🔱 DHYAN MARGA
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🎵 देवी सूक्तम् (ऋग्वेद 10.125) — वेदाध्ययन गोष्ठी · Devi Suktam, Rigveda

Nine Nights of Shakti

✦ From Dhyan Marga ✦

Nine Nights of Shakti

The Navratri Sadhana Guide · nine nights, nine faces of the Divine Mother · one sacred flame of intention

For nine nights each autumn, lamps are lit across India and hundreds of millions turn towards the Great Mother — as seekers have done for more than a thousand years. This year, walk with them: 25 quiet minutes before dawn, one face of the Goddess each night, her mantra on your lips and her flame before you — and discover what awakens in you.

🪔 Sharad Navratri 2026 begins Sunday 11 October and ends with Vijayadashami on 20 October (Indian dates — please check the timing for your local time zone)


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Nine Nights of Shakti — Dhyan Marga

This guide is for you if…

Nine nights, nine faces of the Goddess

What makes this guide different

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Nine lamps — the Goddess in the flame

Tap a lamp and the Goddess of that night appears in its flame. Tonight’s lamp lights itself, counted from the day you set your intention.

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Mantra and Om, with sound

Hear the night’s mantra or a deep Om with one tap — the mantra changes by itself every night.

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Every point explained simply

Tap any story, symbol, mudra or ritual and a clear explanation opens — written for people who meet these traditions for the first time.

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The real scriptures, made accessible

Eight study cards: the Rigveda’s Devi Sukta, the Kena and Devi Upanishads, the Durga Saptashati, the Devi Bhagavata, Adi Shankara’s Saundarya Lahari and the Devi Gita.

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Two ways to make your altar

A simple altar from what you already have, or a full traditional one if you can source the items — with Western substitutes.

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Sankalpa, tracker, offline, print

Sign your intention with your finger, track each night privately, use it without internet, print it as a PDF.

What you receive

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The complete nine-night sadhana

For each night: the Goddess and the meaning of her symbols, her ancient meditation verse with translation, a short name-mantra, a mudra, a simple water ritual, a guided visualisation, a seal phrase and a morning affirmation.

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Mantra sheet with sound

Seven sacred mantras — including the Navarna mantra of the Goddess and the beloved hymns of the Durga Saptashati — with pronunciation, breath, meaning and a bead counter. Tap to hear the mantra or a deep Om.

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Making your home a sanctuary

Five gentle practices to prepare your space — sacred recitation, evening aarti, the sunrise–sunset lamp, sacred water, cleaning with intention — with substitutes for what you can find outside India.

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Nine-night journey tracker

Tick each night, record your mantra count and one line of experience — your streak stays private on your device.

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Your sankalpa — a sacred intention

Choose or write one intention for the nine nights and sign it with your finger. Read it each night before you sit.

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Free Soham meditation room

After the mantra, 5–10 minutes of guided Soham («I am That») breath meditation on dhyanmarga.com — linked inside the guide.

Questions the nine nights invite you to sit with

What seekers have brought to the Mother for thousands of years

Navratri — literally «nine nights» — is India’s great festival of Shakti, the creative power of the universe worshipped as the Divine Mother. In her nine forms she has been asked for steadiness in an unsteady life, focus, courage in the face of fear, warmth and abundance, love in the family, the clearing of obstacles, release from the darkness of the past, purity of heart, and finally a deep trust in which peace replaces worry. This guide gives you that ancient sequence as a simple, sincere nightly practice — whatever your background.

We don’t sell miracles, powers or guarantees. We offer a path that has been walked for centuries — the walking is yours, the grace is the Mother’s.

A glimpse — Night One: Ma Shailaputri, Daughter of the Mountain

ॐ देवी शैलपुत्र्यै नमः · Om Devī Śailaputryai Namaḥ

“My roots are deep. My intention is unshakable. Ma Shailaputri is with me.”

Mudra: Prithvi (earth) mudra · Water ritual: a pinch of rock salt · Visualisation: you, seated unshaken on a Himalayan peak beneath the stars…

The inner shift many seekers describe

Spiritual curiosity scattered across books and apps

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Many find one living practice, held faithfully for nine nights

Power understood as control or effort

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Shakti felt as a sacred, receptive and creative force

Fear and the past quietly in charge

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Fear seen, named and met — the past a little lighter

The Goddess as an idea or a symbol

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The Goddess as a presence you sit with each night

Practice as self-improvement

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Practice as offering, devotion and trust

Siddhidatri and the eight siddhis — what true power means

On the ninth night the journey reaches Siddhidatri, «she who grants siddhis». The scriptures describe eight great siddhis, the aṣṭa-siddhi: aṇimā (becoming as small as an atom), mahimā (becoming vast), garimā (immovable weight), laghimā (weightlessness), prāpti (reaching anywhere), prākāmya (fulfilment of will), īśitva (lordship) and vaśitva (mastery over all). Yet Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras warn that such powers can become obstacles. So the teachers turn them inward: anima is humility, mahima a heart vast enough for all, garima a steadiness no storm can move, laghima freedom from every burden, prapti reaching others with love, prakamya a will in tune with the Divine, ishitva mastery of oneself, vashitva calm over the senses. This, tradition says, is the siddhi the Mother truly reveals — the one power no one can take away.

