Durga Avatar

The buffalo demon, Mahishasur stomped across the three worlds, kicking up dust, polluting the earth and sea. Neither Indra, king of gods, nor Kumara, commander of the celestial armies could stop him. In despair the gods called on Vishnu for help. Vishnu confronted the demon Mahisha first as Narasimha the man lion and then as Varaha, the boar, but each time he failed to subdue the demon. Shiva, the supreme ascetic, disturbed by the violence opened his third eye unleashing the fire of doom. Even the power of Shiva's third eye capable of destroying the three worlds could not arrest Mahisha's march.

"Nature can never be conquered," said Brahma as his divine strength, his Shakti, emerged from his body in the form of the goddess Brahmi. She rode a swan and held books of wisdom in her hands. Simultaneously, the Shaktis of the other gods emerged taking female forms. From Indra, rose Indrani bearing a thunderbolt, riding an elephant, from Kumara rose Kaumari holding a lance and riding a peacock, from Vishnu rose Vaishanavi on an eagle with a discus whirling on her finger, from Varaha came the sharp tusk sow Varahi, from Shiva came Shaivani riding a bull bearing a trident.

The seven shaktis, unrestrained by the bodies of the gods, were fearsome beings – unbridled, untamed, restless energies of the cosmos. They rose to the sky and merged with each other in a blinding light. The sounds of the conchs, drums and bells filled the air. With bated breath, the gods watched the light. From the heavenly light arose a beautiful goddess.

"Who are you?" asked the gods.

"I am Durga, the inaccessible one," replied the goddess. "I am Prakriti, the substance that gives form and identity to all things. I am Shakti, the power that enables all creatures to exist, to feel, think, act and react. I am Maya, the delusion that makes life alluring yet elusive."

Celebrating Durga Puja

The Mahalaya brings the ritual of drawing Eyes of Durga. This also signals the beginning of the festivities and Debi-Pakkha. The sixth day from new moon is called Shasthi, and on this day, the main Durga Puja begins. On Saptami, that is the seventh day from the new moon, the ritual of Bodhon starts. This is a very intricate ritual in which the Image of Durga is infused with "Pran" or "life form".

The process starts early in the morning when the devotees bring in the Kola Bau, or a banana plant, bathed and draped in a yellow saree. This is made to resemble a newly wed bride. The Kola Bau is brought in the form of Pran to the Image of Durga in order to infuse the image with the Pran. Ashtami, or the eighth day after new moon is universally accepted as the day when Durga killed Mahishasura. On this day, the celebrations begin to draw to a close. The juncture of time between the eighth day and the ninth day, that is ashtami and navami, is called Sandhikkhan. The beginning of Sandhikkhan marks the beginning of a new dawn when the tyrant demon was killed by goddess Durga. On the day of Navami, Maha Arti is conducted in the evening. All these festivities see the real culmination with the visarjan or immersion of the idol of Durga into the sea. This is symbolic of Devi Durga retiring after mahishasur mardan, and the people bid a tearful farewell to the goddess. A new era begins, a new year begins with people's hopes again looking for the miracle of Maa Durga vanquishing Mahishasur

Period Of Durga Puja

In Bengal, Durga Puja is celebrated with a lot of fervour. This is a festive period in Bengal when the festivities engulf each and everyone with same zest. The main ritual of Durga Puja spans a period of four days. However, in case of traditional and household pujas, the festivities last till ten days. The Durga Puja period is very closely related to the position of moon. Debi-Pakkha or Devi Paksha is the name given to the fortnight from the new moon till the next full moon. This fortnight is considered to be most holy and propitious for conducting any tasks or rites. This period is marked with artistic expression of people reaching its zenith. Various forms of eyes of Durga are drawn. The ritual of drawing the eyes on the image of the goddess is called chakkhu-daan. Symbolising the process of infusing the image with the power of vision, this is done on Mahalaya, the day of the new moon.

Blessings To Lord Rama

In the Hindu epic of 'Ramayana', Lord Rama along with his brother and army of monkeys led by Hanuman went to Lanka to rescue his wife, Sita, who was abducted and imprisoned by the ten headed Ravana, the king of the Demons in Lanka. This battle ensued for a long period and Lord Rama fought and defeated many of Ravana's brothers and cronies. After all the other fighters were defeated and killed, th final battle between Rama and Ravana started. Before this final battle with Ravana, Lord 'Rama' sought the blessings of Devi Durga for defeating Ravana.

