Durga — nine forms · 45 min (sthapana); 15–20 min daily
Navratri Ghatasthapana & daily Devi puja
Sharad Navratri (11 Oct 2026); Chaitra Navratri
In the simplest words
Planting Navratri's little garden: a kalash is set up on day one, barley seeds sprout beside it, and the Mother is worshipped for nine days.
The kalash is the Devi's seat for nine nights: water for her presence, sown barley for her blessing made visible, the coconut her crown. Establish it once, keep it lit and fed daily, and let the nine forms pass through your home one night at a time.
The sown barley is the vrat's honest instrument: it cannot be hurried, only tended — watered daily, kept from harsh light, and read at the end like a letter. Households have always known the jau speaks; the nine days teach that grace grows at the pace of a seed, not a wish.
Samagri — what you need
0/9 gatheredThe vidhi, step by step
0/9 doneSthal shuddhi & soil bed
Clean the north-east corner; spread soil in the tray and sow the barley in it — the Devi's first field.
Kalash sthapana
Fill the kalash with water; drop in coin, supari, durva; tie moli at its neck; seat mango leaves in the mouth and the chunari-wrapped coconut on top. Set it upon the sown soil, with the Devi's image behind it.
Sankalp & avahan
Sankalp for the nine nights; then invite the Mother into the kalash with folded hands and the Sarva Mangala verse.
सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
Sarva-maṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike, śaraṇye tryambake gauri nārāyaṇi namo'stu te
O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O benevolent one, accomplisher of every aim, refuge of all, three-eyed Gauri, Narayani — salutations to you. The epithets widen ring by ring — auspiciousness, accomplishment, refuge — until Narayani holds them all, and the verse rests in the only gesture left: namo'stu te, to you my bow.
Source: Durgā Saptaśatī 11.10 (Devī Māhātmya)
Akhand jyoti (optional)
If your home keeps the unbroken flame, light it now — and never leave it unattended; safety is part of shraddha.
Daily puja pattern
Each morning/evening: fresh water sprinkle on the jau, flowers, dhoop-deep, naivedya, and the day's form remembered — Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri, Siddhidatri.
Navarna jaap — daily mala
The nine-syllable mantra, one mala daily, is the vrat's thread through all nine nights.
ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे
Oṁ Aiṁ Hrīṁ Klīṁ Cāmuṇḍāyai Vicce
Om — Aim, Hreem, Kleem — salutations to Chamunda. Nine syllables hold the Mother's three faces at once: great wisdom, great energy, great transformation. Vicce has no single agreed translation — commentators offer 'I bow' or 'I take refuge' among others — and recitation leaves it as it is. The navarna does not petition for one thing — it invokes the whole force by which anything is overcome.
Source: Durgā Saptaśatī (Devī Māhātmya) recitation tradition
Saptashati path (optional)
Read the Durga Saptashati across the nine days — a chapter plan of your tradition, or the Ya Devi litany daily.
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥
Yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu śakti-rūpeṇa saṁsthitā, namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namaḥ
To the Goddess who abides in all beings in the form of power — salutations to her, salutations to her, salutations to her, again and again. The litany's grammar is its teaching: she is not summoned from elsewhere — she is found already standing (samsthita) in every being, as power itself. The triple salute is for a presence discovered in creatures one had merely looked at until now.
Source: Durgā Saptaśatī, chapter 5 (Devī Māhātmya)
Ashtami/Navami — kanya pujan
Nine girls (and traditionally one boy as Bhairav) are seated, feet washed, fed halwa-puri-chana, and honoured with gifts — the Devi served in person.
Dashami — visarjan
Final aarti; the sprouted jau is distributed as blessing (some keep blades in books and purses); kalash water is poured to plants; the coconut becomes prasad.
Note: Ghatasthapana must fall in Pratipada's approved muhurat — check a local panchang for your city that morning.
Note: Bengal's Durga Puja follows its own krama (bodhan onward) — this guide gives the pan-Indian household form.