Navratri Kanya Puja 2024: Rituals, Significance, and Auspicious Timings
Kanya Puja, also known as Kumari Puja, is a sacred Hindu festival that venerates young girls as manifestations of Goddess Durga. This festival, celebrated on the eighth or ninth day of Navratri, holds deep cultural significance in Hinduism. In 2024, Kanya Puja falls on April 16. Let's delve into the rituals, significance, and auspicious timings of this revered festival.
Significance of Kanya Puja
In Hindu tradition, young girls symbolize purity and divine energy, embodying the essence of Goddess Durga. Kanya Puja is a means to honor and recognize the spiritual power within young girls. It is also regarded as a way to seek blessings from the divine feminine for prosperity, fertility, and protection.
Auspicious Timings of Kanya Puja
The Ashtami Tithi of Shukla Paksha in the month of Chaitra begins on April 15 at 12:11 pm and ends on April 16 at 1:23 pm. As per the Hindu lunar calendar, fasting and worship are observed on the Ashtami Tithi of Chaitra Navratri, specifically on April 16.
Rituals of Kanya Puja
The core ritual of Kanya Puja involves worshiping nine young girls, representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga, with deep reverence and devotion. These girls, typically aged between 2 and 10 years, are adorned in traditional attire and offered gifts and blessings as tokens of gratitude and love.
The puja commences with washing the feet of the young girls, symbolizing purification and reverence. They are then dressed in new clothes, adorned with bangles, bindis, and other accessories to evoke the goddess-like aura. Subsequently, they are seated on a decorated platform or mat and presented with fruits, sweets, and other traditional delicacies.
During the puja, offerings of flowers, incense sticks, lamps, and sacred chants are made to honor Goddess Durga. It is believed that through the worship of these young girls, one can attain blessings from all divine forms of the Goddess.
After completing the puja, the girls are offered dakshina (money) and prasad (holy food) as tokens of appreciation. This ritual is also significant in promoting gender equality and respect for women.
Kanya Puja is celebrated with great enthusiasm across India, known by various names such as Kanjak Ashtami or Kanjak Poojan in different regions. Homes and pandals are adorned with vibrant colors and lights, and women dress in traditional attire to partake in the puja festivities.