Durga Puja is an annual — ten-day Hindu festival celebrating Goddess Durga’s triumph over a powerful demon king called Mahishasur a half man and half buffalo who managed to get a boon from Brahma (the creator) that no man or God could kill him.
Armed with the boon Mahishasur openly started wreaking havoc with impunity in heaven forcing the Gods to approach the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu Pantheon – Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer) who were aware that only a woman could kill Mahishasura. So they created a Goddess out of the collective powers or ‘Tej’ of all the Gods. The Goddess thus born had the combined might of all the Gods and was armed with Lord Shiva’s trident, Lord Vishnu’s Sudarshan Chakra as well as bows and arrows from Vayu. Himavat, the God of the Himalaya mountain, gave her a Lion to ride on. All in all, she was so fierce to look at that her mere sight was enough to scare the demons.
Mahishasura assumed the form of a lion, a man, an elephant and a buffalo to fight her. The battle lasted for ten days and ended only when goddess Durga chopped off Mahishasura’s head on the tenth day. All the gods were indebted to her and requested her to appear each time they called her with devotion to ward off evil and protect them from their enemies.
The Navaratri (“Nine Nights”) festival eulogises this battle in which Mahishasura was killed by the goddess Durga with her Trishul (trident). This story of the “triumph of good over evil”, is celebrated with gusto in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, and Tripura.
Though primarily goddess Durga is worshipped during Durga Puja, people also worship goddess Lakshmi and goddess Saraswati.
The festival is preceded by Mahalaya a day on which Hindus perform tarpaṇa and offer water and food to their dead ancestors. It is believed to be the starting point of Durga puja.
Durga Puja celebrations mainly begin on the sixth day (Shasthi) when rituals are performed to appease the goddess and an idol of goddess Durga draped in bright saree with glistening jewellery, and sindoor (vermillion) is led into the pandal along with Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswati and her sons Ganesh, and Kartikey. The unveiling of Devi’s face takes place with a ceremonial puja.
The ceremonies of the seventh day or saptami start with a pre-dawn bath of ‘Kola bau’ (Banana Bride) or ‘nabapatrika snan’. Kola bau believed to be the newly married bride shyly hiding her face behind a banana leaf (veil) is bathed in the river with the chant of mantras. A new saree is draped around her and she is made to sit on the right side of Ganesha.
The eighth day – Ashtami or maha durgasthami is the day when people dressed in colourful new clothes and jewellery head towards the pandal to perform the puja rituals. The evening aarti is invariable of the most important attractions of this day.
On the ninth day, nine small pots, representing each of the nine Shaktis (energies) are installed and worshipped and flowers are placed at the feet of the idol amidst the chanting of mantras.
After this, young, unmarried girls, who have not yet reached puberty are worshipped (Kumari Puja) and presented with gifts as an offering to goddess Durga.
The festival ends on the tenth day or Vijaya Dashami when the idol of Goddess Durga is taken out in a procession and immersed in a river or water body, symbolising her return to Mount Kailash her abode where she lives with her husband Lord Shiva.
One of the most interesting features of this day is the Sindoor Khela in which married women dressed in white saree with crimson borders say farewell to the Devi by applying sindoor on each other’s faces. This ritual is believed to be symbolic of prayer for the good health of their spouse and all family members.
Though the exact origin of Durga puja is not clear, historical records suggest that royalty and wealthy Durga puja festivities have been going on since at least the 16th century and its prominence increased during the British Empire in Bengal, Odisha and Assam.
The name Durga is mentioned in Vedic literature, such as Rig-Veda hymns and Atharvaveda. Durga, in her various forms, appears to have been an independent deity in the ancient Indian scriptures. Both Yudhisthira and Arjuna are believed to have recited hymns to invoke goddess Durga during Mahabharata.
The Ramayana manuscripts in the north, west and south India mention that Lord Rama sought the blessings of Surya (the sun god) before the battle with Ravana, Bengali literature like the 15th-century manuscript of Ramayana by Krttivasa, says that Lord Rama worshipped Goddess Durga to seek her blessings before defeating Ravana.
According to legend Lord Rama needed 108 Neel Kamal (blue lotuses flowers) to appease the divine goddess but could not find them as goddess Durga hid one of the lotus flowers to test his devotion. Lord Rama who could find only 107 lotus flowers instead decided to offer one of his eyes. This is when Goddess Durga appeared and blessed him.
Durga puja, today is more of a social and cultural festival than a religious one.
In West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Tripura, Durga puja is also called Akalbodhan literally meaning, “untimely awakening of Durga”), while people in Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Maharashtra celebrate it as Navaratri festival during the same period.
Himachal Pradesh is known for its Dussehra, particularly in the Kullu Valley. Dussehra is also celebrated in Mysore, Karnataka, though it is called by different names like Bommai golu in Tamil Nadu; Bommala koluvu in Andhra Pradesh; and Bathukamma in Telangana.
Not just in India, Durga puja is celebrated with much fanfare by the Bengali residents and diaspora in the USA, Bangladesh, Nepal, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, and Hong Kong.
