Chaitra Navratri 2025: Chaitra Navratri is an important festival that happens every year on the first day of the Chaitra month, marking the start of the Hindu lunar year.
The nine-day festival is dedicated to worshipping the nine forms of Maa Durga, known as Navdurga. During this time, people fast. This year, it starts on March 30 with Ghatasthapana and ends on April 7 with Ram Navami.
There are four Navratris in a year, but only two of them, Chaitra Navratri and Shardiya Navratri, are celebrated widely across India. Many of the customs and rituals followed during Shardiya Navratri are also followed during Chaitra Navratri. If you and your family are celebrating the festival and fasting for Chaitra Navratri, here are some important dos and don’ts to remember.
Chaitra Navratri 2025 Fasting Guidelines: What to Do and What to Avoid
- Start your day with a refreshing bath. Before doing the puja, clean the puja area. Then, recite Maa Durga mantras, perform the aarti, and offer the goddess bhog made of sweets and other pure foods.
- Each day of Chaitra Navratri is dedicated to worshipping Goddess Durga and her nine different forms: Maa Shailputri, Maa Brahmacharini, Maa Chandraghanta, Maa Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Maa Katyayani, Maa Kaalratri, Maa Mahagauri, and Maa Siddhidatri. These nine forms are worshipped during the Navratri fast.
- Each form of Maa Durga is linked to a special color. Devotees should wear new and clean clothes in the color of the day to honor the goddesses. These colors also have important meanings.
- On the first day of Navratri, Ghatasthapana or Kalash Sthapana is performed. It is the first and most important ritual of the festival. It should be done at the start of the day, while Pratipada is in effect.
- Keeping your home clean and pure is very important. Clean your house well before the festival starts and keep it clean throughout the nine days.
- Navratri fasts are followed to cleanse the body and purify the mind. So, avoid eating grains, non-vegetarian food, alcohol, and certain spices. Some people fast by only eating fruits, milk, and light vegetarian food.
- On the eighth or ninth day (Ashtami or Navami), perform Kanya Pujan. Invite young girls (Kanyas) to your home, wash their feet, and offer them food and gifts, as they represent Goddess Shakti.
- Avoid lying, using harsh words, or getting into arguments. Stay calm and peaceful throughout the nine days.
- Do not wear black clothes during the special festival of Navratri.
- Once the Kalash is set up during the Ghatasthapana ritual, do not move it until the Visarjan (immersion) ceremony on the last day.
What to Eat While Fasting During Navratri?
During Navratri fasting, people eat foods like kuttu, sabudana (sago), rajgira, makhana, arbi, pumpkin, potato, singhare ka atta, samak rice, nuts, dry fruits, rock salt, cumin, buckwheat, ginger, and green chilies. Also, milk, paneer, cheese, yogurt, lassi, buttermilk, and chhena are allowed and recommended because they are considered pure (satvik) foods.
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