used it gives immediate effect.
In hardship, enlarge the anushthan of the same deity instead of changing deities
The speaker says: do not change the deity, the murti or the form — do the big anushthans of the same deity in the same form. If five malas a day for ten years seem to bring nothing, increase them. On good parvas — Navratri, Shivratri, the good months where some tithi of the deity is already fixed — do their big anushthans, get them done by calling sadhaks, or learn and do them yourself; it is no rocket science. Do not live in delusion, and do not put deities out of the house. Just as parents cannot be swapped when life brings suffering — one has to serve them — hardship may simply be coming by Prarabdha. He sums up: do not, under the spell of today's "great scholars", throw the deities and pindas worshipped by one's kul out of the house; a clay pinda you dismiss may end up "laying your pinda", and then you will go about giving pind. Home deities must be worshipped daily and remain worshipped generation after generation; only then is there welfare.
Black magic never strikes suddenly: it takes hold where worship has lapsed
The speaker says no Abhichara ever lands on a person "with a jolt", out of nowhere. It only appears sudden for those who have done no worship, path or special anushthan for a long time — a lamp once on Diwali, a little incense in Navratri, and nothing more. Where auspicious energy is not present in proper measure, he says, that is where the trouble comes.
When should the Navratri fast be broken?
The speaker says that those who fast from Pratipada to Navami must always do their parana on Vijayadashami — never on Navami or Ashtami by eating grain after kanya pujan. The nine-day fast is not broken on Navami but on Dashami, after the Vijayadashami pujan is done. He calls Vijayadashami the day that ties the nine days of vrat, puja, sadhana, havan and japa into one thread, with its own Vijay Muhurat.
Shastra pujan on Vijayadashami
The speaker says the first thing on Vijayadashami is shastra pujan, ayudh pujan: every Sanatan-dharmi home should have a weapon, and it is worshipped that day. At the puja place the weapon is bathed with panchamrit and panchgavya, then with Gangajal, given roli-kumkum tilak, shown dhoop and deep, and then offered to Bhagavati and placed beside her, with dhoop-deep pujan.
Shami and Aprajita pujan on Vijayadashami
The speaker says Shami and Aprajita pujan must be done on Vijayadashami: Shami destroys enemies, Aprajita gives victory in every field, and the nine-day vrat reaches completion only by their grace — no vrat or festival is complete without prakriti puja. Those without the plants light two lamps in their names, even mentally, or get the plants from a flower seller or nursery. The cutting tool is washed and worshipped as a shastra; then with roli, kumkum, deepak, akshat, naivedya, paan, supari, clove, cardamom, Gangajal and mouli one goes first to the Aprajita, offers water, ties the mouli, offers akshat-kumkum, flowers, dhoop-deep and naivedya, prays repeatedly for the full fruit of the vrat and victory, cuts a little of the creeper asking forgiveness, then does the same at the Shami, and places both on the Kalash. In the full vidhan this is done outside the town boundary, which he says is not possible today.
Texts recited at the altar on Vijayadashami
The speaker says that after placing the twigs on the Kalash one sits at the altar, with dhoop-deep already burning or the day's pujan done, and recites the Aprajita Stotra, the Ramraksha Stotra and the Aditya Hridaya on Dashami — in both Chaitra and Sharadiya Navratri, all three without fail. If not those three, do a path of the Kavach along with what the transcript renders as "satnam" and the like, and then do aarti.
Visarjan of the Navratri Kalash: the farewell prayer and shifting the Kalash
The speaker says that after aarti, visarjan begins by taking akshat and flowers in hand and saying the visarjan mantra — "Uttishtha Devi Chamunde" in Sanskrit if one knows it, otherwise in plain Hindi: that by Bhagavati's grace and the intellect and strength she gave, the Navratri vrat-sankalpa has been completed; that one humbly presents oneself to bid her farewell; that Ma Durga and all the devas who came with her return happily to their lokas and from there always protect the family and grant happiness and prosperity; and that Bhagavati Lakshmi and Shri Ganesh remain established in the storeroom. Then, asking forgiveness again and again, the akshat and flowers are placed on or before the Kalash, and the Kalash and every mandal established are shifted. After the koncha and further kshama prayer, the sown jaware and the Aprajita and Shami twigs are offered onto the Devi's murti or photo.
Koncha: the send-off bundle tied for the Devi before visarjan
The speaker says that in many regions there is a custom called khoincha bharna or bhaat bharna: akshat, flowers, dhoop, grass and dakshina are placed in a chunri and tied into Ma's aanchal, just as a daughter is never sent from her home empty-handed. The married women (suhagan) of the house do it, and it is done before the visarjan mantra is read.
Special case: who ties the koncha when the only married woman of the house is menstruating
Asked what to do when there is only one married woman in the house and she is menstruating at the time, the speaker answers that in such a situation the men can fill the koncha — tie it into the chunri and keep it there before Ma is given farewell.
Binding the house with the Navratri havan ash and offerings
The speaker says that once the Kalash has been shifted, anyone who wants to do a bandhan of their house takes the ash of the havan they did, the barley, the flowers offered on Ma over the nine days, the supari and whatever else was offered and kept, ties it all in a red cloth and, at that very time, ties it at the main door.
The Akhand Jyot at the end of Navratri
The speaker says the Akhand Jyot of Navratri must keep burning until visarjan — until the Kalash is shifted; once the visarjan mantra is read and the Kalash shifted, it should go out. The leftover oil is kept in a box and used all year for tilak mixed with roli, and can be applied to the forehead of someone unwell with a prayer to Bhagavati; the ash left is also kept. Before the Kalash leaves the house the jyot must have burned out fully and been cooled with a sprinkle of Gangajal — carrying the Kalash to the river while the jyot still burns at home must not be done, unless a different vidhan has come down in the family.
Parana after Navratri: annadaan, bhog and prasad before the Kalash leaves
The speaker says that before parana one must do annadaan: five kinds of grain, or as one can afford about a sava kilo (1.25 kg) of grain — the sidha of flour, rice and so on — touched by hand with the sankalpa "I am donating this to a Brahmin", then set aside and sent to a Brahmin, a pandit or a temple. Then whatever food is cooked is offered as bhog to Ma first; one eats Bhagavati's prasad first, then the bhog — khichdi, or puri-sabzi made on Dashami. Only after the parana, and once the Akhand Jyot has fully cooled, is the Kalash taken out of the house; immersing the Kalash and then coming back to eat is a mistake.
Immersing the Navratri Kalash in a river
The speaker says extra chunris may be kept at home, but the Kalash itself goes to the river exactly as decorated. At the bank it is set down, shown dhoop-deep, and prayed to again — forgiveness for any fault, protection always, and the good sense to serve her every year — then one turns in place three or at least five times in pradakshina, and dips the Kalash into the water with its coconut, holding the coconut so it does not float away. Once fully under, the lid is removed and the dakshina, supari and other dravya inside are taken out, tied in a chunri and kept where one keeps money; the rice of the purna patra may go into the river for the fish or be given to birds; the Kalash and the coconut are released in the river. The sown jaware too can be immersed directly — they cause no pollution.
The cloth wrapped on the Kalash: retrieved only after the immersion
The speaker says the cloth wrapped around the coconut and the Kalash for nine days is not taken off before immersion: only after the Kalash has been dipped in the river is it wrung out and brought home. He says again and again that we do not have the strength to use directly the chunri or cloth Ma wore for nine days — many do, but the main cloth on the Kalash must be immersed first; its full nine-day shakti and power remain in it, dipping it in water does not end that. If one does not want to do it this way, at least sprinkle river water over it before removing the cloth and then immerse.
Precaution: never break the coconut of the Navratri Kalash
The speaker says the coconut placed on the Kalash must never be broken — he calls it a foolish mistake never to make, because that coconut is the very form of Durga. Breaking it brings the dosh of killing, straightforwardly the dosh of deva hatya. The Kalash itself is likewise never to be broken.
Kalash water kept back as prasad to drink
The speaker says that after the Kalash has been shifted, a little of its water can be kept for drinking — even if one is going to immerse the Kalash, take out a small glass of it and keep it, and let everyone drink it, because nine days of Bhagavati's shakti are in it.
Visarjan of the Navratri Kalash when no river is reachable
The speaker says that if there is no river, pond or lake to go to, the Kalash water can be poured at a Peepal tree, a Banyan tree or a Tulsi plant, and the Kalash left in a clean spot in the puja place itself; immerse it later whenever you go somewhere, but it must not be touched by feet or break if it is of clay. The coconut likewise stays in the puja place, and worship continues, until it can be immersed on some later trip; the rice of the purna patra is given to birds.
What to do with the leftover jaware after Navratri
The speaker says the green tops of the jaware are worn on the ear, offered to Bhagavati and kept where money is stored, yet many remain; if there is no facility to immerse them, never throw them in the garbage. After the Kalash has been shifted, cut off the whole green part with scissors and make a juice or sharbat that everyone can drink — no dosh comes from it; put the lower white part into a pot, cover it well with soil and plant something in it.
How the Mahishasura Mardini form is worshipped in Shardiya Navratri
The speaker says the Mahishasura Mardini form is worshipped especially in Shardiya Navratri. The Devi is awakened through Navapatrika pravesh, then the cloth tied over her eyes is opened, her Prana Pratishtha is done, and all the puja-path follows. Worship is done on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami; on Dashami, after Shami puja and Sindoor Khela with their own vidhi-vidhan, she is immersed.
Four hymns inside the Durga Saptashati as a substitute for the full path
The speaker addresses brand-new sadhakas drawn to the Durga Saptashati who want to recite it this Navratri but cannot manage the full path, for lack of time or of Sanskrit pronunciation. He says four stutis that sit inside the Saptashati carry the presence of the Navadurga, the ten Mahavidyass, the Ashtamatrika and the 64 Yoginis, so they are the essence (ark, nichod) of its 700 mantras, and reciting them gives the Devi's special grace and the fruit of the Saptashati path. He is firm that this is for new people and those without time — a Navratri should not go empty, and even school-age children who can read should be made to do it — and not for those who already do the full path, who must not drop it for this.
Tantrokta Ratri Suktam: the shortest Saptashati hymn and what it gives
The first of the four hymns the speaker names is the Tantrokta Ratri Suktam: 15 shlokas, verses 73 to 87 of the first chapter (first charitra) of the Durga Saptashati, being Brahma ji's stuti of Bhagavati Yoganidra, who emerged from Vishnu's eyes for the killing of Madhu and Kaitabha. He says all shaktis are present in these 15 shlokas, so the Devi's fiercest grace comes from them; they take 5 to 10 minutes, never even 15. It is the smallest of the four, so during Navratri the children and old people of the house who can do nothing else should light dhoop and a lamp each day and recite it. He says Bhagavati then helps in lack of strength, lack of wealth, illness and money trouble, and her blow falls on whoever becomes your enemy.
Tantrokta Devi Suktam as the heart of the Saptashati
The third hymn is the Tantrokta Devisuktam, fifth chapter of the Durga Saptashati, shlokas 9 to 82, which the speaker calls the heart of Devi devotees and of the Saptashati — do this even if you do nothing else, and if you keep Navratri it is absolutely mandatory: after Ghatasthapana, until it is recited, it is held that Bhagavati has not arrived at all. He says it is also recited together with the Atharvashirsha at the pratishtha of any Yantra, Vigreh or astra and at the establishing of a peetha, because its mere recitation brings the Devi's closeness. It also stands independently within the Saptashati, so it can be recited on its own.
Jai Durga Stuti: the Saptashati hymn for any wish and as a substitute for the 700-verse havan
The fourth hymn is Bhagavati Jai Durga Stuti, shlokas 1 to 35 of the eleventh chapter of the Durga Saptashati. The speaker says the essence of all the fiercest shaktis present in the 700 shlokas is in these 35, so it can be recited for any wish — wealth, strength, destruction of disease, of enemies, of Abhichara tantra — and also daily. For those who recite the Saptashati for the nine days of Navratri but lack the capacity for a Havan of 700 shlokas, he says: do this shakti-havan instead, offering ahuti with kheer, ghee, Guggul with ghee and sesame — after learning from one's Guru which parts are excluded, since no ahuti is given for the Uvacha lines or the astra-mantras.
When Milan is most often sent: Navratri, Diwali, Amavasya and Purnima
The speaker says that if you ask your elders, or anyone who has suffered it, you will hear that when Milan is sent repeatedly on a household in this region, it comes especially around Navratri, around Diwali, and at Amavasya and Poornima: some familiar voice invokes a member from outside the house by name — "arre, suno" — calling him by his own name. That, he says, is the first stage.
Navchandi: the Chandi path done over the nine days of Navratri
The speaker says that when the whole Chandi Path vidhi is carried on for nine days, from Pratipada to Navami, it is called Navachandika. That is the Navchandi Anusthan vidhi as done by a sadhak. It is the same full paath, repeated through the nine days of Navratri.
