DURGA PUJO
"She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach is called DURGA ". she is called the Mother of the Universe and is a symbol of female dynamism.Goddess Durga is a form of Shakti worshipped when demonic forces created imbalance it is said all the gods united to form one Divine force which is called Durga or Shakti. Destroyer of demons ,she is known by various names such as Kali, Parvati, Ambika. She is worshipped during the annual festival called Navratri which is a nine day long Festival. It is mostly called Navratra's and in Bengal it is called Durga Pujo.
The Maa Durga idol is always made with her consortium the lion , on which she is mounted, wielding ten weapons in her ten hands . The sculpture of the idol itself has evolved over time. The worship always depicts Durga with her four children and occassionally two attendents with banana tree figures. In the ancient days all the five idols would be depicted in a single frame called patta , since the early 80s that has changed and the trend now is to depict each idol separately . Somewhere inside these beautiful yet complex edifices is a stage on which the Durga reigns standing on her lion mount. She went to battle on her ferocious mount lion, armed with the weapons given to her by the other Gods. Durga is one of the angry and aggressive aspects of the goddess Shakti, whose role in Hindu mythology was to fight and conquer demons and also personify the Sakti or female aspect of any male deity. In the battle, she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura and restored heaven to the Gods. Since then the goddess is invoked for protection from the powers of evil. Durga Puja is observed in her honor, to celebrate her victory over evil.
The entire process of creation of the idols from the collection of clay to the ornamentation is a holy process, supervised by rites and other rituals. On the Hindu date of akshaya tritya when the Ratha Yatra is held, clay for the idols is collected from the banks of a river, preferably the ganges. After the required rites, the clay is transported from which the idols are fashioned. An important event is Chakku daan , literally donation of the eyes. Starting with Devi Durga, the eyes of the idols are painted on Mahalya or the first day of the Pujas, before painting on the eyes, the artisans fast for a day and eat only vegetarian food.
This years durga puja has been special to me in many ways.I decided to be a part of the celebrations for 9 long days unlike all the previous years.. i wanted to witness and be a part of Durga Puja the Bengali style.The Durga Puja starts of on Mahalaya the first phase of the waxing moon in Ashwin .The main puja is for 3 days Mahasaptami, Mahaastami and Mahanavami .The Inauguration of the Goddess Idol starts on Mahashasti.The rituals are long , very detailed and complicated. But it is an earth shattering experience to be a part of these puja's. The recitation of the mantras, shlokas and the aartis leave you enthralled.
The Durga Puja spans over a period of ten days in case of traditional and household Pujas, though the main part of it is restricted to four days only. The main Puja, however, starts on the evening of Sasthi , the sixth day after the new moon, generally from beneath a Bel tree for the traditional ones. In the wee hours of Saptami, the next day, the Pran or life of the Devi is brought from a nearby pond or river in a banana tree and established inside the image. The main puja starts thereafter and the prime time is reached in the Sandhikshan, the crossover time between Ashtami and Navami. Finally, on Dashami, the tenth day from the new moon, the image is immersed in a pond or river. This is the religious center of the festivities and huge crowds gather to offer flower worship call Pushpanjali on the mornings, of the sixth to ninth days of the waxing moon fortnight known as Devi Pakshya , devi meaning goddess Pakshya meaning period. Devi Pakshya the period of the goddess. Ritual drummers carrying large leather strung Dhak show off their skill during the ritual dance worships called aarati's .The drum-beats are an integral part of the Durga Puja. This special variety of the drum, known as Dhak, enthralls the hearts of people with its majestic rhythm right from the day of Sasthi. This drum is held on the shoulder with the beating side in the bottom and is beaten with two sticks, one thick and another thin.
After the three days of Puja, in Dashami the last day, a tearful farewell is offered to the Goddess, the idol is taken for immersion in a procession amoud loud chants of bolo Durga mai -ki jai and to the sound of the drumbeats she is immersed in the river or a water body.Most of the community pujas postpone the farewell as long as possible and arrange a grand send-off. The images are carried in processions around the locality and finally is immersed in a nearby river or lake. Durga the mother returns to her husband Shiva ritualised through her immersion into the waters. Dashami is the tenth day and Vijay means Victory. Vijaya Dashami is an event celebrated all over the country.
Durga Puja is also a festivity of Good (Ma Durga) winning over the evil Maheshasoora the demon. It is a worship of power of Good which always wins over the bad.
