The worship of Goddess Durga is performed with many rituals and steadfast devotion. The pooja is mainly performed for five days which include Sasthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Nabami and Dashmi. The poojas and rituals performed on all these five days vary from one another. Different and specific things are required on all these five days.
Necessary Items required For Pooja
Mahasna pooja: Different things are required for the beginning of the pooja. This ritual is known as the Mahasna. Some of the most essential pooja items include turmeric powder, flowers, sindoor, and leaves of five trees, barks of five trees and five different types of gems such as rubies, pearl, gold, diamond and sapphire. Powders of five different colors are also required in the poojas.
Different water items are also required such as lukewarm water, coconut water, rain water, spring water, water of lotus pollen and so forth. Various bhog items are also required for the pooja which include milk items, vegetables, rice and sweets. Five different types of grains are also included in the Prasad items.
Other things required for the pooja include camphor, sandalwood paste, dhoop and four arrows.
Sasthi pooja: The items required for the next pooja which is the Sasthi pooja is different from the items required for the initial pooja. Camphor, yellow thread, conch shell, sindoor, swastika and so forth are some of the other items required for the pooja. Various food items required for the pooja include rice, milk, vegetables, fruits, mustard seeds, sugar, butter, honey and so forth. Clothes such as sarees and dhotis are also required for the pooja.
Saptami pooja: The things required for the Saptami pooja include mirror, jute ropes, sandalwood, hibiscus flower and so forth. Items such as cow dunk, ghee, sandalwood, bowl, grass and 108 bel leaves are also required for the pooja.
Ashtami pooja: Essential items required for Ashtami pooja are flowers, nose ring, gold ring, mat and 108 lamps.
The same items are required for the Nabami and Dashmi poojas. Clothes, food and puja offerings are quite similar in these poojas. Sweets, betel leaves and sindoor are some of the other essential items required for Durga pooja.