The celebrations commence on Ashvina Shukla , the first day of the bright half of Asvina, with the sthapna, i.e. inaugural puja. The Maharao and his entourage visit the Ashapura Mandir in the City Palace to pay respects to the Kul Devi, the clan goddess of the Kotah family. Ashapura signifies fulfiller of hope,and this idol is considered to be a manifestation of Goddess Durga.
The Goddess is identified with Shakambari Devi. Her ancient temple from the 5th century AD is still located on the shores of the Sambhar lake, the big inland lake about fifty miles south of Jaipur. Later, the Devi also became known as Ashapura.
On this day, the priests plant the jowara (a kind of millet) in the temple and akhand deep, the eternal lamp, is lit which burns uninterruptedly until Dushera.
The importance of the Durga worship by all Rajputs is because they are Shaktas, i.e. followers of Shakti, the great principle of cosmic female energy which the Devi embodies. Being of the warrior class, the Rajputs worship the Goddess, for she is the militant destroyer of evil, her fierce form of divine energy avenging all wrongs. Thus she is the benefactor of the Kshatriyas. The pujas with the emphasis on sacrifice, worship of Shastra or weapons and vahan or vehicles of transport clearly exemplify the importance laid in ancient and medieval times on the preparations for the campaigning season by all kings, warriors, and armies. This is possible only after the countryside has dried after the four-month period of monsoon floods and mud.
On these days there are no special ceremonies. But independent of the Navaratri or Dushera puja, His Highness in 1997 drove out to a place called Charan chowki with his entourage to pay his respects to the importance of the Ballabh Kul, rested during the monsoon in 1670(VS 1727), when the deity was wandering around and seeking a safe sanctuary. In the little mandir temple, a footprint of Srinathji is worshipped.
On the morning of Panchmi, the fifth day of Navaratri, Asvina Shukla 5, the Maharao observes a puja at the ancient, eighth miles east of Kota. This is a pilgrim centre where a very colourful small street emerges on such festival days, leading past many shops with all sorts of merchandise that are indispensable as offerings.
Danshtra Devi has been worshipped by the Bundi princes since 1264, and later by the Kotah rulers. The temple was enlarged and subsequently improved upon during the reigns of Rao Jagat Singh, Rao Kishore Singh, Maharao Ram Singh, and finally Maharao Umed Singh II. The puja is performed for the victory in arms, for the longevity and glorious reign of the ruler, the general well-being of the royal family, and for the prosperity of the state. After all such pujas of the Devi, it was mandatory to offer a sacrifice in the shape of buffaloes and goats; they were beheaded with a single swift stroke of a talwar sword . Maharao Sir Umed Singh II abolished this blood sacrifice in 1925.
On this day, no public puja is performed.
On Saptmi, i.e. Asvina Shukla 7, the seventh day, the Maharao goes to Nanta village to offer worship to Kal bhairav. This place is situated about six miles west of Kotah, across the river Chambal. Here too, as at Dadh Devi, the villagers who are separated into groups of men and women, wait eagerly at the little shrine of Nanta ka Bhaironji for the Maharao and the beginning of the pujas. The almost man-sized idol represents kal Bhairav, one of several manifestation of Shiva.
After performing puja in Nanta at the temple of Kal Bhairav, the Maharao proceeds to the small and pretty shrine of Karni Mata near Abhera lake about a mile away. As the word mata-Mother indicates, the idol represents the goddess Durga. Here again some villagers, mostly women, await him.
On the morning of Ashtmi, the eighth day of Navaratri, Asvina Shukla 8, the Maharao and his nobles go to the City Palace and again offer reverence to the Kul Devi Ashapura. The ceremonies correspond to those performed on the first day. In the afternoon the Ashtmi puja takes place. This is one of the most important pujas for most Rajputs and so for the Chauhans too.
From midday onwards, nine Brahmins sit in front of the sanctum sanctorum and recite the Chandi path or the Durga saptsahi. This lasts for three or four hours while shlokas are recited in cadence as prescribed in the shastras. Thereafter the purohit and the Acharya along with other Brahmins light the sacred fire in the nearby covered yard of the temple, chant further shlokas, and intermittently pour aahuti or libations of ghee, clarified butter, and grain into the fire. Around the fire ten large leaves, each with donations, are placed in the ten cardinal directions: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW, upward and downward.
On Navmi, the ninth day of Navaratri, Asvina Shukla 9, the afternoon starts with the Oobh Devi puja, again at the Ashapura mandir. In the course of the puja some jowara, millet plants that have grown since the first day are plucked out and tucked into the turban of the Maharao and his son, the Maharajkumar.
