It is Day 3 of Navratri 2018 today. Sharad Navratri began on October 10, setting in the festive season for this year. During the nine days of Navratri, devotees offer their prayers to the nine forms of Goddess Durga and the festivities culminate with Dussehra or Vijay Dashmi on October 19. The festive fervour will, however, extend till Diwali. During these nine days of Navratri, devotees throng the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir to offer prayers to Maa Vaishno Devi and perform Kanya Pujan at the Bhawan. Maa Vaishno Devi Katha For Navratri 2018: Know the Story of The Goddess Through This Video.

Devotees who visit the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi also participate in huge numbers in the morning and evening Mata ki Aarti there. Those who are not able to visit the Vaishno Devi temple this Navratri can watch the morning and evening aarti online. To watch the Vaishno Devi aarti and darshan live on Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board website, click here. You can also watch it on YouTube. To watch it live on MH One Shraddha YouTube channel, click here.

Vaishno Devi is believed to have emerged when three manifestations of the Goddess - Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati - got together as one. Maa Vaishno Devi is believed to be the human form of Devi who was sent to Earth to protect what is right. Devotees also listen to devotional songs (Mata ki Bhente) by popular singers including Narendra Chanchal, Anuradha Paudwal and late Gulshan Kumar. Here are some popular devotional songs sung by Narendra Chanchal.

Each of her manifestations of Maa Durga – Shailaputri, Brahmacharirni, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kaalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidhatri – is worshipped on each of the nine nights of Navaratri. Maa Durga is known by 108 names and some among them are Adi Parashakti, Devi, Bhavani, Amba, Parvati and Yogmaya. Navratri 2018 Dates, Days & Tithi Calendar: Shubh Puja Muhurat & Time for Aarti During Nine-Day Sharad Navaratri Festival.

In West Bengal, the Navratri celebration is marked by the Durga Pujo which will begin on October 15 this year. In Gujarat, people celebrate it by performing the traditional dandiya and garba with each other. In North India and central India, people observe fast during the nine days of Navratri and end the fasting by performing a kanya pujan in which they worship nine little girls and feed them prasad.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2018 05:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).