Dusshera (Vijayadashami Navratri)

Before Dusshera – On Ammavasai Day

House Cleaning:

• Clean the entire house in the morning of Ammavasai or the previous day.

Golu Setup

• You may begin arranging the Golu steps (steps must be in odd numbers only - 3,5,7,9) on Ammavasai itself.
• First idols to be placed during Golu should be the Marapachi Bommai (wooden boy and girl)
• Put a drop of oil on each doll, rub it gently all over, and tap dry.
• Dress the dolls in new clothes. (You can reuse previous years’ clothes.)
• Apply chandanam (sandal paste) and kumkum on their foreheads.
• The girl doll should be on the right side of the boy doll.
• Place the Marapachi dolls in the puja room

Golu Arrangement

Steps:

• Golu steps should always be in odd numbers only – 3, 5, 7, or 9.
• Do not use even-numbered steps.

Cloth for Golu Steps:

• Cover the Golu steps with a new cloth, preferably a veshti, pattu cloth
• This cloth can be washed and stored separately to be reused every year only for Golu.

Placement:

• Golu can be arranged either in the puja room or in the living room, depending on space and convenience.

New Clothes:

• Place new clothes on a separate cloth, preferably a new veshti/ towel or pattu (silk) cloth.
• This cloth should be washed and stored separately for use every year during Dusshera.

Dusshera Day 1

Daily Spiritual Practices

• All men must chant the Gayatri Mantra 1008 times daily.
• Recite the following stotrams:
  • *Sree Annapoorna Stotram (Click to open)*
  • *Taraninda Mouli (Click to open)*

Naivedyam (Offerings)

Morning Naivedyam:

• Offer the following items:
  • Rice
  • Parupu (dal)
  • Vellam Pongal
  • Mixed Rice (like lemon rice, tamarind rice, etc.)
  • Parupu Vada

Evening Naivedyam:

• Offer one karam (salt/spicy item) and one sweet item each day.

Karam (One per day – Rotate varieties):

• Black chana sundal
• White chana sundal
• Kabuli chana sundal
• Full or broken moong dal sundal
• Groundnut sundal
• Rajma sundal
• Sweet corn sundal
• Lobia sundal
• Mixed sundal (all pulses)

Sweet (Choose one per day):

• Kesari
• Mysore Paak
• 7 Cup Cake
• Rava Laddu
• Puttana Laddu
• Groundnut Laddu
• Milk-based sweet

If you are unable to prepare much:

• You can offer:

  • 2 small sugar rotis

                   **OR**
    

  • 2 small sugar dosas/ adais (To be done using new dosa or adai batter only)

Daily Evening Ritual

• Perform aarti for the golu every evening without fail.

Cooking Menu (For All 9 Days)

• Use parupu-based dishes only, such as:
  • Sambar
  • Rasam
  • Curry
  • Molagutal
  • Kootu
  • Mor Kuzhambu
• Do NOT prepare:
  • Thogayal
  • Vathal Kuzhambu, etc
• Meal Restrictions:
  • No onion, no garlic throughout all 9 days.
  • No roti-sabji for lunch. (Can be taken for dinner if needed.)

Golu Invitations

Inviting Others to Your Golu

• Invite family, friends, neighbors, and relatives to visit your home and see the Golu arrangement

• When Guests Visit Your Golu , always offer the following as Golu-return items:

  • Kumkum
  • Vettalai (betel leaf) & Paaku (areca nut)
  • Blouse piece or small cloth gift
  • Small return gift

• Visit someone’s Golu only if you are invited.

Day 2 Onwards - Until Saraswati Puja Day (date varies each year)

• Follow the same routine as Day 1:
  • Gayatri mantra chanting (1008 times by men)
  • Annapoorna Stotram & Taraninda Mouli recitation
  • Morning & evening naivedyam (same rules)
  • Aarti for Golu every evening
  • Parupu-based cooking (no onion, no garlic)
  • No roti-sabji for lunch (can be had for dinner)

On Saraswati Puja Day (Usually Day 7 or 8 – Date Varies)

Cleaning:

Clean & Wipe Everything:

• Wipe all appliances (mixie, grinder, computer, etc.)
• Wipe all vehicles (car, bike, cycle, etc.)
• Wipe all God photos / idols

Preparation:

On a palagai (wooden plank) or mat, neatly arrange:

• Books
• Pens
• Tools (as it is also Ayudha Puja)
• Place Saraswati photo in a prominent spot.
• Put a gold chain and a blouse piece on top of the photo
• Apply Chandanam (sandalwood paste) and Kumkum to:
  • Appliances
  • Vehicles
  • All God photos
• Decorate God photos and vehicles with flowers and/or garlands.

Arrange Pooja Items in Front of Saraswati:

• Put a small kolam
• Spread a new pattu cloth (silk cloth or veshti-like)
• On top of the cloth, neatly place:
  • Clothes (new or important)
  • Books (especially educational or spiritual)
  • Tools (if used for work or art)
  • Pens or stationery
  • Saree, if included – must also include matching blouse piece
• Decorate this arrangement with flowers and a chain.
• Place this on top on the kolam

Sloka Chanting:

• Along with daily slokams, recite Saraswati Slokam 12 times during the puja.

Vehicle Puja:

• Clean and decorate the vehicles with flower garlands
• Apply chandanam, kumkum
• Place agarbattis
• Take aarti for all vehicles
• Take a coconut and rotate it 3 times in clockwise direction covering all the vehicles and break it infront of the vehicles. Do not use this broken coconut in cooking. Give it to your house maid.
• Take lemons and place them under each tyre of the vehicle. While placing the lemons, go in a clockwise direction around the vehicle
• Run the vehicles over the lemons, squeezing it

Special Naivedyam for Saraswati & Ayudha Puja:

• Morning Naivedyam (change only for Saraswati and Dusshera/ Vijayadasami days):
  • Replace jaggery pongal with Pal Payasam
  • Replace parupu vada with Ulundu Vada (urad dal vada)
  • Rest of the items are same as previous
• Evening Naivedyam: Same as usual (one karam sundal + one sweet)

Special Aarti:

• Perform a Periya Aarthi (big aarti) using a plate decorated with turmeric and kumkum triangles.

• This aarthi should be done on Saraswati Puja day, or on the Friday during Dusshera only, as per conveinence

  

  

Last Day – Dusshera

House Decoration

• Tie mango leaves at:
  • The main entrance of the house
  • The puja room

Puja & Food

• Perform same daily puja as previous days.
• Naivedyam Menu (Morning):
  • Pal Payasam (milk kheer)
  • Ulundu Vada (urad dal vada)
  • Plus other standard items from previous days
• Evening naivedyam remains the same:
  • One sundal (karam)
  • One sweet

Saraswati/Ayudha Puja Conclusion

• After the morning puja:
  • Read a few lines from the books that were kept for Saraswati Puja.
  • Take the new clothes kept on the special cloth - It is given by the person performing the puja or by elders
  • In one of the books, write “Om Sri Ganapataye Namah” 3 times (in any language of your choice).

Evening Rituals

• Wear the new clothes in the evening.
• Visit a temple.
• Do namaskaram to elders at home.
• You may resume eating onion and garlic only from the evening of Dusshera day.

Golu Completion Ritual

• On the night of Dusshera, symbolically “put one doll to sleep”, marking the end of the golu.
• Put one doll from the golu to sleep, not the marapachi bommai

Golu Removal Rule

• If the next day of the last Dusshera day is a Friday:
  • Do NOT remove the Golu on Friday.
  • In that case, remove the Golu only on Saturday or any later day.