His advisers told him that the goddess would be pleased by his worship only if he offered a hundred blue lotuses. Lord Rama, in order to fulfill the requirements of the worship, started collecting blue lotuses. Blue Lotus not being available in abundance, was difficult to find. However, Lord Rama managed to collect 99 of them. This shortcoming had to be fulfilled. Lord Rama, to please the goddess Durga, decided to offer one of his eyes in worship as his eyes resembled blue lotus. This dedication pleased the goddess no end and she appeared to grant her blessings to Lord Rama in his battle against Ravana.

Forms Of Durga

Uma:                         "Light";
Gauri:                        "Yellow or Brilliant";
Parvati:                      "The Mountaineer";
Jagatmata:                 "The-Mother-Of-The-World"
Durga:                        "The Inaccessible";
Kali:                           "The Black";
Chandi:                       "The Fierce";
Bhairavi:                      "The Terrible."

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How to worship Durga

Hindu people believe that Goddess Durga is worshiped on Tuesday at the Rahu Kaalam.This Rahu Kaalam pooja is performed at all Shiva temples on every tuesday. Devotees light the lamps which are made of limes. They cut the two limes and squeezed the juice of the lime on to the  peedam. The petals of the cut lime are turned inside out to make i look like a container holding the burning material. Into this container a fresh wick made of cotton is immersed and is lighted. It is said and believed that offering Pooja to Durga on her tuesdays at the appointed hour pleases her and she fulfils the wishes of her devotees and relieves them of their sufferings.

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Durga Puja In North India

In North India people worship her for ten days of navratri. Fasting is the norm and the survival for these days of fasting is only on fruits or milk. They grow wheat or barley in earthen pots at home and they believe that if the growth in this pot is good, there is a prosperity all year. The Puja or Aarti is conducted each morning and in the evening. After eighth days of fasting devotees carry out kanjak pujan or worship little girls who spell the Shakti of the Mother Goddess. Again the importance laid out to Sacred Feminine is not lost out. And in the evening of the last day of pujan they put earthen pots of barley or wheat in the river or ponds in the holy Hindu tradition of though that all is borne of earth and shall assimmilate into earth, that is, their offerings through the route of rivers and canals will meet the sea or get assimmilated into earth.
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Durga Puja In India

Durga is known by many names, such as Parvati, Amba, kali. All over India, she is known with different names and people worship her with different festivals and diiferent styles. In Kashmir she is worshipped as Shaarika. The main temple is situated in Hari Parbat in Srinagar.

In Gujarat Durga Puja is celebrated as the last day of Navaratri, during which the Garba dance is performed to celebrate the vigorous victory of Mahishasura-mardini Durga.

In Maharashtra, Durga Puja is an occasion for fun gaiety. For the duration of Nav Ratri or Nine nights, Puja is performed each day. The idol of Kali is anointed and garlanded each day with fresh garlands. These garlands are not removed. At the end of nine days, all nine garlands are removed. The point to be noted here is how Kali is worshipped as the Sacred Feminine and the young girls who have not attained puberty are considered a form of Shakti or Goddess kali. These young girls in the form of Kali are invited to eat, play games, dance and sing. An elephant is drawn with rangoli and the girls play guessing games. Then they are fed a meal of their choice.

Period Of Puja

In the Krittibas Ramayana, Lord Rama invokes the energies of goddess Durga in his battle against Ravana. This was a deviation from the tradition. As per tradition, Devi Durga is worshipped and invoked in the months of Spring. However, since Lord Rama was in a battle, out of contingency, he invoked the goddess in autumn and this was known as Akal Bodhan. With changing times, Lord Rama's invocation of the goddess has achieved ascendency and Durga is worshipped in autumn. However, the Hindu scriptures and almanacs, the dates for Spring Puja or Basanti Poojan are also mentioned.The pujas are held over a ten-day period.

