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On the eighth day of Chaitra Navratri, devotees throughout India have fun Ashtami with grand devotion, invoking Goddess Mahagauri and performing Kanjak Pujan to honor the divine female in younger women
As Chaitra Navratri 2025 enters its most auspicious part, Ashtami Pujan — also called Durga Ashtami — takes heart stage throughout households and temples in India. This eighth day of Navratri is devoted to Goddess Mahagauri, the eighth avatar of Maa Durga, symbolizing purity, peace, and compassion. However maybe probably the most spiritually poignant facet of the day is the Kanjak or Kanya Pujan — a heartfelt custom that reveres little women as manifestations of the goddess herself.
Why is Ashtami Pujan Essential?
Ashtami marks the triumph of fine over evil, commemorating the day when Maa Durga annihilated Mahishasura and different demons. Spiritually, it’s believed that on today, the divine female power (Shakti) reaches its zenith. Devotees observe fasts, provide prayers, and carry out elaborate rituals to invoke blessings for energy, prosperity, and safety.
Goddess Mahagauri, worshipped on Ashtami, is depicted using a white bull, with a peaceful demeanor and wearing pure white apparel. She symbolizes serenity, forgiveness, and religious enlightenment. It’s believed that praying to Mahagauri removes all sins and brings peace into one’s life.
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The Rituals of Ashtami Pujan
On this sacred day, devotees get up early, take a holy bathtub, clear their houses and arrange altars to supply prayers to Mahagauri. The rituals embrace:
- Kalash Sthapana (Ghatasthapana) if not already performed on Pratipada
- Providing kumkum, flowers, coconut, sweets, and 9 completely different meals objects to the goddess
- Reciting the Durga Saptashati or Devi Mahatmyam for religious elevation
- Performing aarti and bhajans in honor of the goddess
Kanjak Pujan – The Coronary heart of Ashtami
Maybe probably the most visually heartwarming custom is Kanjak Pujan, the place 9 younger women (symbolizing the 9 types of Goddess Durga) are invited into houses and handled with reverence. Often called ‘Kanjaks’, these women are thought of residing embodiments of the goddess.
The Kanya Pujan Rituals:
- The ft of every lady are washed with clear water and wiped dry with love
- A crimson thread (mauli) is tied on their wrists, and tilak is utilized on their foreheads
- They’re served a standard meal of poori, chana, and halwa — thought of auspicious and symbolic
- Every lady is obtainable items or cash (dakshina) and new garments, bangles or toys as per household custom
In some households, a boy can also be invited, referred to as ‘Langur’, who represents Bhairav Baba, the protector of Devi.
The Relevance of Kanjaks in At the moment’s Time
Kanya Pujan is not only a spiritual ritual however a cultural reminder of the ability, purity, and divinity of the female. It teaches society to respect lady youngsters, honor their presence, and empower them. In an period the place gender equality stays a world concern, traditions like Kanjak Pujan provide a spiritually rooted celebration of ladies from their earliest years.
Last Phrase
Ashtami Pujan throughout Chaitra Navratri 2025 is greater than a spiritual observance — it’s a celebration of divine female power that flows by each family, each prayer, and each smiling face of the Kanjaks. By performing these sacred rituals with devotion and reverence, devotees not solely honor the goddess but additionally sow seeds of compassion, humility, and gratitude of their hearts.
As India continues to worship energy in its gentlest kind, the message is obvious: Each lady is a goddess, and her blessings mild up the world.
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