Fights breaking out the moment a puja or festival begins: a strong sign of Pitra Dosha
The speaker says a third symptom of Pitru Dosha is a family that lives well all year but breaks into serious fighting the moment a festival, pilgrimage or puja arrives. His example is Navratri: all preparation is done, and just at the time of Kalash sthapana a quarrel starts over a flower not arriving or a mango leaf being missed, and it turns into beating and throwing things. If this repeats at Diwali, Holi and every auspicious occasion, right at the moment the puja is about to begin, he says Pitra Dosha is present in the house with great force. He notes that Abhichara shows the same pattern, but counts it as a Pitra Dosha symptom too because what is being blocked is the auspicious work itself.
When to undertake the siddhi of the Durga 108 names: Navratri or Ashtami to Chaturdashi
The speaker says that making the stotra siddh in Navratri is very simple and gives its effect very quickly; in Navratri the anushthan is begun from Pratipada. If one goes to do it in any other month, he says, do the anushthan from the Ashtami to the Chaturdashi tithi of either the Shukla or the Krishna paksha.
Daily recitation vidhi of the Durga 108 names in the anushthan
The speaker says 108 paths are done every day of Navratri. The opening of the stotra — Ishwar uvach, shatanam pravakshyami and so on — is left out, he says, and each path begins directly from the first name, Om Sati Sadhvi Bhavaprita, and runs to the 108th name, Savitri Pratyaksha Brahmavadini, at the 15th shloka; the phalashruti is read only with the 108th path. One keeps at least eleven red flowers: a flower is held in the hand, ten paths are done and it is offered to Bhagwati, and so on, with eight paths on the eleventh flower. Doing this after 9 PM is ati uttam, he says, because it is Navratri and the night has special importance; an Akhand Jyot keeps burning as long as the path goes on.
Repeating the Durga 108 names anushthan through the year for a changed life
The speaker says this anushthan should be done again and again — at least eleven times if possible. In a year four Navratris come, two Gupt Navratri and two prakat, so four anushthans happen that way; and if in the remaining months too one keeps doing the 1,100 paths with havan and the rest from Ashtami to Chaturdashi, then within a year, he says, it will change the sadhak's life — it is an extremely divine thing.
Durga Saptashati Mahavidya Krama Path as a remedy for vashikaran
The speaker says that once the sadhika knew the truth and had seen other girls being treated the same way, she searched for a counter (kaat) to Vashikaran and found this channel's viral video on reciting Shri Durga Saptashati in the Mahavidyas krama. Without contacting the channel, she began the path in that krama during Navratri to ease her guilt and sense of impurity, completed the whole vidhan, had a Havan done as far as she could, and did the remaining kriyas in a temple. Afterwards, by Bhagwati's grace, she felt boundless peace, meaning the effect of the tantra had been fully cut. He explains that the Chandi charitra holds such shaktis of Jagadamba that when one calls on Bhagwati with full surrender, her shaktis pull one out of any tantra whatever. As the video had said one may recite it from Ashtami to chaturdashi, she then began doing so every month, and her guilt slowly lessened.
What should be expected in the year following the Kumbh?
The powers that joined the practitioner will manifest in their life at some point within the year, often signalled through dreams. The mantra performed there should continue at five or ten malas daily, with a fresh Purashcharana at Chaitra Navratri.
What options exist for a practitioner who cannot manage the full forty-five-day Kumbh period?
Take whatever is available — the last fifteen days, eleven, nine, seven or three. Failing that, the Gupt Navratri of Magh or the Navratri of Shiva. The one-day options include Mauni Amavasya and the Parvati Gita anushthana.
The Vindhyavasini Chalisa as the accessible path for ordinary devotees
The speaker says that for ordinary, simple people who serve or wish to serve Bhagavati Vindhyavasini, the most accessible way is to try to please Jagadamba through her Chalisa alone — because not everyone is able to recite Sanskrit, and not everyone can bind themselves to the requirements and rules of mantra-japa, whereas a chalisa is accessible to all. During Navratri, he says, recite the Vindhyavasini Chalisa with vidhi-vidhan for nine days to awaken it, and then put it to use.
Navratri vidhi to awaken the Vindhyavasini Chalisa: 41 daily paths, final-day ahutis, then daily use
The speaker says the Vindhyavasini Chalisa, published for the good of all, has been recited for ages. In Navratri, take a Sankalpa and do 41 paths of it every day; on the last day do Ahuti five times, giving one ahuti with each of its 40 chaupais. Awakened this way, the Chalisa can then be used regularly. The sankalpa may be for Bhagavati Vindhyavasini's grace, or for the fulfilment of any wish that has stayed stuck for a long time. Through the Chalisa alone, he says, one can greatly please Bhagavati and gain her grace; recite it daily throughout life.
Why is the Kumbh time exceptional, especially for those staying at home?
He takes up the chief subject for those who are not going and are at home. The first thing, he says, is like the parva of Mahashivratri: as we see at Mahashivratri, as we see in the mahanisha of Holika, at the Ashtami tithi, the Chaitra Ashtami, the Chaitra Navami, the Chaitra Purnima, and whatever other tithis of the ten Mahavidyas come, which are times of mahanisha, and the Navratri time of the mahashaktis.
Which Navratri is falling first at this time?
The very first Navratri by the English calendar now current, he says, will fall from this Ashtami, in which the Navratri of Bhagavati Mahadurga, Bhagavati Shakambhari, will begin, and it will run until Paush Purnima. So yours is now about to fall, he tells the listeners.
Nine days of Navratri niyam show how far the fruit of such a time is multiplied
In Navratri you keep nine days of niyam, he says, and you see how many times over its fruit is. This, he says, is a time in which — to put it one way — the coming and going of explosive energies begins here.
From when may the Kumbh niyam be begun — and from when must it be?
Those whose kuldevi is Bhagavati Shakambhari may, if they wish, begin their seva and puja from the day of the Ashtami tithi of the Shakambhari Navratri that is about to fall. But the main matter of the Kumbh, he says, you should certainly begin from Paush Purnima. Keep this subject in mind too.
In how many forms is Bhagavati present at Munger?
Bhagavati Munger ki Bhavani, Badi Durga Maharani — her seva we too do daily, he says; the mahima of the Mai at Munger is exceedingly great. At the sthan of Bhagavati at Munger the Maa is present in two swaroops: in one, the swaroop of Bhagavati Badi Durga Maharani that you see, and the second is Bhagavati Chandika. The pujan of both swaroops takes place there. The swaroop of Chandika remains worshipped throughout the year, and the shringar swaroop of Munger ki Bhavani we see especially at the time of Navratri.
How many Navratris are there in a year?
If it be seen thus, he says, then Navratri falls every month; in some manner or other a Navratri is happening every month. Of the eight chief and four chief peethas that have been named: the Navratris according to the Kamagiri Peeth are different, the Navratri according to the Purnagiri Peeth is different, that according to the Uddiyan Peeth is different, and that according to the Sharada Peeth is different. According to all four peethas, different Navratris have been held in the tantra peeth, in the tantrokta matter, according to the Agam and Mukt granths. Some run according to the Sankranti; some run according to the Shukla Paksha of the Sankranti; and some run according to the jayanti tithis.
Why does an incomplete pujan happen when one deity is left out?
Just as the pujan of Batuk Bhairav ji is necessary in Navratri — it is not that merely doing Bhagavati's pujan is enough — and just as people do Ganesh ji's and Bhagavati's pujan but leave out Shiva ji's abhishek, which they do not perform daily, so the pujan remains incomplete somewhere. In the same way, at the time of Diwali the pujan of Kuber ji is very necessary.
Can the Kamakhya Kavach be done while in menses?
Asked whether the Kamakhya Kavach can be done, the speaker says it absolutely can. If one is in menses, then the vidhi of the Kamakhya Kavach will be remembered if you heard the live at the time of Durga Puja — that same vidhan will apply. The tantric matter behind it he says he explained there at considerable length, so listen to it once; it is a thing of great use.
What does it mean to see a little girl after doing the 64 Yogini in Navratri?
A listener says that ever since doing the 64 Yogini in Navratri, a little girl is seen in the forest and in the hills. The speaker says this is a very good thing, and tells her to do it still better.
Where must the rajaswala Kamakhya Kavach japa not be done?
The speaker says he himself says this: that mothers and sisters who do 108 of the Kamakhya Kavach in such a state, at the time of Durga Puja too, and according to the discipline of this niyam — it is not that one now sits at the pujan sthan and does it; there it would be a mess. The rule is exactly as it is. He says he too wants the grace and blessing of such women.
Why can Navratri lamps be reused but Diwali deepdaan lamps cannot?
In Navratri, in the descending order done at arti, there is no need to light lamps afresh — because the shakti established on the day of Pratipada will in truth remain until Navami; her visarjan never takes place. But if you have to do something on Dashami, you cannot do it with those lamps. In deepdaan, by contrast, you are not holding them back — their visarjan takes place — so the same lamp cannot be used again. Only those whose visarjan will not happen are used again and again.
Which Nanda tithis did Sati keep in Ashwin and Kartik?
In the month of Ashwin — the time of the Sharad Durga Puja around October — the Nanda tithis that fall are Pratipada, Shashthi and Ekadashi. On these she performed the pujan of Har, that is Shiva, with devotion using gud, bhat and lavan. Thereafter, in the month of Kartik, on the Chaturdashi, with kheer and apoop.
Why is the Ashtami of Sharadiya Navratri important?
Asking on which day the darshan of Sadashiva took place, the speaker points to the Ashtami tithi in the month of Navratri — the Sharadiya Navratra we observe — whose mahatmya, he says, will be found in every purana.
What does Jagdamba herself worshipping Shiva show?
In the month of Ashwin, on the Shukla Paksha Ashtami, Bhagavati Sati kept the pujan and upvas and worshipped Shiva with devotion. In Navratri we serve and worship Bhagavati for nine days — but this passage, the speaker says, is especially for those who consider Shiva and Parvati to be separate: here Jagdamba herself is performing the pujan of Shiva on the Shukla Paksha Ashtami. Her Nanda vrat was completed on the Navami tithi.
Purashcharan of the Shakambhari Kavach: schedule, havan, dress and direction
Asked how the Kavach is made siddha, the speaker says: in any Navratri, recite from Pratipada to Navami and complete 1008 paths within the nine days. In any other month, do it from Ashtami to chaturdashi of either paksha, completing 1008 within seven days. On the last day offer 1008 Ahuti of a guggal-and-ghee mixture with Shakambhari's 1008 names, or 108 names, or only her mantra, and the kavach becomes fully jagrit. During the siddhi wear unstitched red or yellow cloth, face east or north, and light a ghee Deepak.
Who benefits most from learning the independent use of Saptashati mantras
Especially those people who take up sadhanas so that some siddhi may become directly manifest; in Navratri, he says, there are a great many sadhaks, new and old, who remain at work for the sake of pratyakshikaran, and all of them will get extreme benefit from this subject.
What does the seventh adhyaya of the Saptashati say about the Ashtami-Navami sandhi kaal?
In this same adhyaya, he says, there is the description that Bhagavati Chamunda manifested at the sandhi kaal of the Ashtami tithi and the Navami tithi — she who slew Chanda and Munda became renowned by the name Chamunda. And it is for this reason that at the time of the sandhi kaal of Ashtami and Navami we should certainly do the pujan of Bhagavati.
What should a person troubled by tantra do during Navratri?
If one is troubled by tantra, then the Durga Saptashati in the morning and the Hanuman Chalisa and Hanuman kavach in the evening — absolutely one can do it. Asked whether an anushthan of any stotra to the count of 1100 may be done in the nine days of Navratri with a havan on the night of Navami, he says yes, absolutely.
How should a Navratri anushthan be completed, and what if a mala is left over?
Complete it within eight days, and on Navami finish by doing the havan and the kanya bhoj and so on. Asked by a listener whose puja paath has been broken since Tuesday because blood begins to flow as soon as the foot is placed down, and whose mala is left over, whether it can be completed after Navratri, he says yes, absolutely it can.
Can the initial pujan be done standing if the vigraha is placed high?
Asked whether, since the arrangement of Ma's vigraha in the pujan room is high up, the whole initial pujan — of Guru, Ganesh and the kuldevi — may be done standing, he says yes, it can be done; do it seated as well. If such a situation is not possible, it can be done below too. At the time of Navratra and the like, give her a place on some pidha or bajot, and afterwards put her back up.
How much Saptashloki with samput should be done in Navratri?
A listener who does the Saptashloki with a samput since he told of it asks whether to keep the samput at the time of the paath now or do it after Navratri. Do it in Navratri, he answers, do all the samput, and in greater quantity: if on ordinary days you were doing it once, three times, five times, then now do it at least nine times; if you find time and the practice is there, do 21 or 27 times; and if you cannot do it at one sitting, do it at both times, morning and evening.
Can a havan be done after sunset in Navratri?
Asked whether a havan can be done after sunset in Navratri and what its timing would be, he says that according to him a tantrokta havan can be done at any time at all in Navratri. It is not the Vedic vidhi, it is tantrokta, so it can be done at night too. At a Shakti Peeth the time is not looked at anyway, and in Navratri one may do it whenever it is to be done. Vedic people state many rules and prohibitions, but at a Shakti Peeth there is no prohibition; if you very much wish, look at the choghadiya.
