Gujarat: Devotees offer prayers, perform Aarti at Ambaji Temple in Surat on eighth day of Navratri
Oct 10, 2024
Surat (Gujarat) [India], October 10 : Devotees offered prayers and participated in the early morning Aarti performed at Surat's Ambaji Temple on the eighth day of Shardiya Navratri on Thursday.
Visuals show a devotee performing 'Aarti' while others chant prayers at the temple premises.
Meanwhile, the occasional morning Aarti was also performed at New Delhi's Jhandewala Devi Temple on Thursday morning.
Devotees in Assam's state capital also offered prayers at Shakti Peetha Maa Kamakhya Temple during the ongoing 9 days of Navratri.
Maa Mahagauri is worshipped on the eighth day of Navaratri. Maa Mahagauri is the eighth incarnation of Goddess Durga.
Devotees worship Maa Durga's nine incarnations in order to obtain her blessings during the Navratri festival.
People maintain ritualistic fasts, recite shlokas dedicated to each goddess, wear new clothing, offer bhog, and clean their homes during these nine days.
Navratri, which means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit, is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga and her nine avatars, known as Navdurga. The festival is celebrated with great devotion across India, with rituals and prayers honouring the goddess in her various forms.
Hindus observe four Navratris throughout the year, but only two--Chaitra Navratri and Shardiya Navratri--are widely celebrated, as they coincide with the changing of the seasons. In India, Navratri is celebrated in various ways.
In North India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, the Ramlila, a dramatic re-enactment of scenes from the Ramayana, is organised.
The festival concludes with Vijayadashami, marked by the burning of King Ravana's effigies.
