Devotees across Nepal worshipped Goddess Brahmacharini on Monday, the second day of Sharadiya Navaratri, at Dashain Ghar and in household prayer rooms. Brahmacharini is the second of the nine forms of Goddess Durga worshipped during the nine-day festival. The observance followed Sunday’s first-day rituals, which included worship of Goddess Shailputri, Ghatasthapana and the sowing of barley seeds to grow jamara.
The second day of Navaratri
The Monday observance continued the sequence of daily worship that marks Navaratri. On each of the festival’s nine days, devotees worship one of Durga’s forms in turn. Brahmacharini’s worship on the second day followed Shailputri’s worship on the first, keeping the festival’s progression from one form to the next.
Devotees gathered at Dashain Ghar, as well as in prayer rooms in their homes, to offer worship. The observance across Nepal brought the day’s prayers into both communal and household settings. The reported rituals centered on worshipping Brahmacharini as the second goddess in the nine-form sequence.
Ghatasthapana and the start of the festival
The day before, on Sunday, Sharadiya Navaratri began with the worship of Goddess Shailputri. Ghatasthapana was performed according to Vedic rituals, and barley seeds were sown to grow jamara. These first-day practices marked the beginning of the nine-day observance before devotees moved on to worship Brahmacharini the following day.
The sequence of worship links the opening rituals with the daily observances that follow. Sunday’s Ghatasthapana and barley sowing took place alongside Shailputri worship; Monday then brought the second day’s focus on Brahmacharini. The festival continues with the worship of each of Durga’s nine forms in turn.
A nine-day sequence of worship
Sharadiya Navaratri is observed over nine days, with a different form of Goddess Durga worshipped each day. The Monday prayers for Brahmacharini therefore formed part of a continuing festival, rather than a separate observance. The next stages of Navaratri will follow the same pattern of worshipping the forms one by one through the nine-day period.
The first two days establish the order of the festival: Shailputri is worshipped on the opening day, and Brahmacharini on the second. Alongside those daily prayers, the opening day’s Ghatasthapana and sowing of barley seeds to grow jamara mark the start of the festival’s ritual cycle. Devotees across Nepal will continue the sequence with the worship of the remaining forms of Durga as Navaratri progresses.