On this occasion, the subduing of the buffalo-demon Mahishasura by the Goddess Durga is celebrated. On behalf of the Maharao one of his nobles offers a sacrifice to the Kul Devi in the shape of a pumpkin. The person so deputed comes forward, and is blessed by the priest through the application of tilak on his forehead. The short sword with which he will perform the sacrifice is also blessed.
In olden days, a buffalo that had been specially bred for this purpose and given a fair bit of intoxication to make it wild, was let loose in the chaughan or field outside the palace. Then the Maharao in full armour on horseback along with his similarly accoutered nobles would ride out, chase the buffalo and await the opportunity to kill it with a blow of the sword. It required extra strength and special practice to perform this feat on horseback. This instance was repeatedly rendered in paintings
After the puja in the Ashapura temple, the Maharao proceeds to Rajmahal for Shastra puja, i.e. the worship of weapons, which are placed on a red cloth in along row of low boards. The royal insignia, the state flag, banners, and the royal nakkara-drums lie at the end. In front of the seated Maharao, a small bajot or plank exhibits the picture of Lord Srinathji and tiny steel weapons. Puja is offered to all these objects and the Maharao.
On the morning of Dushera, the tenth and most important day of Navratri, Asvina Shukla 10, the Maharao first has darshan of Lord Brijnathji and performs an aarti ceremony at the Brijnathji Mandir in the City Palace. Thereafter the Maharao and his son proceed to the sillekhana and pay their respects to Maharao Bhim Singh I. After this, the group travels to Rangbari, a village six miles south of kotah, where the idol Balaji of Rangbari is worshipped.
The Rangbari Balaji has a hollowed past. It is associated with Rao Jagat Singh, second ruler of Kotah in the seventeenth centuary, who first built a Kund or well-pool for water which exists to this day. Later, in the eighteenth centuary, Maharao Guman Singh used to come here to offer his respects to a sadhu or holy man who was a great devotee of Lord Hanuman. This saintly person possessed miraculous powers.
In the early afternoon of this Dushera day, the Maharao performs the Shami puja or the worshipping of the khejdi-tree (prosopic spicigera). This tree grows plentifully in arid region, is most beneficial to farmers and has thick foliage. It is considered to be one of the manifestations of Shakti power. The worship of this khejdi-tree bestows good on the person performing it, provides riches, destroys evil, assures safe journeys, removes all obstacles in life, and bestows glory, fame, and victory.
The puja is performed by the purohit for the Maharao under a shami or khejdi-tree in the courtyard behind the main Naya Darwaza Gate entrances to the City Palace. As pointed out earlier, at this Dushera puja the Maharao, acting on behalf of the God Rama, pays obeisance to the Goddess Durga for achieving victory over the demon-king Ravana.
The group proceeds inside the City Palace for another consecration of weapons, the Revant puja which is essentially a blessing of all the arms and armour needed in war. Royal insignia and weapons are laid out and blessed by the purohit on behalf of the Maharao.
After this ceremony, the nishans, i.e. state flags and ensigns, a sword, a shield, a bow and an arrow are brought before Lord Brijnathji’s idol, where the priest blesses them in the Nishan puja by sprinkling holy water and red sindoor on them and by tying special kesaria patta or saffron-coloured ribbons.
Upon the Maharao’s arrival at the saluting base, the cannon fired the 21-gun salute from the ramparts of the fort while the bands played the anthem and the troops presented arms.
In 1992 Maharao Brijraj Singh began a new tradition: the old nobility , dignitaries, local politicians- including the Mayor of Kota, who in 1997 was a lady and government officers and ministers belonging to the Kota area invited to take part in the procession of Shri Lakshminarayanji. A reception is held on the Bada Chabutra or large raised patio in front of the palace near the Elephant gate.
Large paper and bamboo effigies of Ravana and his two brothers were erected on these grounds during the day. But before the culmination of the festivity, a puja at the base of the platform is performed by worshipping pots of sprouted jowara-millet. Thereafter, a pumpkin is placed tween Ravana’s legs, the target at which the Maharaj of Kotda- on behalf of his cousin, the Maharao, and after receiving the command from Lakshminarayanji from the elephants’s howdah.
Subsequently, the procession with the elephant returns to the City Palace, where Lakshminarayanji is reinstalled in his mandir. The festivities continue on the Rama-lila grounds well into the night.