Navratra, Hindu New Year begin amid festivities

KANPUR: On the first day of Chaitra Navratra, a large number of people visited temples of Maa Durga on Saturday. Believed to bless her devotees with financial growth and eliminate negativity from their lives, various incarnations of Goddess Durga are worshiped during the nine-day festival.
The first day was dedicated to Maa Shailputri, known to bestow her devotees with peace, happiness, bliss and harmony. Maa Shailputri is the first incarnation of Goddess Durga.This deity is mainly dressed up in a white sari. Famous Tapeshwari Devi Temple of the city with a statue of Maa Shailputri was flooded with devotees. Goddess Tapeshwari had originated after years of meditation by Mata Sita. “It is believed that Maa Durga fulfils every wish of a person who burn an 'akhand jyoti' three days continuously in Tapeshwari Devi temple,” a devotee said.
Long queues of devotees waiting to offer prayers were seen at Durga temples since morning. Some devotees were witnessed walking to the temples bare-footed. Others were doing 'parikrama' of the temples after lying flat on the ground and crawling. At Junglee Devi Temple in Kidwai Nagar and Baradevi Temple, thousands of devotees came on the first day of Navaratra.
This year, the second and third day are falling on same date. Therefore, people would worship Goddess Bramhcharini and Chandraghanta on Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday Maa Kushmanda and Skandhmata will be worshipped. Wednesday and Thursday would see people worshiping Devi Katyayani and Kalaratri. Ashtami is marked by Sandhi Puja, while on the ninth day on March 28, people celebrate Rama Navmi.