Durga Puja is widely celebrated in West Bengal and some other parts of India. It is observed every year during late September or early October. This festival is a celebration of the victory of Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura.
Dates of Durga Puja 2011
In 2011, Durga Puja is going to be celebrated from Obtober 2 to October 6.
The dates of this festival usually coincide with the last 5 days of Navratri, a popular celebration of the Hindus.
The arrival of Goddess Durga on earth is observed as Mahalaya. The actual Durga Puja celebrations start 7 days after Mahalaya which is considered to be the day when Goddess Durga comes to our abode.
History of Durga Puja
Here’s how the worship of Goddess Durga came into practice.
Creation of Goddess Durga: In ancient times, there existed a buffalo demon called Mahishasura who had received a boon from Lord Brahma. According to this boon, no man or deity could kill Mahishasura. Having received blessings from Lord Brahma, Mahishasura started killing people mercilessly and harassing the gods.
He was even successful in driving the gods away from their abode, that is, heaven.
To fight the demon and protect themselves as well as people on earth, the gods sought help from Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The supreme Gods were enraged at the exploits of Mahishasura.
Their anger led to fires and thunderbolt. The energy of the fires resulted in the birth of Goddess Durga. She received her ten arms from Lord Vishnu and her legs from Lord Brahma.
Goddess Durga’s face developed from the light of Lord Shiva. She received all the weapons to fight Mahishasura from the gods. Armed with these weapons, Goddess Durga defeated Mahishasura and helped the gods return to heaven. Since then Goddess Durga is worshipped by all gods and human beings.
Story of Lord Rama in relation to Durga Puja: According to Ramayana, Lord Rama worshipped Goddess Durga Puja before he set out for the war against Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. He performed the Puja so that Goddess Durga would shower her blessings and give him the strength to kill Ravana, who had abducted Lord Rama’s wife Sita.
Goddess Durga was pleased to see that Lord Rama was ready to offer one of his eyes (which resembled blue lotus) as he could collect only 99 blue lotuses to offer to the deity. She blessed Lord Rama so that he could win the battle which started on Maha Saptami. Lord Rama was finally able to kill Ravana on the ‘Sandhikshan’. The ‘Sandhikshan’ is the crossover period between Ashtami and Navami (the 3rd and 4th days of the Puja). Ravana’s cremation took place on Dashami which is the day when Dussehra is celebrated by the Hindus.
Durga Puja brings colors of joy and happiness to the people of West Bengal and the city of Kolkata where it is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. However, it is observed with equal excitement by the people in other parts of India, especially Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
