Navarātri 2026

Navarātri, literally “nine nights”, is the celebration of the divine feminine (Śakti). The energy of this time, charged by the particular positions of the planets, is especially favourable for inner growth and transformation.

Religion without philosophy is superstition. Philosophy without religion is mere theory. And nowhere is the harmony of the two as complete and lasting as in Sanātana Dharma (the Eternal Life in harmony with God).

All our rituals and mythology rest on the truth of Vedānta. Self-realisation through constant God-consciousness is the Path.

In this light, let us look at Navarātri, the nine-day Devī Pūjā.

What do we do during these nine days?

The nine days are divided into three parts of three days each: the first three days are dedicated to Durgā, or Kālī, the next three to Lakṣmī (Raja Rajeśvari) and the last three to the goddess Sarasvatī.

In the non-dual teaching of Trika, or Kashmir Śaivism, Devī is not a distant deity we pray to from the outside. She is Parāśakti, the pulsating power of absolute Consciousness (Śiva) itself, which continuously creates, sustains and transforms the whole manifest world. We are not separate from Her — we are Her expressions. That is why Devī pūjā is not a prayer to someone else but an awakening: the recognition that the power we seek outside already lives in the heart of our consciousness.

Śaiva tantra teaches that time is not homogeneous. Certain moments are natural openings — places where the subtle fabric of Consciousness is more transparent and transitions happen more easily. Navarātri is one of those places. Śārada Navarātri falls at the autumn turning point, when all of nature turns inward from full growth — the fruit has ripened, the sap withdraws into the roots, energy gathers. This is not merely a metaphor. From the Trika point of view, it is the turning of Śakti's own pulse in the cosmos: from opening outward back towards its source. The human body, being the same kind of microcosm, feels this same turning in its own prāṇa. Sādhana done during Navarātri rides this natural wave — like a boat that sails not against the current but with it.

Trika is not an ascetic system that demands renouncing the world. Abhinavagupta teaches clearly: bhoga (experience) and mokṣa (liberation) are not opposites — experience lived rightly is itself liberation. That is why the effect of Navarātri sādhana shows in entirely practical life too:

Nine days of focused attention, regular ritual and mantra create a pattern in the mind that the yoga tradition calls the reshaping of saṃskāras. Irritability lessens, reactivity weakens — not because the problem disappears, but because the surface of the mind becomes less turbulent. In the language of Trika this is citta-prasāda, the clearing of consciousness. A person whose consciousness is clearer makes better decisions, relates to others with more care and perceives what happens in their life in harmony with their own deep nature.

Beyond that, nine days of devoted ceremony is simply a powerful interruption. The constant bustle of everyday life falls quiet for a while. Altar, fire, flower and mantra create mātrā — measure, rhythm, a centre. Psychologically, that alone is a tremendous gift.

Navarātri ends with Vijayadaśamī, the day celebrated as Śrī Rāma's victory over the demon Rāvaṇa and also as the goddess Durgā's victory over the buffalo demon Mahiṣāsura. Vijayadaśamī is also known as Dasaharā (Dussehra) and Dasarā.

Programme

Each of the nine evening ceremonies includes a sixteen-part worship of Durgā, ṣoḍaśopacāra pūjā, followed by mantra chanting and prayer or meditation. On the evening of the tenth day we hold Vijayadaśamī pūjā.

• Days 1–3 – Durgā ṣoḍaśopacāra (sixteen-part) pūjā

• Days 4–6 – sixteen-part Durgā pūjā + Lakṣmī pañcopacāra pūjā (five-part)

• Days 7–9 – sixteen-part Durgā pūjā + Sarasvatī pañcopacāra pūjā (five-part). NB! You may bring books, textbooks and other instruments of creativity and art to the altar to be blessed by Sarasvatī; you can collect them after the 10th day.

• Day 10 – Visarjana: Devī is asked to return, and water from the kalaśa is sprinkled over the home.

Where and how

The ceremonies take place on Zoom (registered participants receive the link) and at weekends also in person at Energia 7, Tallinn. Online they last about 1–1.5 hours, in person 1.5–2 hours.

Participation is 10 euros per evening, or 100 euros for all ten evenings.

11.10.26 – the first Navarātri evening, Durgā pūjā, takes place live at Pesa at 20.00 (location). The locations of the following evenings are announced on registration!