Can the Markat Hanuman kavach and Saraswati sadhana both be done in Navratri?
Asked whether the Markat Hanuman ji kavach and Saraswati can both be done in Navratri, he says absolutely, they can be done.
Can Navratri be done fully when a death in the family occurred less than a year ago?
Asked whether Navratri can be done completely when the mother-in-law's death took place in April 2022, the year is not complete and the father-in-law is not living, he says yes, it can be done. He also notes that for how to tell the negative effect of tantra in a house there are separate videos on the channel.
What rules must be observed by one who has an akhand jyot lit?
Asked for details about the akhand deep and what rules must be followed, he says one will have to do only as much as is written in it. At the ashram a nine-day anushthan of Bhagavati is going on where the akhand prajwalan has been prescribed, and the arrangement exists for anyone who wishes to have it done; for nine days the akhand jyoti will burn in whichever names are given, along with the whole family. For those having an akhand jyot lit: garlic and onion and the like are not to be eaten, heavy tamasik food is not to be eaten, and if possible take food containing sendha namak.
Should one who worships only Kali in Navratri switch to Durga?
Asked by a listener who does the puja only of Ma Kali in the Navratras whether he should do the puja of Ma Durga and Ma Chandika in the Navratras, or of the Ma Kali he has installed, he says do any one. You have made the sthapana of Bhagavati, have you not — then do the puja of Ma Kali herself. Everything is within her.
Is the Navratri order of pujan, aarti, paath, havan and aarti again correct?
Asked by a listener who in Navratri first does the pujan of Bhagavati and the aarti, then paath and japa, then havan, and then does the aarti again, whether the order in the nitya puja is right, he says yes, it is right. There is no broad necessity of doing the aarti again after the havan; if you do it with bhaav and have the time, then do it — otherwise do the aarti with kapoor, showing it five times or nine times.
How many Durga Chalisa paaths should be done daily in the temple during Navratri?
Asked by a listener who wishes to have an akhand jyot lit through him in Navratri and to do a daily Durga Chalisa paath in the temple whether that is all right, he says yes, do it. Asked how many paaths — twenty-four with rule — he says do more; do at least twenty-seven.
What should one do once the kula shakti has been identified?
To a listener whose kula shakti has been identified, he says: whatever vidhi vidhan and rule of theirs there is, hold to them and go on. Do their pujan by whatever their manner of pujan is, as far as your strength allows, in Navratri and the like, alongside Bhagavati or in whatever way is proper — since he himself does not know what their manner is. If they have some parayan, some paath for nine days, some vidhi, then do it, and you will find the way sooner.
How is the Dashami visarjan of Ma Durga's murti done?
Asked whether the murti of Ma Durga with the open-mouthed lion should be given visarjan before Navratra or on Dashami, he says do it on Dashami, do not do the visarjan earlier. Her pujan will go on until Navami; on Dashami, with the proper vidhi, bring a red cloth — the shalu cloth, at least a sava metre — and place Ma upon it. First bathe her again that day, and having bathed her and done her shringar well, seat her upon it, keep an offering of a coconut and the like before her, and do the whole vidhi of what is given in the aanchal at the time of farewell — what we call the filling of the khoincha.
What is kuttu ka atta and when is it eaten?
Explaining for those who do not know, he says that in Navratra the flour of kuttu is what all the vrat food is made from — things are made from it and eaten, and those who keep the observance eat it; it is called kuttu. He notes that someone who did not know it took it to be dog flour. Kuttu is a flour that is eaten in a vrat, in the Ekadashi vrat.
A burning ball of fire seen passing overhead at three in the morning in Navratri is confirmed as such a sighting
A listener says that in Navratri, while bathing on the roof at three in the morning, something like a burning ball of fire was passing overhead, and that it was not very high, so it could not have been an aircraft. The speaker answers that this is correct.
What is to be done with the leftover sandhi-kaal coconuts?
Asked what to do when the coconuts from the sandhi kaal are left over and it is not possible to eat them, the speaker says they should be given to the nine kanyas. He says that when the pujan takes place in the sandhi kaal, they should be given to the nine kanyas who come for the kanya pujan, or given at the temple. Give them away.
Is the japa of the navagrahas and their mothers by weekday good?
A listener says she did the japa of the Navdurga, the navagraha and their mothers in the Durga Puja, and asks whether the japa of the navagrahas and their mothers by the day of the week is right. The speaker answers: absolutely divine, exceedingly divine. If you do this, then very special grace will be obtained — do each of the grahas thoroughly.
What may be done with the clay diyas used in Navratri?
Asked whether the clay diyas that were used in the Navratris may be put into the soil and paan plants grown, the speaker answers: absolutely, you can plant them.
Which shorter periods should be chosen by those who cannot manage forty days?
Makar Sankranti as a single day; the Gupta Navratri of Magh, taken from Mauni Amavasya to Magh Purnima as a fifteen- or sixteen-day span with the nine-day Navratri inside it; and the Navratri of Shiva running up to Mahashivratri.
Those who cannot stay home throughout should fit a Purashcharana into the shorter windows
Take a window such as the Gupta Navratri and complete one Purashcharana inside it — a sava lakh where five lakh of the Panchakshari is impossible, or 10,000 where 32,000 is. The point is that the period should not be wasted.
The nine days of Navratri are special because the Nava Durga forms answer the affliction of the nava grahas for those who have no kundali.
The whole subject of Bhagavati's Nava Durga forms, which is repeated every Navratri: you are afflicted by the nava grahas, which graha is where, nobody has their kundali. So these nine days of Navratri become extremely special. There is a video on the channel in which the whole subject connected with Bhagavati's nine Durgas, the nine grahas, and the mothers of the nine grahas has been told; do that anushthan in the night hours if you wish.
Bhagavati stands in the nava-graha form, and the grahas have an adhikar of their own that cannot be skipped.
Because taken all together, where will you do them separately? The grace of the nine grahas is necessary. Bhagavati is there in the nava-graha form; they too have their adhikar, and you cannot skip them. So the speaker says: perform once at least in your life, in one Navratri, the samyak sadhana of the nava grahas, the Nava Durgas, and the mothers of the nava grahas. A great deal will become easy for you.
The path is kept up to the night of Navami, whether or not the Navratri vrat is kept.
You will have to do this up to the night of Navami. If you keep the Navratri vrat it will happen very easily; and if you do not keep the vrat, then you can do the path morning, evening or night according to your own convenience.
What if a sadhika's period comes during Navratri?
The speaker holds that the restriction is real and asks listeners to accept it rather than commit an offence by being led astray. Those who say on YouTube that nobody can stop a rajaswala woman from performing pujan, that she should do pujan, keep the Navratri vrat and do everything — brother, do it, he answers, but do it with a little of the niti and the niyam.
What is a rajaswala sadhika actually to do in Navratri?
If you have become rajaswala from the very beginning of Navratri, keep the vrat — you absolutely can keep it — but eat the phalahar well, because at that time the body has need of it. Do not touch the Shri vigraha and so on. Do not go into the room made for the sthapana of the kalash and the pujan. At the time of arti you may stand outside the pujan room and watch the arti, and may sing the arti; but do not touch vessels of any kind, do not take the arti, and do not go near the arti.
What if a sadhika becomes rajaswala in the middle of an anushthan?
If you had begun the anushthan and became rajaswala in the middle, then even so complete your vrat. Do not give up keeping the vrat; stay with the phalahar. At that time the only rule will be that you are not to go and not to do anything.
Can the nine-day vrat be kept while working away from home?
A listener says he will be at Kashi on Amavasya and will come home at twelve noon on the Navratri, and asks whether he can keep the nine-day vrat. Yes, why can he not, the speaker answers — he absolutely can.
Should a second akhand jyot be kept in Navratri?
A listener writes that an akhand jyot has been burning at home for a year and asks whether a second should be kept separately in Navratri. If that jyot is dedicated to Bhagavati anyway, then if you keep one more separately you will have to keep it for the nine days only, or else carry it on — the decision is yours. According to the speaker, if you have to keep an akhand jyot burning in the house always, then let the one already burning stay as it is; and if you wish to kindle one separately for nine days, you may do that too.
Which Batuk Bhairav sadhana for all the days of Navratri?
Asked by a listener who wishes to perform the sadhana of Bhagavan Batuk Bhairav ji on all the coming days of Navratri: do the Ashtottar Shatnamavali.
Can hospital duty be done in Navratri where deaths occur?
A listener writes asking whether she can go to hospital duty in Navratri, where a patient's death occurs. She absolutely can go, the speaker answers — and tells her to perform the anushthan of the Kamakhya Kavach.
The diksha vidhan is done only on a purnamasi, or in the parva kaal of Shivratri and Navratri; the japa runs purnima to purnima.
The japa is to be done from purnima to purnima. This vidhan, the diksha vidhan, the speaker says, you should do only on the day of the purnamasi of any month; or else you may do this vidhan in the special times, the special days of Shivratri and Navratri, which are divine kaal and parva kaal.
Three years pass doing one Navratri here and the next with somebody else.
He says he knows such people personally — three years have gone by explaining to them. They will do one Navratri here, from the next Navratri they will do it with somebody else, leave them, then the next Navratri with him. Time passes like this; they cannot wait, cannot keep patience, want it instantly.
What is the correct order in nitya pujan?
In nitya pujan it should not be that way, the speaker answers. In the order of nitya pujan, pujan, path and havan should be done and only after that the aarti. To do the aarti after the pujan and then do the path and havan is not proper. Do the aarti only after the havan.
Is there a dosha in leaving puja for five days in Navratri?
A listener says that when she does puja in Navratri she has to leave the puja for five days. No dosha at all attaches to this, the speaker answers Neha ji. Whether it is Navratra or any other parva kaal, the puja that has to be left because of the monthly dharma carries no dosha; it is nature — what dosha is there in it.
How is a Navratri sankalp completed if menstruation breaks it?
Yes — if a sankalp is ever left incomplete in the middle for this reason, the speaker says, then on the day nivritti happens and the hair is washed, one should do the pujan of Bhagavati and make the samarpan.
One purashcharan completed in a divine kaal — Navratri, Mahashivratri, a grahan — leaves the mantra awake, whether or not we understand it.
It is an entirely ordinary prayoga, he says: you do stuti, you do paath. If you have performed a purashcharan even once — whether in Navratri, at Mahashivratri or the like, in some divine kaal, in a grahan — then the mantra is awake. That is clear. Whether we understand it or not, it is awake.
Sadhana is abandoned in the very time set aside for it
He says that even in Navratri he now sees the channels of good sadhaks, and it seems to him — brother, how are you reading kundalis in Navratri, how are you doing live, how has money become so important to you? They have given up doing sadhana in the time meant for sadhana, he says, and are doing readings in it.
Metals a Navratri kalash may be made of
The speaker says a clay Kalash is ordinarily kept and is correct; among metals, brass, copper and bronze are kept. An iron kalash should never be kept. He warns that iron kalashes are very often sold with yellow or red colour applied over them, so one must make sure an iron kalash is never installed.
Panchratna for the kalash: getting genuine upratna made at a jeweller
The speaker says the five-rupee or ten-to-fifteen-rupee panchratna sold at puja shops is a matter of great doubt, whether it is panchratna at all. Since Navratri puja has to be done every year, he advises getting upratna of a sava ratti each made up at a jeweller. It costs about fifty to a hundred rupees per stone, five to six hundred rupees in all, and then one has panchratna for life; it also looks bigger and finer and gives great satisfaction that one is doing such a good puja.
Does japa of the Batuk Bhairav mantra harm a pregnancy?
A listener says she did japa of the Batuk Bhairav mantra in Navratri without knowing. There is no mistake of that kind, the speaker says by name: no negative effect falls upon a pregnancy from japa of the Batuk Bhairav mantra or from japa of Bhagavati's mantra. If someone has told you this, they have told you wrongly. Bhairav ji is a Mahashakti and is himself ready for the protection of all these.
In which Hindi months do the Shakambhari and Aghor Navratri fall?
Asked in which Hindi month the Shakambhari and Aghor Navratris come, the speaker says the Shakambhari will come now, in the middle of December and January; and the Aghor one is yours around Bhado, Bhadrapada.
What should be done if a lizard eats the prasad of the puja room?
Do not leave too much prasad. After the puja is complete, only one or two grains of prasad should be left; all the rest of the prasad should be picked up, or keep the prasad covered. Since the lizard is poisonous, either keep it covered, or pick up the whole puja prasad and leave only a grain or two.
How is a 32-name kavach re-charged during Navratri?
Asked whether a 32-name kavach can be taken off and, after japa of the namavali, offered upon it again to increase its energy at the time of Navratri, the speaker says it can be done. First, if you are wearing it on a thread, remove the thread; then make a fresh thread of thirty-two knots, bathe it again with raw milk, and while reciting Dev Atharvashirsha or the Devi Suktam perform its abhishek — and then offer upon it.
The sadhana of Maa Mansa is done especially in the month of Bhadrapada.
