Maa Durga or simply Maa, as she is lovingly called by her worshippers, is one of the fiercest and widely worshipped deities of the Hindu religion. Durga Puja is nine-day long festival celebration.
Durga Puja is celebrated as Navaratri, in North India. It is believed that Lord Rama worshipped Mahishasura Mardini (another name for Goddess Durga) before going to war with the demon king Ravana. He offered 108 blue lotuses and lit 108 lamps. And that day, Durga Puja started to celebrate in the whole country.
Durga Puja is celebrated as Garbha-Dandiya in the western part of India, as Ramlila in the north and as Golu or Bonalu down South. In eastern India it is celebrated as Durga Puja.
Durga Puja is celebrated over five days, with ashtami, navami and dashami (eighth, ninth and tenth) being the most important days of the festival.
Durga has 8 to 10 arms. These represent the 8 directions in Hinduism. This suggests she protects her devotees from all directions.
According to tradition, the idol or pratima of Durga is made of soil or the clay used for making the idols is collected from the banks of the river Ganges, or Hooghly as it is known in West Bengal. However, the clay should also be mixed with soil taken from Brothel.
The eyes of the goddess are supposed to be painted last and in complete darkness, in the presence of only one sculptor. It’s called Chokku daan (offering the eyes)The Chokku daan ceremony marks the beginning of the Divine Mother’s journey in the mortal world.
Durga in her full avatar is shown riding the Lion, (lion indicates that she possesses unlimited power and uses it to destroy evil) stabbing Mahishaura’s torso To her left side is Saraswati and Karthika and to her right, you will find Lakshmi, Ganesha, and Ganesha’s two wives in the form of two banana trunks.
Durga is the other half of Shiva; he is the form, she is the expression. Shakti (Durga) is considered to be the mother of the universe, while Purusha (Shiva) is the father.
She also possesses three eyes giving her the name triyambake. Which represent Agni, surya and Chandra.
Durga Puja was originally celebrated during spring season as Basanti Puja, but now it is celebrate in the month of September-October. So, this puja is also called as ‘Akal-Bodhan’.
Kumari Puja: A tradition started by Swami Vivekananda during Durga Puja, in which young girls are being worshiped.People who observe fast offers food and gifts to young girls.
Durga Puja is not just about the pandals. Kolkata witnesses two separate kinds of Durga Puja. The first kind happens in the pandals and community halls while the other inside the old houses of North Kolkata or the affluent households of South Kolkata.