Step-by-step Navratri ghatasthapana (kalash sthapana) at home: sowing barley in soil, setting the kalash, coconut and mango leaves, muhurta tips and supplies.
A kalash (ghat) with a lamp, leaves and flowers, set up for worship. Photo: Ashish Suryavanshi858, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
Look up Pratipada and the ghatasthapana muhurta for your city in your local panchang or ask your family priest.
Durga with her family, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik, at Maddox Square, Kolkata. Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Clean the puja corner, ideally in the north-east of the home if that suits your custom.
A kalash (ghat) with a lamp, leaves and flowers, set up for worship. Photo: Ashish Suryavanshi858, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
Draw a swastika on the kalash with roli, tie red thread around its neck, and fill it with water.
A kalash (ghat) with a lamp, leaves and flowers, set up for worship. Photo: Ashish Suryavanshi858, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
Arrange five mango leaves in the kalash's mouth with tips pointing outward.
Narkel naru: coconut and jaggery sweets on a banana leaf. Photo: Priyankasingha1811, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Set the kalash in the centre of the barley tray, or beside it if the tray is small, in front of the Goddess's picture.
A kalash (ghat) with a lamp, leaves and flowers, set up for worship. Photo: Ashish Suryavanshi858, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
Light the lamp and incense. Holding water, rice and a flower, state your name, the occasion and your intention to worship the Goddess for nine days, then invite her to reside in the kalash.
Clay diyas lit for Diwali. Photo: Alokjain19883105, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Each day, offer worship, sprinkle a little water on the barley so it stays damp, and keep the lamp lit if you have chosen akhand jyoti.
A kalash (ghat) with a lamp, leaves and flowers, set up for worship. Photo: Ashish Suryavanshi858, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
After Navami or on Vijayadashami, offer a final puja, remove the coconut and leaves respectfully, sprinkle the kalash water around the home or pour it into plants, and share the barley sprouts as blessings.
Narkel naru: coconut and jaggery sweets on a banana leaf. Photo: Priyankasingha1811, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Step-by-step Navratri ghatasthapana (kalash sthapana) at home: sowing barley in soil, setting the kalash, coconut and mango leaves, muhurta tips and supplies.
Ghatasthapana → Next story: Golu: the Navratri doll display of South India All photo storiesMusic: Garba dance during Navaratri festival in Mehsana Gujarat India, Nizil Shah, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.