कन्या पूजन विधि (अष्टमी-नवमी)

The heart of the Shakta tradition is that the power which creates, sustains and withdraws the world lives in every woman, and in a small girl it lives in its purest form, with no pride yet, no guile, none of the dust of the world. That is why, in Navratri, the worship of the Devi rises from the image to a living girl.

In the Durga Saptashati, the famous hymn of the gods that begins 'Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu' says again and again that the Devi dwells in all beings in many forms: as strength, as understanding, as forgiveness, as modesty, as the mother. Kanya pujan brings that hymn into the courtyard of the home: when we wash a girl's feet, we bow to the power that sits within her.

The Devi Bhagavata Purana, in its third book (skandha), lays down the Kumari puja as part of the Navratri vrat. It speaks of worshipping girls from two to ten years of age, and calls a girl of each age by a name of the Devi: a girl of two is Kumarika, of three Trimurti, of four Kalyani, of five Rohini, of six Kalika, of seven Chandika, of eight Shambhavi, of nine Durga and of ten Subhadra. The list does not mean that a girl's worth lies in her age; it means that every stage of life is itself a stage of the Devi.

Many families take the nine girls as the nine forms of Navadurga: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. In Navratri these nine forms are worshipped one each day; Ashtami is the day of Mahagauri and Navami the day of Siddhidatri. So worshipping nine girls on Ashtami or Navami is like gathering the whole nine days of worship together on a single plate.

In north India a folk story of Mata Vaishno Devi is tied to kanya pujan, told for generations from Jammu across north India. It is said that near the Trikuta mountain lived a poor brahmin named Shridhar, a devoted follower of the Mother. One Navratri he invited as many girls as he could afford and worshipped them. All the girls ate and went home, but one radiant girl among them stayed behind. She told Shridhar to invite the whole village to a feast, a bhandara. Shridhar was alarmed, for there was nothing in the house, but at the girl's word he gave the invitation, and on the day of the feast everyone who came was fed in full.

To that feast came a tantric named Bhairon Nath. He demanded meat and liquor. The girl said calmly that this was a Vaishnava feast, and that only what had been cooked would be served. Bhairon saw the power in her and tried to seize her. She vanished and set out for the Trikuta mountain, and Hanuman went with her as her guard; the tradition there calls him Langur Veer. On the way the Mother spent nine months in tapas in a cave. At last, when Bhairon, still following, reached the holy cave, the Mother took the form of Mahakali and struck off his head, which fell far away on a hill.

As he died Bhairon understood his error and begged the Mother's forgiveness. She forgave him and gave him a boon: whoever comes for my darshan will not complete the pilgrimage without yours. To this day pilgrims climb on from the Mother's shrine to the temple of Bhairon Baba. This is given as the reason why a boy is seated with the girls at kanya pujan. Some call him the Langur, that is Hanuman, the Mother's guard; others call him Bhairav, the guardian the Mother made her own. The Devi does not come without her guard.

Kanya pujan is done on Navratri Ashtami (Durga Ashtami or Maha Ashtami) or on Navami (Maha Navami); which day depends on the family's custom. In many homes the girls are fed on Ashtami after the worship of Mahagauri; in many others on Navami after the havan, the fire offering. The custom that has come down in your home is the right one for you. In Chaitra Navratri the Navami is also Ram Navami, so there a Navami kanya pujan joins the celebration of Rama's birth.

The box above shows the date of Durga Ashtami: the Ashtami of the bright fortnight of Chaitra or Ashwin that is running at sunrise. Navami usually falls on the next day. But sometimes, when the tithis run short, Ashtami and Navami fall on the same day; in such a year, check that day's panchang to see which morning to keep. The box gives the date for New Delhi; for another city open the panchang for that day.

The timing is simple: kanya pujan is done in the morning, after the Devi's puja (and the havan, where that is the custom) and before the fast is broken. First the bhog is offered to the Devi, then the girls receive the prasad, and only then do those in the house who are fasting take food. Usually no separate muhurta is looked for; any time before noon when the children can come easily is the right time.

For washing the feet: a large parat or thali, a lota of clean water, and a clean towel or cotton cloth for each girl. For seating: clean asans, a durrie or mat, or small low stools. For the puja: roli or kumkum, akshat (unbroken rice), kalawa (the red-and-yellow sacred thread, also called mauli), flowers or small garlands, a ghee lamp and an aarti thali, incense, and alta (the red foot colour, also called mahavar) for those whose custom it is. Keep a red chunari for each girl as well, or at least a kalawa.

For the prasad: semolina halwa, puri and dry-cooked black chickpeas (kale chane). This is the traditional bhog of kanya pujan, cooked that same morning in a clean kitchen without onion or garlic, and offered first to the Devi. Add bananas or a fruit of the season, and clean drinking water. Clean plates, or leaf plates and bowls, to serve on. For gifts and dakshina: bangles, bindis, ribbons, a notebook and pencils or a book, a small toy, fruit, and a coin or note; the same for every girl and for the Langur. Keep small boxes or bags too, for the prasad and fruit the children take home.

1. Invite a day earlier: in many homes the custom is that if the puja is on Ashtami, you go on Saptami, and if on Navami, on Ashtami, to the girls' homes yourself and invite them with respect, with their parents' permission. Say the time clearly. Today it is also good to ask whether any child has trouble with some food. If other homes in the neighbourhood are inviting girls the same morning, share out the times among yourselves, so that the children do not have to eat a full meal in one house after another.

2. Prepare in the morning: bathe, put on clean clothes, and clean the house and the place of worship. Do the Devi's usual puja, remembering Mahagauri on Ashtami and Siddhidatri on Navami, and do the havan if that is your custom. Cook the halwa, puri and chana fresh and offer them to the Devi first. In the room where the girls will sit, lay the asans in a row so that they face east or north, with one asan for the Langur at one end of the row.

