The culmination of the Navratri festival is Mahanavami when the goddess is worshipped as Durga in the form of Aparajita and sugarcane stalks are offered to her. Sugarcane is harvested at that time. On this day, in rural Kashmir, Punjab, Harayana, Uttara Pradesh and Bihar, Kanya Puja is performed, when nine young virgins, symbolically representing the nine forms of the goddess, are worshipped. Their feet are washed and they are feasted after each has been given new clothes by the worshipper. In some parts of Kashmir, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharastra instead of Mahanavami, the celebrations end on the astami, the eighth day, as it is the birthday of Parvati, the auspicious form of Durga.(Note, this is also the month of Virgo, the virgin - Kanya)
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