Details of the Navratri Festival--------- PART-0 ~~~~~~~Mahalaya Amavasya~~~~~~~

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Amavasya, or the day of the conjunction of the sun and the moon,

occurs once every month and it is a day considered by the Hindus to be

specially set apart for the offering of oblations and the performance

of religious ceremonies to the Pitris or the spirits of the departed

ancestors. Such being the general beliefs, what is the reason for the

Hindus paying greater attention to the Mahalaya Amavasya, or the new

moon day of the month of Kanya when the sun is in the sign Virgo .

The Itihasa, a great authority on the religious rites of the

Hindus, says that the moment the sun enters the sign Virgo (Kanya) the

departed spirits, leaving their abode in the world of Yama, the Lord

of death, come down to the world of man and occupy the houses of their

descendants in this world or as it is said in Sanskrit, Kanya yate

surye pitaras tishtanti sve grihe. Therefore the fortnight preceding

the new moon of the month of Kanya is considered as the fortnight

which is specially sacred to the propitiation of the Manes or departed

spirits. Dine dine gaya tulyam - The ceremonies in honour of the Manes

performed during each day of this fortnight are considered to be equal

to the ceremonies performed in the sacred city of Gaya. But instead of

performing these rites on each of the days of the fortnight, most

Hindus do so only on one of the days. Orthodox Hindus, however,

perform ceremonies on every one of the days of this fortnight. These

ceremonies terminate on the Mahalaya Amavasya day, which is therefore

observed with greater sanctity than other new moon days. If, through

unavoidable causes, any Hindu is not able to perform his Mahalaya

rites during the course of the fortnight preceding the Mahalaya

Amavasya, he is allowed as a concession to perform the same in the

fortnight succeeding this new moon, because it is said that the Manes

continue to linger in his house, expecting him to perform the

ceremonies, till the sun enters the sign Scorpio (Vrishchika), i.e.

till about the next full moon day. If even by that time a Hindu has

not performed these ceremonies to the Manes they are said to become

disgusted with him and return to the world of Yama after cursing their

descendants in this world. Vrishchika darshanat yanti nirasa pitaro

gatah. Due to the grace of the god of death, it has been ordained that

offerings made during this period benefit all the departed souls,

whether they are connected to you or not.