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Sharadiya Navratri Festival 2022 – Story

September 14, 2022 EditorComment(0)

Sharadiya Navratri 2022: Sharadiya Navratri, the nine-day long festival dedicated to Maa Durga and her nine avatars, is all set to begin from September 26, 2022 with Ghatasthapana ritual and end with Durga Visarjan or Dussehra/Vijayadashami celebration on the tenth day – October 5, 2022.

Sharadiya Navratri is celebrated in the month of Ashwin usually between September and October. Each day of the 9-day festival is dedicated to an avatar of goddess Durga and the devotees observe fast either on all 9 days or in pair (first two or last two) to get the blessings of Maa Durga.

There are four Navratris in total, two of which are Gupt Navratris, and the remaining two – Chaitra Navratri and Sharadiya Navratri are celebrated with much enthusiasm by the devotees of Maa Durga who pray to her nine avatars on each day of the Navratri. The nine avatars of Maa Durga are as follows – Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri.

According to Panchang, this year Navratri will begin from September 26 (Monday) and end on October 5 (Wednesday). Durga Ashtami will fall on October 3 while Maha Navami will be celebrated on October 4.

Shubh Muhurat

The muhurat of ghatasthapana on September 26, on the first day of the Navratri is from 6:05 am to 7:40 am.

NAVRATRI CALENDAR

Here are the details of nine days of Navratri 2022

Day 1/Pratipada (September 26): Ghatasthapana, Maa Shailputri puja

Day 2/Dwitiya (September 27): Chandra Darshana, Maa Brahmacharini Devi puja

Day 3/Tritiya (September 28): Sindoor Tritiya, Goddess Chandraghanta puja

Day 4/Chaturthi (September 29): Maa Kushmanda puja

Day 5/Panchami (September 30): Maa Skandmata puja

Day 6/Shashti (October 1): Maa Katyayani puja

Day 7/Saptami (October 2): Maa Kalratri puja

Day 8/Ashtami (October 3): Durga Ashtami, Maa Mahagauri puja

Day 9/Navami (October 4): Mahanavami, Maa Siddhidhatri puja

Day 10/Dashmi (October 5): Durga Visarjan, Dussehra or Vijayadashmi

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Year-long study confirms 8 leopards live in Delhi’s Asola wildlife sanctuary

October 9, 2022October 9, 2022 Editor

Eight leopards have been found in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, according to a year-long investigation, which is evidence of a healthy environment there. According to the Gazetteer of Delhi, the sanctuary did not record any leopard sightings for many years after 1940. 2019 saw new reports of leopard pug markings and scats in the sanctuary, according to the Delhi Forest Department. 42 infrared stealth camera traps were utilised in the June 2021–June 2022 study by the Bombay Natural History Society and the Delhi Forest and Wildlife Department. It has given an estimate of the leopard population’s size, density, and geographic dispersion. Other mammals including the striped hyena, jungle cat, golden jackal, Indian hare, Indian boar, black buck, sambar deer, spotted deer, and hog deer among others have also been studied in order to better understand their presence and spatial distribution. It verifies the eight leopards’ presence, which is proof of the sanctuary’s robust environment. The findings of this study support the notion that leopards can live in harmony with human communities. “Four males and one female of these eight leopards have consistently shown up in front of video traps. They have frequently been discovered travelling the same tracks over the same week, sometimes even more than once. This may indicate that they’ve settled permanently in this urban woodland “says the study. Sanjay Colony, which borders the sanctuary, has a high human population density. Despite this, leopards occasionally were spotted passing through. The sanctuary’s bordering areas with Chhatarpur and Neeli Jheel saw the most leopard sightings. The sanctuary was established, and the Eco Task Force was recently added, which has decreased human activity there. In order to rewild the refuge, the forest and wildlife agency has started restoration and planting projects there. “The sanctuary has been transformed from a desolate location with abandoned mining shafts and invasive trees into a verdant forest with a wide variety of plants. As a result, the leopard and other creatures in this area have returned “indicated the study. The study, according to the forest and wildlife agency, will act as a pilot study and be used to establish a programme for carrying out lengthy investigations on other species. The study can be helpful in developing other conservation management plans for other linked species with the aim of making the sanctuary into a true urban wildlife refuge, it stated, considering leopards to be an umbrella species. According to researchers, the wildlife corridor between Sariska and Delhi is still in operation, and the sanctuary’s restoration projects have given leopards and the species that they are linked with a secure environment. In the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, the leopard population density is 3.03; in the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, 3.1; in the Dhachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir, 2.8; in the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, 12.04; and in the Mudumalayi Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, 13.41.