Durga Puja

Durga Puja

As the name suggest, Durga Puja is the festival of worship of Goddess Durga. It all started when Mahishasura, the Buffalo-demon, observed severe penance of Lord Brahma and appeased him.

“Ask what you may!” said the Lord. Mahishasura was just waiting for this.

He said, “Grant me the power that no one can kill me. Not even Gods!”

“So be it!” said the Lord. And the demon became invincible. He ran amuck on the earth, killing people.

Finally, he entered the heaven and started uprooting the Gods, too.

They ran for shelter to the Trinity of Gods - ‘Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva’.

It was then the Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva combined their powers and created a dazzling mass of energy. It took the shape of a beautiful maiden with ten hands, sitting upon a ferocious lion.

She was called Goddess Durga. The Lords then gave her their most potent weapons. Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura and thus relieved the world of his tyranny. She united the powers of scattered Gods and won the long-drawn battle against the demon.

Durga Puja is the most important festival of Bengal. It is performed twice a year: in the beginning of summer, and winter season. The Puja continues for nine days.

The summer season’s Puja culminated in Ramanavami. The winter season’s Puja culminates in Dussehra, and is more famous than the former. It is celebrated all over the country with great pomp and show.

The Puja falls on the first nine days of the month of

Ashwin (September-October). The victory of Durga over the demon represents the victory of good over the evil. Durga is the savage form of Parvati.

It is said that Kartikeya, Ganesh, Saraswati and Lakshmi are Durga’s four children. Saraswati is the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge, Kartikeya is the God of celibacy and chivalry, Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Ganesha is the God of physical strength and trouble-shooting.

These four Gods and Goddesses are symbol of four different powers essential for the existence of a state.

The power of knowledge represents intellectuals, the power of chivalry indicates soldiers, the power of wealth represents businessmen, and the power of physical strength represents both agricultural and industrial workers.

Durga Puja starts with Mahalaya Amavasya, the day of the new moon. Many people offer prayers to their ancestors at the riverbanks. This ritual is called Tarpan.

Festival preparations begin a month or two in advance, with the construction of idols.

Kumartuli, a place in north Kolkata, is a famous place for expert artisans who use clay modeling to sculpt the images of Durga, Mahishasura, Kartikeya, Ganesh, Saraswati and Lakshmi.

The idols are concerted and consecrated in huge pandals (covered stages) made of paper, wood, bamboos, clothes and other materials. For the first few days, they are kept covered. The idols are inaugurated on Maha Shasthi (6th day). The main puja is three days, Maha Saptami (7th day), Maha Ashtami (8th day), and Maha Navami (9th day). The puja rituals has mostly emerged as a community festival. People line up before the pandals to make offerings and get blessings in the form of sweets and fruits.

The streets are lighted and the whole city wears a festive look. Schools, colleges and offices remain closed during these four days. At some places people also organize some cultural activities. On the Dashami (10th day), people offer a tearful farewell to the Goddess. The deities are carried in processions to the nearby river or lake. People worship them and immerse them in water.

According to a lore, Lord Rama had once invoked Goddess Durga to get her blessings. Ravana, the demon King of Lanka had abducted Rama’s wife Sita prior to that. When Rama went to rescue his wife, he had to take up a battle with Ravana. Before starting for his battle, Rama wanted the blessings of Goddess Durga.

He worshipped the Goddess with full devotion. Pleased with Rama’s prayers, the Goddess appeared before him and blessed him. The battle started on the Maha Saptami and Ravana was finally killed on the ‘sandhikshan’ i.e. the crossover period between Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami. He was cremated on Dashami. Since it was Rama’s victory over Ravana, this day is commonly known as Vijayadashami.

Durga, in Sanskrit, means ‘She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach’. She symbolises the divine power against all evils. This festival is the worship of ‘Shakti’ or the divine power. It signifies that the dark forces eventually succumb to the divine. This victory of good over the evil is also the inner struggle of human beings to finally rise at the highest level of consciousness.