Because the sadhana of Maa Mansa is done especially in the month of Bhadrapada, the speaker says he will try to give it by Navratri — he will give it before Navratri.
A puja vidhan already done before may be taken up again, or Bhagavati Shakambhari worshipped.
Asked whether there is some puja vidhan for the coming Navratra from 30 December, the speaker says yes — the puja vidhan you have already done before, which he keeps repeating, you can begin again at that time. Any sadhana of Bhagavati or any sadhana of Bhairav ji that you have done in the past you can do in the Shakambhari Navratra, or you can also do the upasana of Bhagavati Shakambhari. For Makar Sankranti he will give something separately, and will state a single-day sadhana.
Will the body not adjust to a night schedule?
It does adjust, he says, giving Navratri as the example: for the first two or three days the condition is bad, and the body takes two or three days to adjust; after that it becomes complete in that same pattern — when to sleep, when to wake, when to do what. When Navratri finishes, it again takes two or three days to become normal; sleep simply does not come. In the same way, once you begin sadhana having made a rule, your body will adjust.
When the Annapurna anushthan is performed
The speaker says the Annapurna sadhana is done in Navratri from Pratipada up to the Ashtami tithi. In any other month it can be begun from the Poornima tithi; anticipating the question of how long it then runs, he says eight days only, so the sadhana is complete on Saptami and the havan is done on Ashtami.
Havan, tarpan, marjan and kanya bhoj that close the Annapurna purashcharan
When the japa is complete by Ashtami, the speaker says, a dashansh Havan of the mantra is done on the Navami: for 8000 japa that is 800 Ahutis, eight malas. The ahuti material is Kheer made with Panchmeva and mixed with pure cow's ghee; after the opening ahutis, eight malas of the jap mantra are offered. Then its dashansh, at least one mala, is given as Tarpana, 11 Marjana are done, and at least one unmarried kanya is fed and gifted (nav kanya bhojan is best). With this, he says, one round of the Purashcharana is complete.
Symptoms after a wrongly done Navarna sadhana: fear, avesh, dizziness and illness
The speaker lists what followed in 2022 in the Navarna case: first a pull in the food pipe and an urge to vomit when sitting for japa, especially in the evening, with medical tests finding nothing; then constant anxiety and fear. The channel owner told him to repeat the sadhana over the nine days of Navratri, and after that came a constant sense of someone nearby, jolts on falling asleep, a feeling of falling followed by heavy dizziness and low blood pressure, a stomach and liver that weakened with no dietary cause, definite evening Avesh (heavy body and shoulders, urge to sway, teeth grinding, rising anger, then collapse), and intense fear in his old japa hours of 11:30 to 2:30 that someone stood by his head or at the window. The speaker points to the reversal: the mantra whose sadhana removes fear was itself producing fear.
Can a new image or photograph of a deity be brought into the house during Shraddha Paksha?
No — bring nothing and do nothing of that kind during Shraddha Paksha. Installation belongs to the first Navratri (Navratri) instead.
A household under long-standing Abhichar: a yearly Sarva Prayoga Mahavidya Anushthan, one-Brahmin Chandi Path in Navratri, and Panchbali with worship of the Chaukhat
Three things over two to three years: a Sarva Prayoga Mahavidyas Anushthan at home once a year through a qualified person; Chandi Path in Navratri by one Brahmin across nine days with Havan; and Panchbali for the family deities with charity and worship of the Chaukhat.
A nine-day Navratri sadhana for a householder with no diksha who cannot take leave from work
The speaker says he is giving a nine-day Navratri vidhan for an ordinary sadhak who has received no Diksha of any kind: which mantras of Bhagavati to jap on the nine days and what to observe, so that the Tantrokta — that is, the most intense — effect of the mantra is obtained, Jagadamba's grace comes and one's work is accomplished. The Durga Saptashati path is part of it. He says the whole vidhan is also for people who are working and cannot get leave but still want to keep Navratri; it fits work, daily life and the anushthan together, and is dedicated entirely to householders. He asks listeners to hear it calmly, reflect, and then prepare their own plan for the nine days.
Keeping Navratri for the first time: kalash sthapana on Pratipada and following the local muhurat
The speaker says that in the new samvatsar beginning, every person may do Navratri, even someone doing it for the very first time. Kalash sthapana is done on the day of Pratipada in a shubh muhurat; one may also follow the regional practice — whatever time the learned brahmins and scholars of one's area give — and on that day, as convenient, do the kalash and Ghatasthapana and light the Akhand Jyot. The full method of kalash sthapana, the vidhan of the akhand jyot and the rules of Navratri — what if the lamp goes out, how and when to do havan, which day the paran falls, how the nine-kanya pujan is done, and what a man does if Brahmacharya is broken by a nocturnal emission — he says are already given in separate videos and are not repeated here.
Sankalp on the first morning of the Navratri vrat: guru-Ganpati pujan, svastivachan, and stating the fast exactly
The speaker says that on the first day of the Navratri Vrat, at the time of the morning pujan, one sits at one's place and takes the Sankalpa. Guru and Ganesha pujan come first, then Svastivacana, then the sankalp. If one does not know svastivachan, take Bhagwan Narayan's name three times, take Ganpati's name and do a Ganpati path, then with water, Akshat and flowers in hand resolve that one is taking the vow of the nine-day Navratri vrat. If one is not going to fast, or will fast only on the first and last days, he says to state that clearly in the sankalp itself.
Daily framework of the householder Navratri: fixed aarti times, path by morning, japa by night, dress, asana and direction
The speaker says the first day goes partly in Ghatasthapana itself; after that a morning and evening Aarti is a must, and if the family joins, do the aarti at a fixed time and do one's own path afterwards. The path in the Mahavidya krama is done in the morning; Bhagavati's mantras are japped in the night or at Sandhya. Make a full effort to wear red or yellow — it must be coloured: red, yellow or orange. The asana should be of Kusha, red or yellow, red being best, and one faces east or north.
Ashtami-Navami sandhi kaal: Chamunda's worship, and at minimum a coconut and three lemons in bali
The speaker says the final twenty minutes of Ashtami and the first twenty minutes of Navami are called the Sandhi Kaal. In it appeared Bhagavati's foremost form, Jagadamba's Chamunda swarup — her greatest Tantrokta form — so that form is to be worshipped at that time; its full vidhan is separate from the two-Durga japa of Ashtami night. How to do Deepdaan and to whom Bali is and is not given is in a separate video; do it if possible. If one cannot do that large a vidhi, give at the very least the bali of one coconut and three lemons, and burn camphor and cloves.
Daan and samarpan before the Navratri paran
The speaker says that after all this, on the last day and before the Paran, some grain and the like must be given in daan and Dakshina given, with a Sankalpa; and at the end comes the samarpan — that the whole Navratri Vrat one has kept is offered to Jagadamba. Only after that is the paran taken.
Must the japa of a mantra anushthan be done in one sitting?
The speaker says you may do it — ten malas may be done as five and five. But if you are doing some particular anushthan, then what will your arrangement for food and water be? In the morning you may do it fasting; in the evening, how will you do japa after eating a meal, having eaten salt? This work, he says, can be done only in Navratri; at other times it can be done too, but the sankalpa should then be made accordingly.
What is the rule of the vrat for someone doing Navratri for the first time?
Keep the vrat according to the capacity of the body. Try to remain on phalahar — some devotees do stay on water alone or on juice — but according to bodily capacity keep the Navratri vrat on phalahar or in a phalahari manner.
What if even a phalahar fast is not possible?
If you will not be able to manage it, accept grain and the rest at one time of the day. Whatever havishya ann is possible, that you may take.
Kalash sthapana timing when Amavasya and Pratipada fall on the same day
The speaker says the first thing to check before establishing the Kalash in Navratri is when Amavasya ends and Pratipada begins. If Pratipada begins and ends on the same day, he says to do the Ghat Sthapana that day in the Abhijit Muhurta around midday. If Amavasya holds the whole day and Pratipada begins in the afternoon and is still available for even an hour or two after the next sunrise, he says to establish the Kalash that next morning in an auspicious Chaughadiya; and if no auspicious Chaughadiya falls in that short window, the Abhijit Muhurta or any auspicious muhurta of that morning may be used.
Which side of the deity the Akhand Jyot is placed on
The speaker says the Akhand Jyot is lit after the Kalash has been established. If it burns ghee, he says the lamp is placed on the right-hand side of Bhagavati's image or Shri Vigraha; if it burns sesame oil, it is placed on her left.
Sowing jvare (barley) under the Navratri Kalash
The speaker says that where jvare are sown under the Kalash (a practice followed in some places and skipped in others, especially at Chaitra Navratri), the ground is first cleaned, a triangle or a hexagram is drawn on it, and pure soil purified with Gangajal is spread over that. The barley, soaked a day in advance so it sprouts well, is sown into it while reciting whatever mantras of Bhagavati one knows. He says to leave the middle clear so the Kalash sits well and does not shake when the shoots grow.
Akhand Jyot going out during Navratri: relighting and prayashchitta
The speaker says the wick of the Akhand Jyot should be long enough that it never needs changing midway. If the flame still goes out for any reason, he says to relight it the moment it is noticed. Then, when next sitting for puja or path, do one Mala of "या देवी सर्वभूतेषु क्षमा रूपेण संस्थिता नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः" as a plea for forgiveness and Prayashchitta, whatever the cause of the lapse. With that, he says, the prayashchitta is done and Bhagavati will be gracious.
Bhog for the nine days of Navratri and the honey offering
The speaker says those who can may offer a different Bhog each day according to the nine forms of Navadurga; otherwise the ordinary bhog is enough: milk sweets, raisins, dried dates and whatever seasonal fruit is available. Honey, he says, must always be offered. If possible, keep honey before Bhagavati in a small silver bowl for all nine days, and when the path is complete, put that honey into water and let everyone take that water as Prasad.
Navratri bali: the Ashtami-Navami Sandhi Kaal and a simple household method
The speaker says Bali is given at the Sandhi Kaal where Ashtami and Navami tithis meet, the best time because that is when Bhagavati Chamunda appeared and her energy pervades the whole cosmos then, for destroying enemies, troubles and disease. The bali may be a coconut, a lemon or a banana. For those without an elaborate vidhi he gives a simple one: spread a banana leaf, place the offering (cucumber, banana, pumpkin and so on) on it, cover it (a banana with red cloth), say the hunkara and cut it in one sharp strike so it splits in two, then apply Roli and encircle it with water. The implement used for bali must never be changed; it is kept for ever, worshipped, and then used. He says the elaborate mantra-based vidhan exists but he is deliberately giving the simple form.
Order of havan and kanya pujan in Navratri
Asked whether kanya pujan or Havan comes first, the speaker says havan always comes first. If the full path was completed on Saptami and Kanya Pujan is to be done on Ashtami, do the havan first on Ashtami and only then the kanya pujan. If the path is completed on Ashtami, do the havan on Navami and the kanya pujan on Navami after it.
Navratri paran is on Dashami, not on the day of kanya pujan
The speaker says that whoever keeps the Navratri Vrat must fast for the full nine days. Doing Kanya Pujan on Ashtami or Navami does not mean the Paran can be done that same day; he calls that a wrong method. If paran is done on Ashtami, he asks, where are the nine days completed, when the worship of Shailputri and the whole Dashami vidhan are still pending, so the vrat breaks. The paran, he says, is done only when Dashami Tithi begins, that is, on Dashami itself, whichever day the kanya pujan was done.
Dashami procedure: Aparajita pujan, Shami pujan, jvare, visarjan and daan before paran
The speaker says that on Dashami morning one first does the pujan of Aparajita Bhagavati, then Shami pujan, and offers all the grown jvare to Bhagavati. Then the Visarjan actions: the Kalash is first moved, and all of Bhagavati's shaktis and her whole retinue are sent to their proper places. Only after visarjan and samarpan are complete, he says, touch and set aside items for daan (grain, fruit, spices, oil, ghee, as one can afford) with a simple Sankalpa to Bhagavati that one will give these to Brahmins or the poor or both so that the vrat and anushthan succeed. The items may be delivered before the Paran or after it; either is fine. Done this way, he says, the Navratri vrat is complete.
Special case: Dashami on a Thursday, the Kalash is not taken out of the house
On when the Kalash may be carried out for Visarjan, the speaker says that if Dashami Tithi falls on a Thursday (Brihaspativar), the Kalash is not removed from the house for visarjan. It is certainly moved in its place, he says, but it is not taken out.
How long the Navratri Akhand Jyot must keep burning
The speaker says the Akhand Jyot must keep burning until the Kalash is moved for Visarjan. Once visarjan is done, if the flame goes out on its own there is no problem. But it must never happen, he says, that after kanya pujan one lets the jyot die by not adding oil or ghee. Until Bhagavati has been given her send-off in the same way she was invoked, the flame must stay lit.
