ORIGIN OF DURGA PUJA  

The story goes back to Ramayana. While Ram,Sita and Laxmana were spending there days in exile, Ravana the demons king, kidnapped Sita and imprisoned her in his fortress in Lanka. This led to war between Ram and Ravana at this time of the year-the sarat ritu. In order to win the war Rama was advised by prajapita Brahma to appease shakti in the form of Durga. So he invoked Durga by worshipping her and earning her blessings. Thus the Durga Puja as we know it today, started. It is also called Ramchandrer akaalbodhan , because of this unseasonal invoking of the goddess MAHISHASURA It is not enough to say that Mahishasura was the demon who was killed by goddess Durga. Mahishasura was the son of Rombhasura one of the deadliest rakshash kings of Hindu mythology. When Durga appeared on the scene to fight the ashuras the latter got better of her, caught hold of her hair and swung her round and round the globe. Seeing Durga’s plight the devatas came came to her aid. She chased Rombhasura’s son who took shelter inside a mahish (bufallo) and hence named mahishasura. When Durga killed the buffalo out came the demon who was also slayed in turn. Hence another name for Durga is mahishasuramardini. DURGA’S WEAPON When the Gods were unsuccessful in killing Mahisasura, the king of the Demons, they started worshiping Shakti to come to their aid. Shakti took the form of Durga, the 10 handed Goddess. Before sending her to war with the demons the Gods armed her with their own weapons. Durga was given one weapon each hand These were as follows – Kharga, Chakra, Khetak, Teer- Dhanuk, Baab,Trishul, Shanka, Padma, Gada, Sarpa. SAKHIS OF DURGA Though we usually see Durga with her children Lakshmi,Saraswati, Ganesh, and kartick, the Godddess actually went to war against the Assuras with two Companions, Jay and Bijaya. They also fought along with Durga and helped her win the war. Hence no Durga Puja is completed with her two Companions. If you carefully notice the Chalchitras behind Durga you will be able to see Jaya and Bijayaon either side. Despite the fact that in most Communication Pujas one sees images of Durga,s children, one must not forget the importance of Durga,s Sakhis. KALABOU There is a misconception that kalabou is Ganesh’s wife. But she none other than Durga herself. Legend has it that when the demons (asuras) were fighting the Gods(Devtas) the devatas were so scared that they hid behind nine kinds of plants like dhaan, maan kochu, darim, aparajita,kala(banana), bel, ash-watha and haridra. Ultimately goddess Durga emerged out a banana plant to bless the devatas and save them from the asuras by fighting the war herself and helping the devatas to win the war. Since than Durga is worshipped as kalabou. Her puja is performed by the bathing her and smearing her with turmeric(haldia) and vermillion (sindoor) which marks the beginnings of Durga Puja. ANIMAL SACRIFICE Sacrifice is essential but animal sacrifice is not. It depends on one’s own choice. Sacrifice or bali, is the symbol of power. Bali invokes power.And since we are worshipping Durga who is the embodiment of shakti (power), it is essential to incorporate bali in puja but it doesnot have to be an animal. In the olden days people preferred animal sacrifice because of certain socio-economic reason,but nowmost people prefer to use vegetables or fruits. The common preferances for bail are chaalkumro, sugarcane ginger and cucumber. By Murarimohan Bedantatirtha chairman of Bangiya Sanskriti Siksha Sansad of the state higher education department.