Ghatasthapana marks the beginning of Dasain. It literally means installing a pot which symbolizes Goddess Shakti. It falls on Aswin Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright half of the lunar calendar in the month of Ashvin. On this day the kalasha is filled with holy water and covered with cowdung on to which barley seeds are sown. Subsequently, the kalasha is put in the center of a rectangular sand block. The remaining bed of sand is also seeded with grains. The priest then starts the puja by calling goddess Durga to bless the vessel with her presence. This ritual is performed at a certain auspicious time which is determined by the astrologers. Goddess Shakti is believed to reside in the Kalash vessel during the Navratri period.
The room where all this is done is known as the ‘Dasain Ghar’. Generally, outsiders and women are not allowed to enter the Dasain Ghar. A male family member worships the Kalasha twice every day, once in the morning and then in the evening. It is kept away from sunlight and holy water is offered to it everyday so that by the tenth day of the festival the seed will have grown to five or six inches long yellow grass. This sacred grass is known as ‘Jamara’. These rituals continue till the seventh day.
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