The coconut on the Navratri Kalash must never be broken
The speaker says that breaking the coconut placed on the Kalash and distributing it as Prasad at Dashami Visarjan, whether at the river or at home, is a very wrong practice that brings great dosh and shatters the whole Navratri Vrat, no matter how learned the person who advised it. That coconut, he says, is the visible form of Bhagavati: it receives worship for nine days and Jagadamba sits in the jyot and the Kalash for those nine days, so if you break it, what is left? The permitted courses are to leave it in the river after visarjan, or to bring it home, keep it in the puja place, worship it and immerse it next year. If it has sprouted, it may be planted at a clean spot in the house and watered so it grows, which protects the home.
When can the Kalika Yogini sadhana be done?
The speaker says the most important night is Kali Chaudas — the Chaturdashi night before Diwali — and Diwali itself, though the sadhana begins from Dhanteras. In any other month, begin on the Krishna Paksha Ashtami and complete it on Amavasya; repeat it often, ideally all twelve months. At Diwali do at least five or eleven days starting from Dhanteras or Chaturdashi. It can also be done in all four navratris, including the gupt ones and Shakambhari Navratri — but not Aghor Navratri, which he says is not for householders — and in the month of Shravan.
Why is a rajaswala woman forbidden puja?
Some very great YouTubers have told on their channels, the speaker says, that if during Navratri a woman is doing sadhana and becomes rajaswala in the middle of the Navratri, then she may do the sadhana and no dosha attaches — that in earlier times people did this because there was the effect of impurity, whereas now there are many devices by which you can remain pure. This is entirely wrong, he says: no person can be a greater wicked and sinning one than those who tell such contemptible things by violating the maryadas of shastra. Maryada should never be violated.
Does Shiv Navratra begin from Pratipada or from Panchami?
In the Shiv Navratra too it has been held that the wedding took place, up to Saptami, on the Naumi. But then, he asks, which day is being taken as the Naumi — since Shiv Navratra is begun from Panchami and not from Pratipada. Differences of opinion arise, he says, precisely because people do not put shastra pramaan forward.
When should the Batuk Bhairav Anushthan be held, and with what Sankalpa?
From the Ashtami tithi of the Krishna Paksha, or during the Navratri falling in March–April. The Sankalpa is for Batuk Bhairav's full grace, for his grace to remain over the lifelong sadhana to come, for no obstacle to arise in any sadhana, and for every sadhana to complete under his protection.
Who may perform the Ahuti in a Tantrokta rite, and who may not worship at all?
In Tantrokta worship a Bhairavi performs it too — all women are Bhairavi-svarupa, all are mother-like, and they will offer, with Samagri rather than ghee. But anyone who says a menstruating woman should go and worship or perform a Havan, or that it does not matter during Navratri, will ruin you.
Ganapatya, Saura, Shakta or Vaishnava — every sampradaya and panth must do the Shiva abhishek in Shravan
Just as it is said that whether you are Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava or of any sampradaya or panth, everyone should keep the Navratri vrat and do Bhagavati's puja, and everyone should go to the Kamakhya kshetra and the Vindhya kshetra for her darshan and pujan — in exactly the same way, in the month of Shravan, whether you are Ganapatya, Saura, Shakta or Vaishnava, you must certainly do the abhishek and shringar of Bhagwan Shiva's shivling. It must not be bypassed, and not even one day should be missed.
Paran after an anushthan: the most precious and most maya-laden moment
The speaker says that in his view the most precious time of a sadhak's life is when, having completed an anushthan and about to do paran, some deva shakti comes at that moment and asks something of you. It is a deeply maya-filled time: maya lies spread over everything and the person does not understand. As on the ninth day of Navratri, when the mind is already on tomorrow's puri and halwa after the kanya pujan, the sadhak is ravenous on the final day and thinks only "at last, food" — and it was at exactly such a moment, after completing the 11,000 Datta mala mantra, that this sadhak's most intense experience came.
Combined Navratri jap of the Navdurga, the navgrah and the mothers of the grahas: purpose and who it is for
The speaker says that if in the nine days of Navratri the nine grahas, the mothers of the nine grahas and the nine Durgas are worshipped together, many graha Doshas and yogas in the birth chart that affect life are pacified. Since even the smallest particle in the world is held to be a karaka of the Navagraha, the grahas must not be neglected; alongside one's Ishta Devata their puja should be done from time to time. Worshipping each graha separately is long and difficult, with its own vastra and vidhi, so he gives a simple nine-day vidhan for Navratri only that any sadhak or sadhika can do, meant especially for those who do not know their own janma kundali: by it alone, in nine days, whatever subtle graha dosha exists is pacified and the grahas' grace obtained. Done fully, he says, Jagadamba removes even the greatest calamity, and sufferings that were not otherwise going away are removed by this collective (samyak) pujan.
Starting the Navratri navgrah jap: Pratipada, kalash optional, morning best, after guru-Ganapati pujan and the Bhagavati path
The speaker says the jap and pujan begin on the Pratipada of Navratri after Kalash sthapana, Akhand Jyot and so on; but one who does no akhand deep or kalash sthapana and only does puja-path can certainly still do this sadhana. It may be done morning or evening as one's business or job allows, though morning is best. The order on each day: first the kalash sthapana (on Pratipada) and the initial pujan, then guru and Ganesha pujan, then whatever path of Bhagavati one does, and only after that this jap. He says all the mantras (of the nine grahas, their mothers and Bhagavati) are put on one page on screen and will be given in the description or a PDF for copying.
One vastra for all nine days of the Navratri navgrah jap, whatever its colour
The speaker says that whether one wears red, yellow or white vastra in Navratri, it is not necessary to change clothing according to the colour of each day. Doing so is useful, but it would work out very expensive, so wear the same one vastra every day; colour is no difficulty.
Completing the Navratri navgrah vidhan: havan ahuti counts, kanya pujan on Navami, parana on Dashami
The speaker says that when the nine days of jap are complete, a Havan is done on the last day, the Navami tithi; the basic havan vidhi has been given on his channel. Five Ahutis each go to guru and Ganesha; nine ahutis each from the separate mantras of the nine Durgas that were japped; nine each from every one of the nine graha mantras; and nine each in the names of the mothers of the nine grahas. On Navami one also does Kanya Pujan and so on, and then on the Dashami tithi the Paran.
When the kuldevi chaukhat prayog is done and who may do it
The second case, the speaker says, is when one finds that along with the kul pitr the kula's shaktis are also displeased, or that one's kul shakti has been turned against one — tantra is a subtle matter with much manipulation, and one must identify which case is one's own. Anyone whose kul shakti is displeased may do this, and so may someone who does not know their kuldevi but is doing some sadhana. The kuldevi and kul shakti are certainly pleased by chaukhat seva, since the protective powers reside there. It is done in the shukla paksha from Pratipada to Purnima, or in a festival period such as Navratri.
Shortfall that happens by accident, not by intention, is forgiven through the Aparadh Kshamapan.
Where you are performing the service and trying to leave no gap, and something is missed by mistake — something brought but not offered — there is no difficulty at all. The Aparadh Kshamapan already asks the Mother to forgive whatever happened more or less through negligence, and it is certainly forgiven, because you did not do it knowingly.
What is the rule to adopt from the day after the fast is broken?
From the day after Paran a rule must be established, permanently. That rule is what preserves the japa, austerity, Havan and recitation of the nine days — not only holding the energy for a long period, but increasing it, and bringing the divine experiences and the piercing of secrets that follow.
Returning to heavy or tamasic food the moment the fast ends is the first mistake.
Eating heavily the moment the fast ends, and especially turning to onion and garlic on Dashami itself. The body's heat rises abruptly, and the effort you made to avoid that trouble begins to be spent from that point.
What does the Navratri fast do to the Annamaya Kosha?
It purifies it — and only when the Annamaya Kosha is pure does the Aura become white in colour. As whiteness rises, the quantity of Satvik energies in the subtle body rises, and no lesser or negative power can establish dominance over it.
How long should Brahmacharya be maintained after Navratri?
To Poornima at least. Ending it on Dashami is the single greatest mistake — spending in that way the energy and merit collected with so much effort. The speaker acknowledges this will offend some listeners and says so directly.
Why do good practitioners fall ill a few days after Navratri?
Because they dropped everything the moment the fast ended — no Kavach, no japa, no small Havan, no special worship. The speaker's image is of taking the whole treasure you were holding and leaving it out to be looted, all at once.
Navratri raises everyone's positivity, and the simplest guard afterwards is not to stop the daily worship.
Drop the worship abruptly and every Preta and Pishachik power that gets the chance will cling at once. The easiest protection is daily worship and Sandhya: continue whatever sadhana you did, five malas or even one, with the Kavach — and the speaker specifies he is speaking of divine mantras only.
How much practice should precede any application of a mantra?
Let four or five Navratris pass, performing the Purashcharana each time — Gupt, Prakat or otherwise — with 11 or 21 malas continuing between them, repetition and Havan at every festival period, and surrender at a Shakti Peeth.
What should be done with the Kalash materials, Asana and cloth used in Navratri?
All of it is preserved: the Kalash contents, the Asana you performed the japa on, and the cloth you wore for the japa and Havan. Even after that cloth tears it should be used by you alone; the Asana is never shared, and never burnt.
Closing rulings on the raisins used for counting, undistributed pomegranate, Havan during Sutak, and honey in the Khappar.
The 108 raisins kept for counting may certainly be eaten. Pomegranate that cannot be given out is immersed in the Ganga, another river or a clean lake. No Havan is performed during Sutak — let it pass, and it happens only after its conclusion and the purification. Honey is given in the Khappar, in a silver vessel.
Why relief from a one-off Saptashati or Saptashloki anushthan fades
The speaker says maya is very powerful: do any anushthan even once — a Durga Saptashati or Saptashloki anushthan, 108 in the morning and 108 in the evening for the nine days of Navratri — and whether or not the work is done, the shakti shows fierce maya and some grace of Jagdamba does come. The person's problem stays exactly as it was, but he feels the energy within, the spandan of the manipurak chakra, sees drishtant and pictures in dreams, and at the first auspicious effects of sadhana promptly makes himself a siddha and starts advising others. A few days later the message comes that the trouble is back — because the energy of a sadhana that is not continued lasts fifteen days, twenty days, three or six months at most; the savings are spent and nothing new is being put in, so the problem grows again.
Should a practitioner vary the Anushthan each Navratri?
No. Even if you are not initiated, when you take hold of some Anushthan or sadhana, do that same one again and again. Someone who has done eleven hundred recitations of the thirty-two Namavali in an earlier Navratri should this time try to do it by the Chakra Vidhi.
Once the practice is established a Kavach is added, and after it the Beejakshar, the Argala or the Ratri Sukta
When the practice has formed and you are completing it in very little time, add a Kavach with it. When the Kavach is done, go on to the Beejakshar; or to the whole extended prescription of the first mantra of the Argala; or, if you want a Stotra rather than a mantra, to the Tantrokta Ratri Sukta. But hold to one base.
What should stay fixed every Navratri?
In every Navratri one thing of yours should be fixed — that whatever else we do, we will certainly do at least a lakh and a quarter of the Ekakshari Beej japa; or at least eleven hundred recitations of the thirty-two Namavali, or thirty-two hundred; or certainly the Kamakhya Kavach; or ten thousand japa of the Jayanti Mangala. Never leave that one thing.
What should someone who has done nothing at all begin with?
If you have done nothing — no Ganpati sadhana, no Dev Deeksha Vidhan, nothing of Bhagavan Datta, no Guru tradition, nothing of Batuk Bhairav — then at the very least recite Bhagavati's Ashtottara Shatanamavali. If you cannot even read the names in Sanskrit, recite the Durga Chalisa by the Chakra Vidhi, or simply the Durga Chalisa.
Jagadamba arrives on the elephant, the arrival that fills with wealth and grain and increases prosperity
On the Gaja. And when Jagadamba comes upon the elephant she fills with wealth and grain, grants happiness and property, and increases prosperity — she is the giver of happiness and good fortune.
How many lotus flowers should be offered daily during Navratri?
The prescription is a hundred and eight lotus flowers daily; if that cannot be managed, one or nine, as many as you can get. Consecrate them with a Stuti — the Tantrokta Devi Suktam, or a single mantra recited eleven or twenty-seven times, or Devi Sarvabhuteshu Lakshmi Rupena Samsthita — and offer them at the Kalash, the Vigraha, the photograph, or the Akhand Jyot.
Why is the lotus flower offered in particular?
Because Jagadamba is already coming with that energy and in that form — as the giver of prosperity — and worship and Archana with the lotus flower becomes one that increases Shri. So as soon as you surrender it, your feelings will be reflected there and her grace will very quickly be obtained.
How is the Navratri fast to be kept?
This Navratri is of ten days; practitioners are to fast ten days, with the Paran on the eleventh. Keep the fast according to your own body's capacity — on fruit, or eating grain once a day, as the body supports you. But if you are of a strong body and are keeping it while eating full meals, that is not proper.
What does the Saptashati say about not worshipping in Navratri?
The speaker notes that people fall into controversy the moment this is said, but states the written matter: that Bhagavati says she devours and burns to ash all the merits of one who does not perform Chandika's worship, and gives him hardship. There is a reason behind it.
When should the Ghat Sthapana be done?
