Navratri Puja Vidhi - Simple Nine Day Puja – How to do Navratri Puja in North India Method with Ghatasthapana?

Navratri Puja Vidhi in North India include Ghatasthapana, Kumari Puja etc. Here is a simple method to do nine-day Navratri and Durga Puja in North India. It is based on the procedure followed in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Punjab, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Things needed for Navratri Puja:

• Clay vessel – open mouth to sow barley
• Kalash Pot
• Clean and good soil for sowing barley
• Barley seeds - wheat seeds
• Water
• Sacred thread (mauli)
• Scent
• Supari (betel nut)
• Coins
• Mango Leaves
• Raw Rice
• Coconut
• Two Red cloth
• 2 Flower garlands or flowers
• Chawki (raised wooden platform)
• Picture of Painting of Goddess Durga
• Dhoop
• Lamp
• Ghee
• Cotton wick
• Fruits
• Sweets
• Puja Thali
• Chunari or cloth for Mother Goddess

When arranging and preparing for puja keep chanting this mantra - "ऊँ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डाय विच्चे"

First Navratri Puja is Ghatasthapana

Preparing Barley - Wheat Pot (जौ और गेहूं) 

First take bath and wear red color dress in the morning. Take the open mouth clay pot and fill soil up to half of the pot. Then put the barley and wheat seeds. Put soil on top of the barley and wheat seeds. Again put barley seeds but do not put on center of the pot. Again put soil. The barely pot is now ready. This should be placed atop a eight-petalled lotus drawn using mud or kumkum. 

Preparing Kalash Pot

Tie sacred thread on the Kalash Pot.

Fill the kalash pot with water upto the neck

Put a supari or betel nut in kalash

Put some scent in kalash

Put some coins in kalash
put some chandan (sandalwood)

Put 5 mango leaves with tail pointing upwards in the kalash

Put raw rice in kalash

Wrap the coconut with a red cloth and place it on top of kalash.

Place the kalash on the center of the barley pot.  (You can place the barely pot and kalash pot separately also.)

Puja Thali

Prepare the puja tali by placing garland, lamp, dhoop stick, fruit, sweet and scent.

First prayer to Kalash and Barely Pot

Invocation of Goddess Durga – Asking Goddess Durga to reside in the kalash for nine days. Invite her – Usual words in your local language

Panchopachar Puja

Light the lamp and circle it around the kalash.

Light dhoop stick and circle it around kalash.

Place a flower garland on the kalash.

Offer fruit and sweet to the kalash

Offer scent to deity by sprinkling it on the kalash.

Preparing the Platform

Put a red cloth on a raised platform or stool.

Put the cloth (red chunari) on the Goddess Durga Painting and place it on the raised platform.

Offer prayers to Goddess Durga. Ask her to reside and bless the home for nine days.

Circle lamp around the painting of Goddess durga.

Next circle dhoop.

Next put garland on Goddess Durga painting or photo.

Next offer scent

Next offer sweet and fruit to durga

Place the kalash and barely pot near Goddess Durga. Offer Prayers

Sprinkle water on the barely pot daily for nine days.

Puja should be performed on all nine days. (Panchopachar Puja).

You can sit and pray in front of the kalash and painting of Goddess Durga for nine days.

You can read stories of Goddess Durga and also listen to prayers during morning and evening.

Fresh sweet and fruits should be offered on all nine days.

Mantra to be chanted on all nine days

ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुंडायै विच्चे

Apart from this make it a point to read Durga Saptashati on all days.

Finishing Navratri Puja

On the tenth day morning you can distribute the barely shoots – the grown barley.

The coconut can be used to make sweet on the tenth day.

The water should be offered to a plant.

The rice used can be donated or used to make sweet.

If You Were Looking For a Different Puja Method

How to perform Navratri Puja the South Indian way