Navaratri Pooja
1) On the first day of the puja, the puja room is thoroughly cleaned, silver and brass items are polished, all images made of metal cleaned likewise, and new clothes like lehanga and chunni with gota and kinari (made earlier) are draped on the image of the goddess and the other deities like Ganesh, who is to be worshipped before any other God. All other deities should also be freshly dressed, and old covers of the puja table removed and new ones used in their place.
2) Everyone who performs the puja must bathe in the morning. Some like to fast, but it is not compulsory and, in any case, phalar is allowed once a day and liquids can be taken any time. Some persons observe the fast only on the first day and the last day, but some even observe it for the full nine days.
3) During the day, puja can normally be done only by the women as the man and children would have gone to their places of work and schools, respectively. The day puja is shorter in duration as compared to the evening puja. The prasad distributed in the morning can be some elaichidana (cardamom seeds) and fruits only.
4) The worship of the deity is done by sprinkling water, aipun, roli, rice and flowers as in all pujas. The bhog sung while offering prasad to the goddess is.
5) A story is narrated each day, to whosoever is present during puja time. Basically, four main stories exist, which are repeated to fill the nine-day period.
6) In the evening the puja is longer 'Jai Ambey Gauri…', the arti is sung at the end of the puja, but before it begins, everyone is given some flowers or rice to hold in their hands. The youngest member of the family is given the puja bell and keeps ringing it throughout the arti. If any one possesses the breath capacity, a conch shell can also be sounded. The sound effect of everything together is so good, that most children remember it right up to their old age as one of the most pleasant and unifying experience of their lives. After lighting the camphor and reciting the Sanskrit couplet
Karpur gauram, karuna astharam,
sansar sarum, bhuj gendra haaram,
sada vasantam, hriday arvinde,
bhawan Bhawani, sahitam namami
everyone showers flowers or rice on Durga Ma, chanting together:
Sada Bhawani dahiney, sanmukh rahen Ganesh,
panchon Dev raksha karen, Brahma,
Vishnu, Mahesh, Bolo atal chhattra ki jai.
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