Take it between about 5:35 and 7:25 in the morning if you can — the dawn window. Where only the Abhijit muhurta is available, half the day goes in the Kalash Sthapana and the first day's sadhana is somewhat hampered and the body tires. This time the dawn window is available, so it is excellent.
The Tritiya falls on two days this time, pushing the Maha Saptami and the Kalratri Puja onto the Monday
The Dwitiya falls on Tuesday; the Tritiya falls on two days this time — Wednesday and Thursday — because the tithi has increased. Chaturthi on Friday, Panchami on Saturday, Shashthi on Sunday; and the Maha Saptami, the Kalratri Pujan, then falls on Monday the 29th of September.
At what hour of the day should the Navratri japa be done?
It is Navratri, so the matter is of the night hour. Sadhana done at night is excellent — become a Viracharin practitioner and try to do it at night in Navratri too. Do your Anushthan daily between nine at night and one in the morning; whatever recitation you do, if it falls in that span it is excellent.
Why is Navratri called nine nights if the japa belongs to the day?
It is written that the Saptashati is not to be recited at night, and nobody discusses the reason for which it was written — but because it is written, it will not be done. Brother, the speaker asks: why then is Navratri not Nine Days? The Mother would then have said it is nine days, do it by day and not by night.
Maha Ashtami falls on the Tuesday, but the Nishith-vyapini Maha Ashtami is obtained on the Monday night
Maha Ashtami is for everyone and falls on Tuesday the 30th — but the Nishith-vyapini Maha Ashtami, the one that pervades the middle of the night, will be obtained on the Monday night. So do not let the Monday night go empty.
Why does the midnight of Maha Ashtami matter so much?
Because in many Phalashrutis you will read that one who recites at that time — in the middle of the night of Maha Ashtami in the Sharadiya Navratri — has Bhagavati greatly pleased with him. Look at Baglamukhi's Kavach, at her five Anga Vidyas, at Lalitamba's; and the Devi Gita and the Parvati Gita say the same.
The main recitation and japa of that night begins at about eleven and is completed by one or half past one
On Monday the 29th of September, at night, begin your main recitation and japa at about eleven o'clock, and complete it by one or half past one at night. Whether the Parvati Gita, the Devi Gita, whatever mantra Anushthan you are performing, a Kavach, the Saptashati — do it.
What is the Sandhi Puja and when does it fall?
The most principal time of all for a Devi devotee — the moment at which Bhagavati Chamunda manifests. This time it is on Tuesday the 30th of September, from 5:42 in the evening to 6:30. In it we are to do the Deepdaan of 108 for Bhagavati, the bali, her special Stuti, and the japa. This span is never to be let go.
What if a mistake occurs in the Sharad Navratri bali?
Keep in mind that in the bali worship and Deepdaan you perform in Sharad Navratri, if some error occurs, Bhagavati never gives you punishment for it — because at that time, truly speaking, it is the Bhava she sees. He is not speaking of those who commit an offence knowingly.
How is the Mahavidya krama handled with a doubled Tritiya?
Simply increase your recitation by the day. First day, the first Charitra; second day, two chapters, as described; go on that way, and set the tithi aside. Everything completes by the Ashtami tithi — it completes in seven days — and on the Ashtami you have only the Rahasya and the rest to do.
Whose refuge should be taken during Navratri?
Whatever Anushthan connected with Bhagavati you are doing, and whether you listen to this channel or not: given the way the times are running and the calamities coming upon the whole world, at this time we should take particular refuge in Bhagavati's Yogini Matrikas — because it is the Yoginis who execute Bhagavati's work in every field.
How are the sixty-four Yogini names to be recited?
Keep the Namavali with you, download it, and daily at the night hour repeat the names of the sixty-four Yoginis at least nine times over — from one to sixty-four once, then again from one to sixty-four, nine times in that way — and then give a bali of nine cloves and camphor.
What if you cannot go to a temple at all?
If you have nothing there is no difficulty; if you cannot even go to a temple there is no difficulty. If you have the Bhava, then certainly do the recitation. And to accomplish the Kubjika Kavach, no Havan is needed — only do the japa; that is plenty.
What if a Satchandi is undertaken in a ten-day Navratri?
If you mean to do a Satchandi alone, the speaker says, it becomes a very large matter. As for the Utkilan: the whole procedure and rule will be there every time. Each Chandi will have its own separate Shraap Vimochan; the whole six Angas will be separate for each.
What can someone who has begun no sequential sadhana still recite in Navratri?
If you wish to do the sequential sadhana and have done nothing yet, then even so, in Navratri recite Bhagavati's Sahasranama or Satnama and the like. Recite a Kavach. Recite the Stutis; do the Saptashati in Hindi. At the least your Bhava toward the Mother will be formed.
May soap and shampoo be used during Navratri?
Ordinarily the body's purification is to be done with water alone. Below the waist you may use a herbal shampoo or herbal soap for cleanliness, because many times the mind will not settle without it. Beyond that it is your own wish, or your Guru's order.
What should be done in a Shani Mahadasha with Rahu Antardasha?
Take the refuge of the Tantrokta Ratri Sukta with your eyes closed; take the refuge of Bhagavati Kali. Begin the sadhana and worship of Mahakali from this Navratri.
Can the Yogini Archan be done in a house that keeps no Kalash?
Absolutely do the Archan of the sixty-four Yoginis and the Nama-japa. But you cannot eat food with garlic and onion. Where a Navratri custom is kept in the house, all the more should the custom be kept properly.
When is the Paran taken if the Kanya Pujan is on Ashtami?
Taking the Paran immediately after the Kanya Pujan is not proper — that the Ashtami worship is done and the Kanya Pujan is done, so we take the Paran. We perform Bhagavati's Kanya Pujan on Navami and do not take the Paran after it; how then would the fruit of Navami be obtained? The Paran should be taken on Dashami, after the Aparajita Pujan.
Should someone under Sutak keep the Navratri fast?
Where a Sutak has attached, there is no need to keep the fast. Follow the rule of the Sutak.
What does a white owl seen twice on the road mean?
Without delay, in this Navratri, perform the Archana and worship of Bhagavati's sixty-four Yoginis again and do the Anushthan. It is very auspicious if you are having the Darshan again and again. And, the speaker adds, you have discussed it here — but do not go on speaking of this subject.
On which tithi should the Ahuti of the sixty-four Yoginis be given?
Perform the Havan at least on the Ashtami or Navami of Navratri. After that fix one tithi — every Ashtami, or Chaturdashi, or Amavasya — and on those days give the Ahuti of the sixty-four Yoginis. Certainly give it with guggul and ghee.
Does a shakti walk with someone who has done daily paath for years?
Asked whether, from doing daily stotra, chalisa and puja paath for years, some shakti walks with us in an unmanifest manner, he answers: yes, absolutely she walks. Those who have been doing puja paath for many years will, at some time or another in life, have the experience of this thing too. In daily puja paath there is a great deal of shakti and capacity. In Navratri and the like, he says, they certainly do some particular anushthan with all the rules closed in; but from daily pujan paath as well, even if you are doing a chalisa, stotra or arti, a good many shaktis begin to walk with you, because you are doing it regularly.
How is a stotra or chalisa awakened?
Yes — whichever stotra or chalisa you are reciting, he says, if you awaken that same one by the vidhi vidhan, that is, if in Navratri and the like you do more than a hundred paths, if you do eleven hundred paths, and do havan and the like in this manner, then extremely great benefit is obtained from it.
What should someone do when a fierce energy flows in the body during seva?
A listener says that something is playing upon him, that a fierce energy is flowing through the whole body, and that he does seva and puja too. He tells him by name to do two things. First of all, recite the kavach connected with that swarup of Bhagavati whose upasana you do, as much as possible in Navratra, to your capacity. If afterwards the shakti still comes, then, taking the help of somebody knowledgeable, have her identity opened — she will scarcely tell it herself.
Can 27000 Navarna japa be got done by a pandit in Shakambhari Navratri to wear a yantra?
A listener wants to have 27000 japa of the Navarna mantra done by a pandit ji in Shakambhari Navratri and then wear the yantra. Yes, brother, absolutely you can do it, the speaker says — the pandit ji will tell you how and by what vidhan it is to be done.
The solar eclipse and the Navratri between two eclipses as a time of multiplied fruit
The speaker says the solar eclipse of 21 June carries a Chudamani yog after 840 years, and any sadhana done in that time gives great strength to one's sadhana. Mahatmas, saints and learned people, he says, hold the Grahan kaal to be the time that gives crores of times more fruit, and a solar eclipse falling on a Sunday gives akshay, endlessly multiplied fruit. He adds that this whole period is the guru paksha, and that nothing can be more special than a full Navratri falling between two eclipses: a very good time for sadhana, for Tapo-bala and for energy, which one should put to use by beginning one's sadhana in it.
A fixed daily mala count through Navratri to Dashami
The speaker says that from the day after the eclipse Navratri begins, and after doing the puja-path one has to do, one does the Japa of this mantra: one Mala if one can do one, ten if one can do ten. But the count must be the same every day: if five malas today, then five tomorrow, five on the third day of Navratri, and the same five malas until the morning of Dashami. After each day's japa the mala goes back into the bowl of Gangajal.
Should the four-month recitation be paused during Pitru Paksha or Navratri?
There is no need to stop when Pitru Paksha falls in between, and no need to stop when Navratri comes. You may do the Navratri pujan completely, and in Pitru Paksha you may separately perform whatever anushthan you wish for the pitr — but the niyam you take up tomorrow must be carried through in its entirety until the day of Tulsi Vivah.
How is the Chaukhat worshipped, and when?
Wash it with Gangajal; mix the orange sindoor with ghee; then, remembering the Kuldevi first and reciting an auspicious mantra, the Kulvadhu of the house applies five tilaks in an upward direction. This is done at Holi, Diwali, Navratri and Vijayadashami — Diwali without fail.
How does one keep a long single-deity sadhana when festivals intervene?
He calls it a very good question. He says he repeatedly says to do the sadhana of one deity for a long time — you have begun Ganpati now, so do Ganpati's sadhana the whole year. But Navratri will come in between, Shivratri will come, Diwali will come. For that: continuous sadhana done unbroken is possible for men, not for women. So take up sadhanas of twenty-one days, of eleven days, of twenty-one days in this manner. As soon as you learn that Navratri is about to begin, then before it, whatever number of days the sadhana is, take it that far and do its purnahuti and so on; then for the remaining days go on doing the ordinary recitation of it.
What if a kalash is kept installed all year?
He says: as you have done for all the rest, so here — in Navratri, or if you keep a kalash installed throughout the year at your place of pujan, then you have it that their pujan will then be beside the kalash itself, as is described.
What should be done with an item that cannot be kept in the pujan place?
He tells the listener Uma Sut to have it made and then keep it locked. If it is not to be kept in the pujan place, then do the pujan only in the parva kala; for the rest, shut it in your almirah — there is no problem in that, it is consecrated, there is no difficulty. When you do the annual pujan of the year, at Diwali and Navratri, then keep it in the pujan place; at other times keep it as saubhagya.
When does the Shakambhari Navratri fall and who observes it?
This navratra is not celebrated openly everywhere, he says: those whose kuldevi she is, or who live in her region, are the ones who keep the nine days. It runs from the Ashtami tithi up to the Poornima tithi — the Poornima of the Paush month is called Shakambhari Poornima — and the navratra begins nine days before it, from the Saptami-Ashtami. In this year it falls from the thirtieth of December to the sixth of January.
Nine full days of havan in the Shakambhari Navratri are prescribed for a siddh mantra that has stopped giving effect.
Where something is not working, havan at that place. So if you perform havanatmak prayoga in the Shakambhari Navratri — especially of any mantra of yours which you had made siddh and which is not giving effect, or even otherwise — a full nine days, by which that mantra will become pushta, a positive effect will fall on your body too, and whenever you use it you will obtain more effect from it than you hoped.
May the Shakambhari sadhana be done while Kharmas is running?
Although Kharmas will be in force during the Shakambhari Navratri, still, if you wish to do her sadhana — since this is her own navratra — you should certainly do the sadhana given at the pinned link. There is no difficulty in that. But that sadhana should be repeated again and again, at least in one navratra or another; even doing it once or twice makes her effect and grace come very intensely and very quickly in your life.
What should a Shakambhari kuldevi worshipper actually do?
For obtaining the grace of Bhagavati, when your kuldevi is Jagadamba Shakambhari, do the sadhana at the link he has given. And since she is your kuldevi, do this sadhana again and again. Alongside it do the sadhana of the first mantra of the Argala as well, give ahuti from both, and see the wonder. If you do it even for a whole year, from this Shakambhari Navratri to the Shakambhari Navratri of the next year, then you will be left with nothing to worry about, and within a year your capacity will grow so much — if you have kept the vidhi, vidhan and rules.
What should someone read who cannot manage Sanskrit sandhi vichhed?