3. Welcome: when the girls arrive, greet them at the door with joy and say 'Jai Mata Di'. In some homes flowers are showered on them. Today they are the most honoured guests in the house.

4. Wash the feet: seat each girl in turn on a chair or stool and set her feet in the parat. Pour clean water slowly from the lota and wash her feet with your own hands, then dry them with a clean towel. Do the same for the Langur. Where it is the custom, alta is applied to the feet. This is the most moving moment of kanya pujan: an elder of the family bends down to wash a child's feet, because today she is the Devi.

5. Seat them: after the feet are washed, seat the girls on the asans with respect, the Langur at the end of the row. Those doing the puja sit facing them.

6. Tilak, kalawa and chunari: mark each girl's forehead with a tilak of roli or kumkum and press a few grains of akshat onto it. Tie a kalawa on her right wrist, place a red chunari over her head, and give her a flower or a small garland. Give the Langur a tilak and a kalawa too.

7. Aarti and bowing: light the ghee lamp, set it on the thali and wave it before all the girls together, as you would before the Devi. Say 'Om Dum Durgayai Namah' or 'Jai Mata Di' in your mind or softly. Everyone in the house bows with folded hands.

8. The meal: now serve halwa, puri and chana on clean plates or leaf plates, with fruit and water. Serve a little at a time and give more when asked. Let the children eat at ease, at their own pace; do not press them to eat more. Whatever they cannot finish, pack for them to take home; carrying prasad home is receiving prasad too. After the meal, wash and dry the girls' hands. You may mark the tilak again if you wish.

9. Gifts and dakshina: give each girl and the Langur their gifts and dakshina with both hands: a chunari, bangles, a notebook or book, fruit, a coin or note, whatever you can afford. Give the same to all; give no one more or less.

10. Touch their feet and seek blessing: everyone in the house, elders included, touches each girl's feet for her blessing. In many homes the girls take a few grains of akshat and drop them on the family's heads; this is taken as their blessing. In your heart ask the Devi for peace in the home and for the welfare of the daughters of the family.

11. See them off: walk the girls to the door yourself, and have the small ones taken safely to their homes. Do not hurry them away. After this give the remaining prasad first to the children and elders of the house, and then those who have fasted break their fast.

Breaking the fast: those who fast only on Ashtami break the fast with the same prasad after the Ashtami kanya pujan. Those who fast for all nine days usually break it after the kanya pujan or the havan on Navami, and some families on Dashami; this too follows the family's custom. The ill, pregnant women, the elderly and children should keep a light or only a symbolic fast; the Devi is a mother and is not pleased by anyone's suffering.

No pressure on children: kanya pujan should be a day of joy for the girls, not a burden. If a child wants to go home in the middle, do not hold her back. Do not make them eat more than they want; for a girl invited to several homes on one morning, every house's puris add up to far too much. Serve a little and pack the rest. If you want to take photographs of them or post them anywhere, ask the parents first.

Cleanliness: the food should be fresh and cooked in a clean kitchen, the drinking water clean, and the hands of those serving washed. Use fresh water to wash each girl's feet and keep a separate clean towel for each.

Every girl is the Devi: the word of the tradition is clear that every girl is a form of the Devi. So do not pick or leave out any girl, seat her apart or feed her from separate dishes on the ground of caste, religion, wealth or poverty, looks or any disability. The daughters of those who work in your home, the girls next door, any girl of the neighbourhood: all in one row, with the same respect. Where kanya pujan is done with discrimination, the meaning of the puja is lost.

Periods: in the traditional view, a woman of the house who is having her period does not touch the puja materials or the prasad; another member of the household cooks and serves, and she joins the puja in her heart from a little distance. Today many families hold that there is no fault in serving the girls with clean hands. Follow your family's custom without strain; the Devi looks at the feeling.

In Punjab, Himachal, Haryana and Jammu this is called kanjak. On the morning of Ashtami or Navami the girls go from house to house in little groups, and every home gives them puri, chana and halwa, fruit and dakshina; a boy goes along with them as the Langur.

In Bengal, on the Maha Ashtami of Durga Puja, and in some places on Navami, the Kumari puja is held: usually a single young girl is worshipped as the Devi with the full ritual. The Kumari puja at Belur Math is especially well known. In many south Indian homes it is the custom during Navratri (the days of the Golu doll display) to invite girls and married women home and give them tambulam (betel leaves and areca nut with turmeric and kumkum), fruit and gifts.

By tradition kanya pujan is the completion of the Navratri worship; it is said that nine days of puja bear fruit only with the blessing of the girls. Devotees hold that it brings peace, happiness and plenty to the home, welfare to the children and the lasting grace of the Devi. But do not take it as a bargain for any result; it is a practice of faith and humility, in which elders bend to wash the feet of the young.

The deepest message of the day is the one in the stories: the respect we give our daughters on the morning of Ashtami or Navami should hold for the rest of the year. Seeing to a daughter's schooling, listening to her, keeping her safe, not keeping silent when a girl nearby is wronged: that is the true kanya pujan.

At the close of the Devi's puja before kanya pujan, and while waving the lamp before the girls, the Durga aarti 'Jai Ambe Gauri' is sung; it is in this library with its meaning. Many homes sing 'Ambe Tu Hai Jagdambe Kali' with it. Do the aarti with a ghee lamp and the bell, then pass your hands over the flame and touch them to the girls' foreheads and your own. If you wish, recite the Durga Chalisa or the Durga Kavach before the aarti.