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Durga Puja

Durga Puja is celebrated with joy all over India, but especially in West Bengal, Durga Puja is celebrated with a lot of gaiety wherein singing, dancing and distribution of sweets are an integral part of Durga Puja festival.The worship of Durga is mostly conducted in the autumn in the form of largest Hindu festival of Bengal. Puja means "worship," and Durga's Puja is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Ashwin, which is the sixth month in the Bengali calendar.  Occasionally however, due to shifts in the lunar cycle relative to the solar months, it may also be held in the following month, Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, these dates correspond to the months of September and October.

 Durga Puja is also celebrated in our neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan. In these countries, the Puja is conducted as per local rules and customs. They have their own traditions in which they worship the Goddess.

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Chamunda

The Great Goddess is said to be exquisitely beautiful. The Old Hindu Literature descibes her as the One having bright and beautiful eyes,ten powerful hands and curly hair.Her attire is shiny oceanic blue emitting fierce rays. Her ornaments were carved exquisitively out of pure gold, with ocean pearls and precious stones embedded in it. The literatures descibe her as an embodiment of the great creative work of various gods. Her fierce face showing blood red tongue was sculpted by Shiva, torso by Indra, breasts by Chandra (the moon), teeth by Brahma, bottom by the Earth, thighs and knees by Varuna (water), and her three eyes by Agni (fire). In Her quest to kill the demon, she was provided with weapons by various gods. She holds Rudra's trident, Vishnu's Chakra (discus), Indra's thunderbolt, Brahma's kamandal, Kuber's gada, etc.

Himalayas gifted her a fierce whitish golden lion. One day twin demons Chanda and Munda, cronies of Mahishasur, came to fight with the goddess. On the sight of these demons, the goddess she turned blue with anger and was known as goddess Chamunda. She opened her third eye, a gift from Agni. Her form was the most powerful one and awe inspiring with three blood shot red eyes, blood-filled tongue and dark blue skin. She finally smote the twin demns with her sword. Due to her battle with Chanda Munda, the gods priased her as Chandi and Kali. So she was known to the lesser mortals as names od Chandi & Kali, The Demon Destroyer.

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Mahishasur Mardini

Durga, the eternal goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti). Durga, the warrior goddess, is depicted in Hindu literature as a warrior woman with 10 arms who rides a lion or a tiger, carries weapons and assumes various mudras, or symbolic hand gestures.

According to the ancient literatures like the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana, Ma Durga was created as a warrior goddess to fight a demon. As the story goes, Rambha, king of the demons, once fell in love with a water buffalo, and Mahish Asur (literally translated as the The Buffallo Demon; Mahish means Buffallo in Sanskrit) was born out of this union. This demon, the Mahishasur was able to change form between human and buffalo at will . Through intense penance and offering of prayers to Brahma, the Creator, Mahishasur was granted his boon that he could not be defeated or killed by any man or god. Protected by the powers of the boon, he unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds.Durga, incarnation of Shakti, was brought in this world to slay The Buffallo Demon "Mahishasur". She was created out of the energy of the consorts of the Holy Trinity and had power to kill Demon"Mahishasur". And finally she killed Mahishasur with her trident, and was known as "Mahishasur Mardini", or Mahishasur slayer.

Durga - The Goddess

Durga, the eternal goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti). Durga, the warrior goddess, is depicted in Hindu literature as a warrior woman with 10 arms who rides a lion or a tiger, carries weapons and assumes various mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. According to the ancient literatures like the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana, Ma Durga was created as a warrior goddess to fight a demon. As the story goes, Rambha, king of the demons, once fell in love with a water buffalo, and Mahish Asur (literally translated as the The Buffallo Demon; Mahish means Buffallo in Sanskrit) was born out of this union. This demon, the Mahishasur was able to change form between human and buffalo at will . Through intense penance and offering of prayers to Brahma, the Creator, Mahishasur was granted his boon that he could not be defeated or killed by any man or god. Protected by the powers of the
boon, he unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds.

Durga, incarnation of Shakti, was brought in this world to slay The Buffallo Demon "Mahishasur". She was created out of the energy of the consorts of the Holy Trinity and had power to kill Demon"Mahishasur". And finally she killed Mahishasur with her trident, and was known as "Mahishasur Mardini", or
Mahishasur slayer.