KATHMANDU: The Maha Navami festival, observed every year on Ashwin Shukla Navami, is being celebrated today across the country with special worship and offerings to Goddess Nawa Durga Bhagwati.

On this day, rituals including Durga Puja are performed, and the jamara planted on Ghatasthapana is taken to various shrines and offered.

At Dashain Ghars, Kots, and other temples and shrines of the state, animals such as goats, ducks, chickens, and buffaloes are sacrificed, alongside recitations of Durga Saptashati (Chandi), Shrimad Devi Bhagwat, and Devi Stotra .

For devotees who do not practice animal sacrifice and for vegetarians, symbolic offerings are made instead—such as pumpkins, gourds, radishes, cucumbers, and coconuts.

In many regions, animals are sacrificed on Maha Ashtami, while symbolic slaughter is carried out on Maha Navami.

According to the Markandeya Purana, the day of Maha Navami is especially significant because it is believed to be the day when Chamunda Devi defeated the demon Raktabij.

At certain shrines, devotees also perform Panchabali (five kinds of animal sacrifices), including ducks, chickens, goats, sheep, and buffaloes, to honor the goddess.