Category: traditions

  • Pongal Festival History, Significance and Traditions

    The festival of Pongal is celebrated mainly in Southern India and is a parallel to the more widely celebrated occasion of Makar Sankranti (January 14th). Pongal is usually celebrated over a span of four days with great fervor and is connected to the harvest, the sun, the end of winter and many more traditional events…

  • Naraka Chaturdashi – Second day of Diwali

    The second day of the Diwali festival, is the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Ashvin, and is called Narak-Chaturdashi or Kali Chaudas and also known as Chhoti (-small) Diwali. This day is dedicated to the victory of Lord Krishna over the wicked demon king Narakasur. Narkasur had fought against neighbouring…

  • Ganesha Chaturthi – Celebration and Mantras

    Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated on the fourth (chaturth-) day after the new moon (amavasya) in the Hindu month of “Bhadrapada” (usually in August-September). It is the beginning of ten days of festivities in the honor of the chief (eesha) of Lord Shiva’s celestial hordes (ganas), Lord Ganesha. Gana also means Read more…

  • Durga Ashtami – Eighth Day of Navaratri

    The eighth day of the nine night Navratri festival is celebrated across India as Durga Ashtami, and is also part of the ten-day Durga-Puja festival celebrated primarily in the state of West Bengal. Ashtami simply means eighth day of the fortnight. It is often also ascribed significance with respect to the eight-armed Durga holding weapons…

  • Navaratri – Celebrating the Goddesses

    The spirit of Navaratri – a festival of nine (-nava) nights (-ratri) is a vibrant reminder to us of the power of the feminine in our lives. One aspect of the feminine is shakti – often described as power, or energy. The significance of shakti is perhaps explained best by the two words Shiva-Shakti. Shiva…

  • Goddess Durga Mantras

    The Gayatri Mantra is one of the most revered and perhaps one of the most practiced mantra in Hinduism. The Durga Gayatri is a variation of the Gayatri mantra designed to address Goddess Durga, particularly during the period of Durga Navaratri or Durga Puja. The Durga Gayatri adapts the 24-syllable metre of the original Gayatri…