How to do kanya pujan (kanjak) on Navratri Ashtami or Navami: inviting girls, washing feet, tilak, kalawa, the puri, chana and halwa meal, gifts and meaning.
Girls are fed and honoured as the goddess in Kanya Pujan. Photo: Nvstudio989, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Decide whether your family observes kanya pujan on Ashtami or Navami, and invite the girls and their parents a day or two ahead.
Durga with her family, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik, at Maddox Square, Kolkata. Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
After bathing, cook puri, kala chana and suji halwa fresh. Offer a portion to the Goddess first, along with the family's own Ashtami or Navami puja.
Khichuri bhog served in leaf bowls at a Durga Puja. Photo: AjayDas, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Greet the girls and the boy at the door, seat them comfortably on clean mats, and make sure they are at ease.
Durga with her family, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik, at Maddox Square, Kolkata. Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Gently pour water over each child's feet into a plate and dry them with a clean towel.
Girls are fed and honoured as the goddess in Kanya Pujan. Photo: Nvstudio989, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Apply a tilak of roli and a few grains of rice on each child's forehead and tie a red thread on the wrist.
Girls are fed and honoured as the goddess in Kanya Pujan. Photo: Nvstudio989, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Offer flowers, perform a short aarti for the children and fold your hands in respect, seeing them as the Goddess.
Clay diyas lit for Diwali. Photo: Alokjain19883105, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Serve puri, kala chana and halwa, with fruit if you like, and let the children eat at their own pace.
Girls are fed and honoured as the goddess in Kanya Pujan. Photo: Nvstudio989, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Give each child a small gift, touch their feet or bow, and ask for their blessings.
Girls are fed and honoured as the goddess in Kanya Pujan. Photo: Nvstudio989, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
How to do kanya pujan (kanjak) on Navratri Ashtami or Navami: inviting girls, washing feet, tilak, kalawa, the puri, chana and halwa meal, gifts and meaning.
Kanya pujan → Next story: Kullu Dussehra: when the valley's gods come to town All photo storiesMusic: Garba dance during Navaratri festival in Mehsana Gujarat India, Nizil Shah, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.