Authentic roots — no invented science, no New-Age shortcuts

No initiation, no priest, no previous experience needed

Simple or traditional — your choice

Inside you will find two ways to set up your altar: a simple one using what you already have at home (a candle or tea-light, a flower, a glass of water), and a full traditional one if you can source the items. Both are complete. The Mother looks at your bhava — the feeling in your heart — not at what you spend.

How a seeker lives during the nine nights

Open to every seeker

The Divine Mother belongs to all her children. There is no barrier of religion, gender, background or country here, and no initiation is needed for the practices in this guide. If your own tradition has customs — for example around practice during menstruation — follow them; many women choose to practise inwardly at such times, with silent mantra and visualisation, and inner worship is complete worship. Sincerity is the only qualification.

One beautiful guide — phone, laptop or printed

One designed guide holds everything: the nine nights, the mantra sheet with sound, the nine lamps, the scripture study cards, the home sanctuary practices, the tracker and your sankalpa. Tick nights on your phone, read on your laptop, or save it as a PDF and print it. Once opened, it works without internet.

Questions

I am not Hindu. Can I do this?

Yes. The Goddess is honoured as the Mother of all beings; there is no barrier of religion, country or background. Approach with respect and sincerity — that is all that is asked.

Navratri has already started where I live — can I still begin?

Whichever night you begin is your first night. You can also keep the nine nights at any time, and the guide works for both Navratris each year (spring and autumn).

I don’t know Sanskrit.

Every verse has a transliteration and a simple meaning, and the mantras can be heard with one tap. Feeling matters more than perfect pronunciation.

How do I receive the guide?

Right after checkout, Topmate shows both «Read Online» and «Download» links and emails them to you.

Will this give me siddhis or special powers?

No one can honestly promise that. The scriptures describe siddhis, but the teachers point to their inner meaning — humility, steadiness, lightness, mastery of oneself. That is what this practice cultivates.

Is this a treatment for illness or emotional problems?

No. It is a spiritual practice, not medical or psychological care. Please keep any treatment you need — the guide includes safety notes.

I started late or missed the first nights — what now?

Do not worry — begin tonight. Tradition holds that the last two nights carry the essence of the whole festival: honour Ashtami (night eight, Ma Mahagauri) and Navami (night nine, Ma Siddhidatri) with full sincerity, and devotees believe the Mother accepts the bhava — the heartfelt feeling — of all nine. You can also complete the missed nights after Vijayadashami, the tenth day of victory, at your own pace. Many seekers abroad keep the nine nights whenever their life allows. The Mother looks at the heart, not at the calendar; one night offered completely can open the door to all the others.

I missed a day or broke my fast by mistake.

No fear and no guilt — simply resume with the next night and offer the Mother a sincere apology. This is so human that tradition gives it a prayer of its own: the kshama-prarthana, the prayer for forgiveness recited at the close of the Durga Saptashati: «aparādha-sahasrāṇi kriyante’harniśaṃ mayā / dāso’yam iti māṃ matvā kṣamasva parameśvari» — «Thousands of mistakes are made by me day and night; knowing me as your servant, forgive me, O Supreme Goddess.» Fasting is always according to your capacity and health; a light, simple meal is an offering too. What pleases the Mother is your return, not perfection.

There are no young girls (kanyas) near me for Kanya Puja — what can I do?

Kanya Puja — honouring young girls as living forms of the Goddess on the eighth or ninth day — can be offered in many ways abroad. Donate to a charity that supports girls’ education; feed animals or birds; offer a meal to someone in need or give to a food bank; or honour the girls of your family and friends later with a small gift and a meal. The Saptashati sings «yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu…» — the Goddess dwells in all beings — so tradition holds that serving any being pleases the Mother. The essence is to see her in every girl and in every life.

Can I practise during my period, while travelling, or if I am not Hindu?

Yes — gently, and in the way that suits you. During menstruation, follow your own family custom; many traditions hold that mental japa (repeating the mantra silently) and inner visualisation are always allowed, and inner worship is complete worship. While travelling, use the 7-minute version in the guide: three deep breaths, the mudra, the mantra eleven times, the seal phrase and three sips of water — wherever you are. And if you are not Hindu, you are welcome: the Mother belongs to all her children, and no initiation or change of faith is needed. Sincerity is the only qualification.

This autumn, nine lamps, nine nights — and the Great Mother waiting at the threshold

On 11 October, as the first lamps of Navratri are lit across India and around the world, let one flame burn in your home too — and step across the threshold into the nine nights of the Mother.

Begin the nine nights → ₹499

🧘 Not ready yet? The meditation room is free

The Soham meditation room on dhyanmarga.com is free for everyone, everywhere.

Free meditation room →

Source and rights

This guide is an original composition of Dhyan Marga. Scripture quotations come from ancient public-domain texts — the Vedas, Upanishads, Durga Saptashati and Puranas — with our own translations and explanations. It is for your personal use; please share the link rather than the file.

🎵 Devi Suktam (Rigveda 10.125) — chant by Vedadhyayana Goshthi, Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY 3.0 (faded in/out, mono).

Begin the nine nights → ₹499