As you read this, Sharad Navratri 2026 is in full swing. It began on 11 October and builds up to Dussehra on 20 October. We all know the story: Maa Durga defeats Mahishasura, good wins over evil, and we dance till midnight.
But here's what the textbooks skipped. For centuries, Navratri was also India's great festival of power. It was the season when kings reviewed their armies, worshipped their swords and showed the world who was in charge. How those nine nights travelled from royal courtyards to your society's garba ground is, quietly, the story of India itself.
The Vijayanagara war room. In the 1400s and 1500s, the Vijayanagara Empire celebrated Mahanavami as its biggest state event. The Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes, who visited around 1520, described a nine-day "great feast". The emperor watched army march-pasts and war games from a stone platform at Hampi, the Mahanavami Dibba, which still stands. Vassal kings sat beside him, and showing up was a pledge of loyalty.
Mysuru's declaration of independence. In 1610, Raja Wodeyar I held a grand Dasara at Srirangapatna. It was a political message: Mysore no longer answered to Vijayanagara. That celebration grew into today's Mysuru Dasara, Karnataka's Nada Habba or state festival.
Bengal's Plassey puja. In 1757, right after the Battle of Plassey, Raja Nabakrishna Deb hosted a lavish Durga Puja at Shobhabazar Rajbari in Kolkata, with Robert Clive among the guests. Soon, rich families competed over how many Englishmen attended their pujas.
Twelve friends change everything. Then came the plot twist. In Guptipara, Hooghly, a group of men were turned away from a zamindar's household puja. Twelve of them collected money from nearby villages and held their own: the baro-yaari, or "twelve friends'", puja, dated to 1761 or 1790. That idea grew into Kolkata's sarbojanin (everyone's) pujas around 1910. The goddess had moved from the palace to the para.
How Each State Celebrates Navratri, and What It Really Means
Once Navratri stepped out of the palace, every region made it its own. Some states still carry the royal stamp, like Mysuru's elephants and Bastar's king-led chariots. Others turned it into something kings never imagined: a dance around a lamp, a staircase of dolls, a child's first letter in rice. Same nine nights, a hundred meanings.
- Gujarat: Garba. The word comes from garbha, meaning womb. Dancers circle the garbo, a clay pot with holes and a lamp inside. The flame is life; the circle is the cycle of birth and rebirth. UNESCO listed Garba as Intangible Cultural Heritage in December 2023.
- West Bengal: Durga Puja. Here Durga is more than a warrior. She is a daughter coming home to her parents for a few precious days, which is why Vijayadashami feels like a farewell.
- Karnataka: Mysuru Dasara. The royal sword is worshipped on Mahanavami, and on Vijayadashami the elephant procession, Jamboo Savari, carries Goddess Chamundeshwari through the city.
- Tamil Nadu: Golu. Families arrange dolls on odd-numbered steps: gods, saints, village scenes. It's a home museum, and neighbours drop by to see it.
- Kerala: Vidyarambham. Books and tools rest before Saraswati, and on Vijayadashami little children write their first letters in rice. Navratri becomes the festival of learning.
- Telangana: Bathukamma. Women stack seasonal flowers into tall cones, sing around them, then float them on water. Pure gratitude to nature.
- Maharashtra: Ghatasthapana and Bhondla. Grain sown in an earthen pot sprouts over nine days, a prayer for a good harvest, while girls sing Bhondla songs around a drawing of an elephant.
- Chhattisgarh: Bastar Dussehra. It lasts about 75 days and honours Goddess Danteshwari, not Ram's victory over Ravana. Started by the Kakatiya ruler Purushottam Dev in the 15th century, it brings hundreds of tribal deities to Jagdalpur.
- Himachal Pradesh: Kullu Dussehra. It begins on Vijayadashami, just as the rest of India wraps up, and runs for seven days as village deities are carried down the mountains to honour Lord Raghunath.
At Luv My India, we see Navratri as a festival that kept getting passed down. Emperors handed it to rajas. Rajas lost it to twelve stubborn friends. Those friends handed it to every lane, pandal and housing society in the country.
Kings used Navratri to show strength. Ordinary Indians used it to claim belonging. That's why it still feels so alive: it was never frozen in one form. Shakti, it turns out, was always meant to be shared.
So this year, when you step into the garba circle or queue up at a pandal, remember where you're standing. An empire once paraded its army here. Now, everyone is invited.
Navratri FAQs
When is Navratri 2026? Sharad Navratri runs from 11 to 19 October 2026, with Dussehra on 20 October.
Why is Garba danced in a circle? The circle around the lamp-lit garbo represents the cycle of life, with the goddess at its centre.
Which Navratri festival in India lasts the longest? Bastar Dussehra in Chhattisgarh, which runs for about 75 days.
Where did community Durga Puja begin? In Guptipara, Hooghly, where twelve friends organised the first barowari puja in the late 1700s.
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