For those who wish to read in Sanskrit, he says, the Saral Durga Saptashati published by Gita Press exists — take that. But even so he would say that those who are completely new to the Saptashati path should do it in Hindi at the very least for a year. If you are doing all four Navratras, or for two or three years, do it in Hindi; after that do the path from the Saral Durga Saptashati published by Gita Press. With the sandhi vichhed done, very clear uccharan will come; learn it slowly.
Can the Datta Mala Mantra be started in Navratri?
Asked by Neelam ji how she can make him her guru, he says the whole vidhan has been told and there is no need of a guru at all; even so, if she insists, she should contact them and do the guru sadhana with the vidhi-vidhan. Asked whether the Datta Mala Mantra can be started in Navratri, he answers: absolutely it can be done.
Will the puja succeed if a kalash is not kept?
It will absolutely succeed, he answers. There is nothing of the kind that if you do not keep a kalash the puja will not succeed. Householders should keep a kalash only in the Chaitra and Sharadiya Navratris — or in whichever one of these two you keep it and do it. For the rest, if you are a sadhak the matter is different.
How many repetitions make a mantra count, and how many for a stotra?
For a mantra, the speaker says, in the counting of it you should at the first time do at least five lakh of any mantra — complete five lakh within the year. For a stotra, complete up to 1100 within a navratri and the like; after that, do as much nitya paath of it as you can, and keep repeating its anushthan from time to time.
May the same sadhana be repeated in the next Gupt Navratri?
Asked whether the Shri Kali Chalisa siddhi may be repeated again in the coming Gupt Navratri, the speaker says: very good, absolutely do it. He says one should repeat one and the same sadhana again and again for at least a year — that is, the four navratris, and if possible in Shakambhari and Ghor Navratri as well — and only then begin a second sadhana the next year.
Can the Durga Saptashati be read one chapter a day in Navratri?
The speaker says never. New reciters see that the Durga Saptashati has thirteen chapters, note that Navratri gives only eight or nine days, and read chapter one on day one, chapter two on day two, stopping at chapter eight or nine. He calls this an aparadh that must never be done, one from which a Devi Dosha forms. The Saptashati, he says, is recited only with its six angas.
How the uninitiated get adhikar for the Navarna and the Saptashati path
The speaker says that if you have no deeper knowledge, at the very least take the upadesh of the Navarna from someone who wears the yajnopavit and does Gayatri and the like — a sadhak or a brahmin — take Shakta diksha, and take upadesh or adesh for the Saptashati. Request the brahmins who recite the Saptashati during Navratri, in Navratri itself, to give you adesh and initiate you in the Shakta line. Whoever wears the yajnopavit and does trikaal or two-time Gayatri, or recites the Saptashati daily, can give that adesh; it confers adhikar and no dosha attaches. This much should be done so that the path can be recited without dosha or problem.
Is Shraap Vimochan needed before the Chandi Kavach, and what follows an Anushthan?
Not that necessary before the Chandi Kavach — though it is good if you do it. And after an Anushthan of Durga's Beej mantra, at minimum nine mala of japa should certainly be done every day; the nine mala will strengthen it and your desires will be fulfilled.
When the kul havan is begun, at what hour, and for how many days
The speaker says the prayog is begun on any Poornima and continued to Amavasya, fifteen days, or else in any Navratri from the first day to Dashami. It is done at sunrise or at sunset, but he says that if it is done at sunset one must not eat salt and the like that day, so morning is better; in Navratri upasana it may be done in the evening too. He says it should be done for at least twenty-seven days if possible, which is extremely good, and otherwise for the fifteen days or the Navratri span, in the morning.
Householders learnt that there are more Navratras than the two they knew
Earlier householders knew only the Sharadiya Navratra and one other — beyond those, no Navratra was particularly known to them. Those who went into the field of sadhana, one-odd percent of people, were told by their gurus and had special sadhanas performed. Then, through YouTube and Facebook, a great many people came to know that there are two Gupt Navratras.
Which other Navratras are there, and must a householder keep them fully?
Besides these there are the Shakambhari Navratra, the Aghor Navratra and, in truth, many more such subjects which the sadhaks of a given guru parampara follow very well. But if you are wholly a householder, he says, it is not at all necessary that in these Navratras too you light a nine-day akhand deep and perform special pujan vidhi-vidhan; do ordinary pujan only.
Eleven days again from the Tara Chaturdashi, then sava lakh in Navratri
A listener says he has done the eleven-day sadhana of Maa Bhavani by his method and is doing one mala daily. Do this, he answers: beginning from the Chaturdashi, from this Tara Chaturdashi, do at least an eleven-day sadhana again. In Navratri do a sava lakh japa in nine days. Then from Sharadiya Purnima, on the day it falls, again do its japa of a sava lakh. In Diwali, when your month of Kartik comes, again do a sava lakh. Do this much and you will get great joy.
What should someone do who has moved house and can no longer do the full Navratri anushthan?
A listener who used to keep an akhand lamp and make a mandal in the temple beside his former residence asks what to do so that no dosha attaches now that he has moved. The speaker answers simply: do as much as is possible.
How many chakras of the Durga 32 Namavali should be done by the chakra vidhi?
If you recite by the chakra vidhi, the speaker says, about thirty-three paaths are being done, and that is one chakra. Do at least three chakras; or as many as you can manage — do three chakras, do five chakras, or morning and evening together do nine chakras. That is all, and it will become tremendous and divine.
Can the fourth adhyaya and the Patni Manorama mantra be done in Navratri for a desired marriage?
Yes, they can certainly be done, the speaker answers.
How many lamps should be offered in the guru's name and how many in one's own?
A listener who offers five lamps in the speaker's name and two in his own is told he is doing too many for the speaker. Keep more for yourself and less for me, the speaker says. If you light only two, or are keeping it small, then do five on the last day at most; otherwise in the daily practice keep just one lamp. He says he had spoken of lighting more in a one-day observance, or on the final day; in the nitya practice even one lamp is enough.
Those joining the organised anushthan observe complete brahmacharya, bodily and mental, from Amavasya to the Dashami
Those taking part in the anushthan organised by Grihastha Tantra should try to observe complete brahmacharya from tomorrow, which is Amavasya, up to the Dashami on the twelfth — bodily and mental both. It is the time of the Navratra, the speaker says, so commit no mistake or offence in it.
What is the minimum a householder should do at home during the Navratra?
Those having an anushthan performed should certainly do something at home too — dhoop, deep and aarti morning and evening; and if nothing else, shringar puja after doing the shringar, which the speaker calls the best of all. Those who are not able to do anything, who are aged or afflicted by illness, should at least have a shri vigraha of Bhagavati in the house, a small one of about five or six inches, for whom they can do abhishek, shringar and aarti daily.
May the vigraha be lifted from its asana during the nine days?
If you have done kalash sthapana, kindled the akhand jyot and have a shri vigraha placed, then the vigraha is not to be moved for the nine days of the Navratra. If your daily rule is to bathe Bhagavati, ask your guru whether the asana may be shifted; according to the speaker's own knowledge and practice the asana should not be moved. Arrange the abhishek so that they need not be lifted from the asana. Only the first day carries the full formal bath; from the next day on they should not be removed.
Who may keep a jyoti kalash at home?
Anyone at all may keep a jyoti kalash in the house, the speaker says. If it is the rule in your household to keep one, then keep the jyoti kalash.
Can puja be done for only the first three or five days of the Navratra?
Yes, it can absolutely be done, the speaker says.
Must one who fasts in Navratri sleep on the floor?
If your body has the strength then do bhumi shayan — on kusha, or on a blanket, or thicken the blanket. One should not sleep on a khat. If you do not sleep on a bed, that is best. And if you are sleeping raised because there is simply no room on the floor, or some such matter arises in the family, then there is no difficulty: sleep above, asking Bhagavati for forgiveness. But bhumi shayan is the best of all — a kusha mat on the ground, or a blanket.
Can a twenty-one day sankalp be made in the Navratra?
It will not work like that, the speaker tells Ashish Kumar. The Navratra sankalp will be of nine days only. If you wish to do a twenty-one day observance afterwards, then in some other month, from the Ashtami, or from the Pratipada of the Shukla Paksha, run it right through twenty-one days — and which deity you wish to do what for should all be examined before doing it.
The Dashami sets in at 10:58, the ghat is moved after that, and the visarjan may be done after 12:00 noon
On the twelfth, after 11:00, the speaker says. The Dashami will set in at 10:58; the ghat is to be moved after that. The visarjan, if such a matter arises, may be done that day after 12:00 noon; otherwise, if in your region the farewell is not done on a Sunday, then leaving Sunday out, do it on Monday. That may also be done.
Can the nine-day fast be kept without ghat sthapana?
Yes, absolutely it can be kept, the speaker says. The seva and puja of Bhagavati can take place even without a ghat.
Can the ghat and the akhand deep be served without fasting?
One does have to keep a fast, at least a little, for the seva of the ghat and the seva of the akhand jyot, the speaker says; their seva will not happen without the fast. Do not do it half-finished. Ask Bhagavati for the strength — Jagadamba, make us capable, so that we keep the fast and serve you in the proper manner. And if you cannot keep the fast, then do the nitya pujan, morning and evening, well and grandly; grace will be obtained in that too. It is not as though grace will not come in that.
Can the puja of the Dhanda yantra be done in Navratri?
Yes, it can absolutely be done in Navratri, the speaker says.
In the organised anushthan the sankalp and paath are performed on behalf of all who join, and the divinity increases by that seva
Knowing beforehand how many people will come, it gets done well within that, the speaker says. We get the opportunity of seva, and in that seva the sankalp and paath and so on are performed on behalf of all of you, and by that the divinity increases further. The uplift of Sanatan, he says, is happening here through full cooperation.
What can a sadhak with very little time do during the Navratra?
Those who cannot give much time, who are extremely short of time, should for the nine days of the Navratra alone — this time the Navratri is of ten days, so everyone will comfortably get nine days — take the time of 11:43 to 11:45 each day, a quarter to twelve at night. From a quarter to twelve until 1:30, sitting continuously through that stretch, doing the continuous japa of whatever stotra, stuti, kavach or mantra it may be, without rising and without moving. For them it becomes divine.
The Abhijit muhurta, reckoned by one's own region, is the divine time for paushtik karma
The second time is that of the Abhijit muhurta, according to your own region. In the Abhijit muhurta too a whole matter runs, connected with paushtik karma; that you can do.
Which is the most distinguished muhurta of all?
The most distinguished muhurta of all is the sandhi kaal of the Ashtami and Navami, the speaker says. And besides that there are the transition periods, of one tithi changing into another — but that is for initiated sadhaks, and the amrit kaal has then to be worked out within it, so he says leave that subject aside. But the sandhi kaal of the Ashtami and Navami has so much on it, whole videos and lives, that nobody should ever let it go.
What makes the sandhi kaal so divine?
The time of the sandhi kaal is so divine because it is the time of the manifestation of Bhagavati Chamunda, the speaker says. Navratri is the finest time for the destruction of enemies, the destruction of kritya and avichar, the obtaining of shakti and the fulfilment of desire. And the more Sanatani Hindus perform pujan at that time, the stronger the energy of that time will be, and the better and easier your life and ours will be.
Case: possession begins on Navratri Shashthi in a house built on bought land
The speaker recounts a true event, about a year and a half old, shared by a Delhi sadhak friend: a man from Saran district, Bihar, working in the industrial belt on the Rajasthan–Delhi road, bought a plot with an old house, built a home and moved in with his parents and newly married wife. The family was sattvik but not spiritual — morning-evening dhoop-deep, at most Hanuman Chalisa. Seven or eight months later, on the Shashthi night of Sharadiya Navratri, the wife walked to the puja place and swayed for half an hour as when a sawari comes, then lay unconscious all night and remembered nothing but a heavy body. The next evening she stood at the gate shouting in an angry Haryana-side Jat dialect that she would not leave, "this is my place".
During Navratri the knowers are in sadhana and do not see cases
The speaker makes a practical point from the case: in the days of Navratri all the knowledgeable people are themselves in sadhana and, as a rule, do not see or hear anyone's case. Wherever the afflicted family asked, everyone was busy, and the possession episodes went on every evening until Navami, when a temple mahant finally called them in.
Which way should the coconut on the Navratri kalash be placed?
The speaker reports that a Shankaracharya, citing a granth in which all karmakanda subjects are given, explained what harm follows if the coconut's jata faces backwards, upwards, or is placed inverted, or placed without a purna patra — and gave as the correct vidhi that the coconut should always be placed on the purna patra with its jata, its mouth, its head, turned towards oneself.
May a wife touch her husband's feet during the navratra?
If the wife is devoted to her husband, if she never makes fun of her husband, if she has devotion towards his sadhanas, towards his ishta and aradhya where he is a bhakta or a sadhak; if she respects all the devas, the rishis and munis, the mantras and your shastras, and never makes fun of them — then she may touch, and it may be permitted, and there is no fault in it. But if such doshas are present in your wife, then you yourself should greet her from a distance: O Devi, forgive me; you stay happy in your place and let us stay happy in ours.
