Navratri 2021: What do the nine colours of this festival symbolise

Navratri, a nine-day celebration dedicated to Hindu Goddess Durga and her powerful descent starts on Thursday. The festival holds great significance in Hindu mythology and are considered an extremely auspicious period for all the operations. In these nine days, devotees observe fast, worship Goddess Durga and a feast for little girls called ‘kanjaks’ is organised to please the deity.

However, Navratri is not just about performing rituals and worship the Goddess, it serves as a symbol of happiness, prosperity, victory and women power. All these nine days are dedicated to one or the other descent of Goddess Durga and come with a message, symbol and colour.

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In this article, we will understand what these nice colours and days of Navratri mean.

Day 1- Yellow

Navratri begins with the day of ‘Maa Shailputri’- the daughter of the mountains. The day is associated with yellow colour which symbolises hope, brightness, happiness, and cheer in our lives. Shailputri symbolises Mother nature and her favourite flower is Jasmine.

Day 2- Green

The second day of Navratri is dedicated to Goddess Brahmacharini who symbolises the colour green. This colour is associated with renewal, nature, and energy. Wearing this colour on the second day of Navrati brings growth, harmony and new energy into life. 

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Day 3- Grey

The third day of Navratri is devoted to Maa Chandraghanta. The Goddess carries the half-moon on her forehead and her favourite colour is grey. This is a dark hue and often associated with negativity, but grey also symbolises strength, zeal and determination to destroy evil.

Day 4- Orange

The fifth day, which starts with the worship of Goddess Khushmanda, is associated with the colour Orange. Maa Khushmanda, as the name suggests is known for creating the world with her divine smile. She is often called the “smiling goddess”. That’s the reason she is associated with the cheerful colour orange since this colour represents brightness, happiness and positive energy.

Day 5- White

Maa Skandamata, the fifth form of Goddess Durga is seen holding Lord Kartikeya in her right arm. Her favourite colour is white and she always dons a white colour attire, which represents purity, peace and meditation.

Day 6- Red

The sixth form of Goddess Durga is called Katyayani. She is called the most powerful form of the deity and is also hailed as the warrior-goddess or Bhadrakali. Being a symbol of power, rage and war, she is represented by the colour red. The colour represents the anger of the Goddess towards the enemies, her fearlessness and woman power.

Day 7- Dark Blue

The seventh avatar of Navdurga is Kalaratri. The word Kalaratri means the one who is “the Death of Kaal” and over here it is referred to as death. The Goddess’ immense power is represented by the dark blue colour. Maa Kalaratri is the destroyer of all demons and thus is represented by the colour Dark Blue, which symbolises immense power and fearlessness.

Day 8- Pink

The eighth day of Navratri is dedicated to Goddess Mahagauri. She is a calm goddess and worshipping her gets relief from all the sufferings in life. This day is associated with pink colour which represents hope, self-refinement and social upliftment.

Day 9- Purple

The last day of Navratri is for Goddess Siddhidatri, who is created of two words ‘Siddhi’ means supernatural power and ‘Dhatri’ means the awarder. This Devi is a giver of knowledge and helps you achieve your aspirations. Hence, the day is associated with the colours purple, which represents ambition and power.