Amla Navami 2024

It a popular belief that the deities reside on the Amla tree during the time of Kartik month. Amla tree or the gooseberry tree is widely famous for eliminating the sins of individuals since ages. On the day of Amla Navami, devotees worship the tree in order to offer their prayers to the gods and goddesses and to get relieved from their past and present sins.

When is Amla Navami?

As per the Hindu calendar, Amla Navami is celebrated on the ninth day of Kartik month during Shukla Paksha. As per the Gregorian calendar, the eve is celebrated in the month of November or October.

What is The Importance of Amla Navami?

Devotees, especially, women worship and offer their prayers to Amla tree as well as prepare and eat sacred food beneath the tree. The benefits of performing Amla Puja on the day of Amla Navami are mentioned in the Skanda Purana and Padma Purana.

In the Maha Vishnu Purana, Lord Vishnu has declared Amla as the divine fruit and therefore in order to get the divine blessings of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, the devotees observe a fast as well as perform several rituals on the eve of Amla Navami.

Amla is also popular as Dhatri and therefore to get bestowed with auspiciousness and prosperity, one is required to worship Amla tree. Amla possesses a high amount of therapeutic as well as medicinal value and hence it is widely popular in Ayurveda.

How is Amla Navami Celebrated?

In almost all parts of India, the occasion of Amla Navami is celebrated as per different religious beliefs. But the grand fervor is observed in the regions of Odisha where people celebrate the day as one of the greatest festivities. The Sakhi Gopal temple in Odisha is also well known for the celebration of Amla Navami.

On the day of this festivity, women observe fast, offer prayers, flowers, water and milk to the Amla tree during evening time, wrap it by a sacred thread and then perform aarti. The ritual is performed by chanting the name of Lord Vishnu and then conclude by offering Naivedya (sacred food) to the tree which has been prepared beneath the tree only.

In the various regions of North India, Amla Navami is celebrated in the name of Akshaya Navami. According to the scriptures, it is believed that on the day of Amla Navami, the era of Satyug was started and therefore, the eve is also celebrated in the name of ‘Satya Yugadi’.

It is believed that if the devotees perform any sort of donations or charitable acts on this day, then they are bestowed with auspiciousness as well as they get relieved from their sins of past and present births. The celebrations of Amla Navami takes place two days prior to the eve of Dev Uthani Ekadashi.  

In various parts of West Bengal, the day of Amla Navami is celebrated as ‘Jagadhatri Puja’ and the devotees worship and offer prayers to the Goddess Jagaddhatri. The day is extremely favorable for doing several Daan Punya or charitable acts. On this particular day, people perform Parikrama of Mathura-Vrindavan to get bestowed with immense happiness and prosperity.

The Story of Amla Navmi

Devotees used to perform all the rituals with keen devotion as according to the Hindu mythology, it is a vital day to worship the deities who have their abode in the Amla tree. All the wishes of the devotees are fulfilled and they achieve the path of salvation by worshipping the tree on Amla Navami. On this auspicious day, Lord Vishnu defeated and killed Kushmanda named demon and since that time, the eve is celebrated as ‘Kushmanda Navami’ signifying the end of Adharma.

Rituals of Amla Navami

As per the rituals, the devotees are required to take an early morning bath and then clean the place where they will perform the puja rituals. The devotees draw 3o squares with turmeric powder known as Kotha and then put grains, pulses, and food in those blocks. All the rituals are done while chanting sacred mantras. Such ritual denotes a rich harvest. People also consume amla on the particular day of Amla Navami to get blessed with good fortune, sound health, and immense prosperity.