Navaratri - Day 3 - pujas
October 2, 2008
The nine planets (navagraha) a big part of every yagya, but particularly this series. Each planet has extensive pujas, as well as the 27 nakshatras(vedic star constellations) and the atidevatas, and pratidevatas which are the forms of the divine which rule over the specfic planets.
In the puja area there is a special Navagraha table which you see below. Each planet has a specific grain associated with it, as well as shape. The Sun is in the middle, Jupiter to the right and Mars to the left. In the bottom row you see the Moon on the left, Venus in the center, and Mercury on the right. The back row (top) has Saturn in the cetner, Ketu on the right and Rahu on the left.
After five hours of pujas, Rudra abishekam, and recitation of Chandi Path, the fire ritual is performed, which takes about 1 1/2 hours depending on the mantra being chanted. Each one is recited 1008 times with the appropriate offerings after each mantra.
