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Showing posts from September 24, 2014


Kalash Sthapana Mantra – Prayer While Keeping Navratri Pot - Navratri Ghatasthapana Mantra

Navratri Kalash Sthapana Mantra is chanted by those people who keep the Navratri pot as part of the nine day puja. The prayer given below is in Hindi. The ritual is also known as Ghatasthapana Mantra. The lamp lit during Kalash Sthapana should use ghee as medium not oil. If you are opting for a full prayer then you should perform the 16-step puja. A simple Kalash Sthapana Mantra is ऊँ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डाय विच्चे  This mantra can be chanted while arranging and keeping the kalash etc for puja. Kalash Sthapana Mantra Apart from the above mantra one should also chant Durga Saptashloki In Kalash Sthapana, a pot or kalash with an image of Goddess Durga is installed in the house on the day. The pot or kalash is filled with water and is covered with cow dung and seeds (like barely or wheat) are sown on the dung. The pot is kept on a sand bed and seeds are sown on this too. Special pujas are conducted on the pot and water is sprinkled daily. The seed

Matunga Temple – Marubai Gavdevi Temple

Marubai Gavdevi Temple located at Matunga in Mumbai is a 400-year-old shrine dedicated to Mother Goddess Shakti. The goddess worshipped here is known as Goddess Marubai. She is a combined manifestation of Goddess Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Legend has it that the original murti of the Goddess Worshipped in temple appeared under a neem tree during the 18th century. The local villagers worshipped the deity and therefore the temple got the name Marubai Gavdevi. The local villagers who used to worship the deity believed that she had the capacity to heal people. That's why she is called Marubai, because she saves people from various illnesses. It is said that during epidemics people drank the water used for abhishekam in the temple and used to get cured. Navratri is the most important festival observed in the temple. Daily morning routine includes Aarti and Abhisheks. Bhajans are organized during the afternoon. Daily evening aarti also attracts thousands of d

Significance of Navratri

The nine-day festival symbolically represents the victory of good over evil – Goddess Durga slaying Demon Mahishasura and Lord Rama killing Ravana - this is the main significance of Navratri. This same struggle is constantly taking place in human hearts and the nine-day Navratri Vrat gradually prepares a devotee to shed evil and merge with the Brahman - Supreme Truth or God. Like Mahishasura, the human mind armed with ego, anger, greed, lust and envy negate the Supreme Truth. The nine-day Navratri vrat slowly annihilates the Mahishasura in us and help us to realize us that we are part of Brahman – the supreme spirit present in all animate and inanimate. The physical fight between Goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura has its ups and downs. Goddess Durga fought Mahishasura and his army for nine days and nine nights. Similarly, in the fight against evil tendencies like ego, anger, lust and other animal instincts make us weak and a person too faces and downs. The destructive as