Sign of an afflicted house: a possession breaks every puja at its final stage
The speaker opens a true account from the Sharadiya Navratri just past: a long-time sadhak whose family had been troubled for years. Whenever any puja-path was done, a sawari (possession) would come on someone in the house — anyone — and create havoc, so that no puja in their life had ever reached completion. In a Navratri, he says, everything might go well up to Saptami or Ashtami, and then at the very last moment the sawari would raise a disturbance at the puja place, shake the kalash, beat and injure someone, or cause some such event so that the puja could not be properly completed; and if a puja is not completed, no fruit can come of it.
Durga 108-names siddhi with daily havan in Navratri, and verifying the result afterwards
The next vidhan was for Navratri. The speaker says he told the sadhak to do the siddhi of the Durga Ashtottara Shatanama — the 108 names — by the siddhi method given on his channel, beginning the path and doing Havan; the one thing he had him do was a havan every day. For all nine days, through Navami, there was the full path and havan, and on Navami morning Kanya Pujan. The sadhak said that for the first time in his life he saw an anushthan completed: from Pitr Paksha to now no possession had come on anyone. Only occasionally did someone start speaking very loudly or feel the body stiffen, but it settled fully; and many bad dreams came in between, almost like threats to stop, which only strengthened the conviction that the right thing was being done. After Navratri the speaker told him — since he had earlier shown the case to many local readers — to show it again to some local reader and satisfy himself of what level the thing was at; they told him that the Muslim thing that had been in the house was, for now, nowhere to be seen, it had somehow been removed. Whatever happened, he says, was by divine coincidence and Bhagavati's kripa.
Til oil should be bought pressed before your own eyes, especially around Navratri
That til oil should be used with thought, because around Navratri many brands of it appear with excellent outer packing and a thing inside that is not right; burn that til oil and it will only give you harm. If you can get oil pressed before your own eyes, take it; otherwise pure mustard oil, which nowadays is pressed by machines set up in many places. It will cost fifty or a hundred rupees more, but it is pure, and the deities will be nourished by it.
Coconuts bought in Navratri kept turning out bad — what does that mean?
This was a childhood matter, he says, and what the circumstances were at that time cannot now be stated. This thing can happen by dev yog as well. If the coconut is old it can also turn out bad. And if you are breaking it after bringing it into the house, that too can cause some difficulty.
What is the "flower" that forms in a lamp wick?
It is carbon, he says. In a round batti the wick is a little smaller towards the top and the oil fills up; from burning again and again a soot is bound to form in it — there is a 99% likelihood that it forms. When the oil is not reaching the upper part of the wick properly, that is when the carbon begins to gather there, and that is when you say a flower has formed in the wick. There is nothing special in it. In Navratri everybody's forms, the maximum of people's forms; for those who do not clean it a big flower forms, and for those who cover it with a lid a bigger one still. Take a big lamp, keep the wick a little thin and fill it with oil, and through the whole day flowers of one kind after another will keep forming in that wick.
The lamp-wick flower is soot and rubbish, and the Navratri vrat vidhi says to remove it
It is only a thing that gives satisfaction to one's own mind, he says, and one video went viral and thousands of people have made and posted the same video. The flower has not formed there — you are becoming the fool; do not become a fool. If a flower is forming in the wick, it means there is impurity in the food you are eating; the flower is impurity. Read, in the Pauranik matter of the Navratra vrat, the vidhi of how the lamp and the wick are to be set right, when the soot that gathers is to be removed and what mantra is to be said. Had that thing been auspicious, it would have been said instead: a flower is forming, it is very good, let it form. But it is soot gathering; it is rubbish.
Pratyangira's energy strikes the sadhak and the household first, and must be digestible
The speaker says bhav and kriya are two different things: bhakti done from bhav is one path, but in tantra bhav comes later and kriya comes first. When one recites the Mahapratyangira svarup of Bhagavati Bagla, the tattva of the eight shaktis named in Pratyangira falls first on the sadhak's own body, Aura and Sukshma Sharir, and everything depends on whether the sadhak and the family members of the house have the capacity to digest that energy. If no Rudrabhishek of Sadashiva was ever done in that home, no Shivling ever kept, no Shiva pujan, no Shivratri vrat, no kalash sthapana or special puja in Navratri, not even an aarti, and one went straight to Pratyangira upasana out of over-enthusiasm, then the energy that forms will do what it does.
Who are the ten Veer Bhairavs, and where are they worshipped?
The chief ten Veer Bhairavs come for such pujan when the pujan of the ten-armed Mahadurga takes place — the ten-armed Durga who is Mahishasura Mardini — whose distinctive pujan happens in the Sharadiya Navratri in the region of Bengal; there, those who perform tantrokta anushthan especially worship these ten Bhairavs. He names Srishti Veer Bhairav, Sthiti Veer Bhairav, Sanhar Veer Bhairav, Rakt Veer Bhairav, Yam Veer Bhairav, Mrityu Veer Bhairav and Bhadra Veer Bhairav; most of them are worshipped in the kshetra of the shamshaan, for veer and the like. Very few people worship them independently — either they are worshipped within the avaran, in the ten-armed pujan, or they are used when one is to be awakened or made siddha.
How does Mahalakshmi's warrior iconography connect to the origin of Durga?
Beyond her role as goddess of wealth and harmony, Mahalakshmi is depicted as a mighty warrior brandishing weapons — the author states the gods combined their strengths into her form to vanquish the asura Mahishasura, with the widely worshipped form of Durga said to manifest, in essence, from Mahalakshmi herself.
Havan of the Durga Saptashati: the thirteen-chapter rule and the alternative of stutis
The speaker says that, as everyone hears, the astra mantras of the Saptashati are not offered in havan — and likewise every chapter has one or two shlokas that must not be offered with sakalya (the mixed havan samagri), or that need a fixed samagri. When the full path is done over the nine days of Navratri, the vidhan is a havan of all thirteen chapters; if that is not possible, the stutis of the eleventh or fourth chapter can be offered as ahuti instead.
When to begin the Shakambhari sadhana
The best time to begin, the speaker says, is any Navratri of the year, whether prakat or Gupt Navratri. The sadhana may also be begun from any special parva kaal, and it can also be begun from a Poornima tithi.
Starting tithis, duration and time of day for the Kali kavach anushthan
The speaker lists the start points: Amavasya, Krishna Paksha Chaturdashi, Krishna Paksha Ashtami, or in a pinch any Saturday or Tuesday of either paksha. In Navratri, Pratipada to Navami (or Dashami, with havan on Dashami night); if fasting through Navratri, japa till Ashtami, havan on Navami, then resume. Around Diwali in Kartik, begin from the Pradosh a day before Dhanteras and continue till the day after Govardhan Puja or till Akshay Navami, or from Kartik Krishna Ashtami till Chaturdashi night; starting on Dhanteras or Chaturdashi night is possible but leaves limited time, with havan on the same day. As an anushthan it should run at least 7, 9 or 11 days, and the time should be night — after sunset — or before sunrise.
What should be done in the periods of Navratri and Holi?
The speaker says he repeats again and again that at the time of Navratri and Holi you must remain more alert than necessary; you must do vidhi for your own protection, you must do vidhi vidhan for dhanagaman as well, and along with that you must stay motivated.
What should be done in Navratri and other parva kaals for protection?
When it is Navratri, when it is Shivratri, or whatever parva kaal comes — especially those connected with the tantra kaal — we must protect ourselves and protect the family too. Along with that, the anushthans done before this should be continued: those who have been doing Kalika Yogini sadhana all year should keep doing exactly Kalika Yogini and not abandon it now.
What should someone who has been doing the Durga 32 Namavali do now?
If you have been doing the 32 Namavali of Durga ji up to today, then keep your trust in that alone and do not stop doing the 32 Namavali. If it is for the destruction of enemies, the destruction of hostile thoughts, or for your own protection, do the anushthan of exactly that — and this time in Navratri do an anushthan of eleven thousand again.
What does a nine-day Saptashati anushthan actually cost if done at home?
The speaker invites listeners to do it themselves and see. Do the ordinary paath of the Durga Saptashati every day at home — an ordinary paath is three, three and a half or four hours. You will offer at least a flower to Mai; you will do kalash sthapana; in the akhand jyot at least three or four kilos of ghee or three or four kilos of mustard oil will be used; you will keep the fast daily and will eat and drink. Do that much, he says, and see whether the limit will be less than fifteen or twenty thousand — for one person doing it.
What can be done for free by someone with no money at all?
Every single vidhan of the Durga Saptashati has been given on the channel, the speaker says. Nobody is asking you for ₹2100 — do it yourself. If you are poor, reading costs nothing. Light one lamp for two or three hours; if you cannot even light that, go into a temple; take an asana; buy one book of the Saptashati and take it with you. You know how to read Hindi, so sit and read it in Hindi. Read for nine days — the thirteenth adhyaya daily; and if you will not manage the thirteenth adhyaya, the Mahavidya krama has also been explained, so look at it and do it.
What should a sadhak do at his workplace during Navratri?
For this reason, the speaker says, if you are going to do sadhana in Navratri especially, then if possible take leave from wherever you work; if not, at least speak as little as possible; and if anybody says anything, do not answer at all — remain inactive. And do not let that thing settle in the mind either. If it settles in the mind then the sankalp will not be completed at all: the entire energy will be engaged in his destruction, whatever pujan-paath you may be doing at the time of Navratri, and you too will have to bear the consequence of it.
Why do the videos and lives stop while an anushthan is running?
This, the speaker says, is the reason that whether it is Navratri or any parva kaal, when his own anushthan is running the videos come less, the lives come less, and he does not talk at all. Because first we shall save ourselves, and only then will we save another. He says this is practically his own experience, and he is telling them that this difficulty can occur — believe it or not, that is your choice.
How is the navagraha sadhana done through Navratri?
The sadhana of the Navagraha and their mothers is to be done in Navratri one graha on each day, and the full vidhi vidhan has been explained. Whatever kind of dosha you may have — the grahan dosha of Chandra and Ketu, a pishach dosha, a pitru dosha formed in the kundali — you should at the very least do five malas of japa of these nine kinds of devis, the sapta devis, in Navratri, even if you cannot do very much. The sapta devis, he says, are the mothers along with the Navagraha.
What should every household at least do in these nine days?
The second thing, the speaker says, is that at home you should at least perfect the Saptashloki within the nine days. The vidhi of Saptashloki siddhi will come on the channel the next day; look at it and do it — you, your wife, your sister, your mother. There are seven mantras; it is very easy. Looking at it you have only to read. If you wish, read it 108 times; if you wish, read it nine times. But if you recite it at night-time in Navratri then it certainly becomes chaitanya and siddha.
What should a woman do about uccharan and about havan?
You are a woman, the speaker says: do not make the Vedic uccharan — make the tantric uccharan. Do the tantrokta havan. He notes that those who recite the Veda, those who have Vedokta havans performed, say that a woman is not to give the ahuti and a woman is not to say svaha; people ask about this, and he says that is a correct point — it should not be done in a Vedokta havan and the rest. In the tantrokta there is exemption, because in the tantrokta and the rest there is no such vidhi. So you can do the tantrokta havan, and its whole vidhi has been given on the channel.
How should the first mantra of the Argala be done in Navratri?
Asked how the vidhan of the Argala's first mantra should be done for Navratri, the speaker answers that if you wish to do it at two times, then he would say do the japa of the Argala mantra at night-time, and the Ashtottar Shatnam in the day, at noon, at any time. The first point about Navratri, he adds, is that you may do the puja at any time at all: there is no difficulty according to the hour. It is not that you cannot do it at noon or in the evening; you may do it according to whatever capacity the body gives.
Must one fast while an akhand jyot is burning if health is poor?
Asked whether it is necessary to fast when the akhand jyot has been kindled if health is not good, the speaker answers: health is not good — if you can look after the akhand jyot, then this is the point, that if you are going to eat salt, take the food of the salt which is the pahadi salt; at that time do not take the food of sea salt. Doing it in this way too you can do the seva and puja of the akhand jyot.
What should a sadhak do for sadhana and avaran pujan in Navratri?
Asked what a sadhak should do for sadhana and avaran pujan in Navratri, the speaker answers that the avaran pujan has already been learned. For the sadhana and the rest: first of all, Saraswati is not to be dropped. Do the Saraswati at the least by the Mahavidya krama. Do the havan and the rest, and at night-time the mantra japa; he will tell them about it.
Should a lamp kept before a grandfather in the morning be stopped?
To a listener who says that in the morning they light a lamp before their grandfather, the speaker answers: if this thing is in the parampara and it is burning, then let it burn — why will you stop it? He adds earlier that on Kaal Ratri in Navratri it can absolutely be done.
Copper-cased and pran-pratishthit, with nine days' japa on the same vedi
Asked in what manner the raksha kavach is being perfected, the speaker says that for the raksha kavach they have only written that it will be enclosed in pure copper — that is, the kavach will be of copper only — and within it, whichever devi-devata's kavach you take, that devi-devata's kavach will be pran-pratishthit, with the japa of the full nine days. If somebody says so on the last day of Navratri, then they will have kept extras made up in advance, and only the sankalp in that person's name will be made in it; that much only will happen, and you will get it.
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