Navaratri & Vijay Dasami
Save the Date | October 11 - October 20, 2026
You are invited to celebrate Navaratri and Vijay Dasami with Mount Madonna! Join us as we once again immerse ourselves in the timeless classic and devotional story of the Ramayana. Navaratri (nava, nine; ratri, night) is a ritual period of nine days and nights when the great spiritual epic, the Ramayana, is honored and brought to life by performance of daily puja (ceremonial offering) to Ram and the reading of Ram’s story. It culminates with Vijay Dasami (victory on the tenth day).
The Ramayana tells the story of one of the incarnations of the God Vishnu, who took the form of a human, Lord Ram, to rid the earth of the terrible plague of darkness being spread by a great ten-headed demon king named Ravana. The Ramayana can be interpreted as both the tale of a god-man who incarnated to help alleviate suffering, as well as our own inner journey of awakening and confrontation with darkness, representing our own ego.
Join us for nine days and nights as we symbolically live through the mythical struggle of the Ramayana, following Ram’s journey toward his ultimate victory over the heart of darkness.
The Navaratri program will conclude with Vijay Dasami as we rejoice in victory on the tenth day with a yajna, a special Vedic fire ceremony. Through practice of yajna, we purify and surrender the ego by symbolically offering all aspects of our mind, body, and senses to the sacred fire.
Stay tuned for more details about ways to participate.
