Navratri 2025: What to eat, what to avoid, and fasting essentials you must know
Keeping fast this Navratri? Read the dos and donts.
As we are all geared up to enter the festive season, one festival that unites people in devotion and celebration is Navratri. This nine-day festival will start on September 22 and conclude on October 2. Devotees of Maa Durga will celebrate it with prayers, rituals, and festivities. Many people will also be fasting during this time to purify the mind and body while also coming closer to the goddess.
While for some people fasting during Navratri is very strict and for all nine days, for others it can be a tradition of jodas, where they will fast on two chosen days. However, whether one is fasting or not, there are certain dos and don’ts that devotees are advised to follow during this auspicious period.
Rules to Follow During Navratri
- Avoid black clothing: Wearing black during this time is not considered auspicious.
- Avoid grooming activities: Haircuts, nail treatments, and shaving are generally avoided.
- Flexible fasting: Both men and women can fast; if fasting all nine days is difficult, usually fasting is paired.
- Simple meals: Evening meals should be light and sattvic, with fruits, milk, and juices preferred for daytime.
- Do charity: Helping others and donating during Navratri is considered a good deed.
- Kanya Pujan: On Ashtami and Navami, young girls are worshipped as manifestations of the goddess.
Foods You Can Eat During Navratri
- Flours: Buckwheat (kuttu), rajgira (amaranth), and water chestnut flour are commonly used for rotis, puris, and other dishes.
- Sabudana: Often cooked to prepare khichdi, tikki vadas, or kheer.
- Fruits and Dairy: Fresh fruits, milk, yogurt, and homemade items can be taken.
- Vegetables: Potatoes, gourds, spinach, tomatoes, and capsicum are allowed.
- Rock Salt: Used in place of regular salt.
- Samak Rice: Also called varai or barnyard millet, this is a popular substitute for regular rice.
Foods to Avoid During Navratri
- Wheat, rice, and their products
- Pulses and beans
- Onion and garlic
- Meat, fish, and eggs
- Alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs
- Packed or processed foods
Navratri fasting is not just about restriction on diet, but it is about spiritual cleansing, discipline, self-control, and devotion to Maa Durga.
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