Durga puja ('Worship of Durga'), also referred to as 'Durgotsava' ('Festival
of Durga'), is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship
of the Hindu goddess Durga.
It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami[I] and [I]Bijoya Dashami[I].
The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding to the
festival is called [I]'Devi
Paksha' ('Fortnight of
the Goddess'). Devi Paksha is
preceded by 'Mahalaya' , the last day of the previous
Pokkho' ('Fortnight of
the Forefathers'), and is ended on 'Kojaagori
Lokkhi Puja' ('Worship of
Goddess Lakshmi on Kojaagori Full Moon Night').
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal
where it is a five-day annual holiday.
In West Bengal
which has majority of Bengali Hindus
it is the biggest festival
the year. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout
the State, but it is also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali
. Apart from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi
, Uttar Pradesh
. Durga Puja
is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal
and in Bangladesh
where 10% population are Hindu
. Nowadays, many
diaspora Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in countries such
as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others. In 2006,
a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court
of the British Museum
The prominence of Durga Puja increased gradually during the British Raj
in Bengal After the Hindu reformists
identified Durga with India, she became an icon for
the Indian independence movement
the first quarter of the 20th century, the tradition of 'Baaroyaari'
or 'Community Puja' was popularized
due to this. After independence, Durga Puja became one of the largest
celebrated festivals in the whole world.
Durga Puja also includes the worship of Shiva
, who is Durga's
consort, and worship of mother nature through nine types of plant
called 'kala bou'
) representing nine divine forms of Goddess Durga is also done in addition to Lakshmi, Saraswati with Ganesha and Kartikeya
who are considered to be Durga's children. Modern
traditions have come to include the display of decorated pandals
and artistically depicted idols (murti
) of Durga, exchange
publication of Puja Annuals (Literature).
* In the 'Krittibas Ramayana'
invokes the goddess Durga in his
battle against Ravana
she was traditionally worshipped in the spring, due to contingencies of battle,
Rama had to invoke her in the autumn ('akaal bodhan'
). Today it is this Rama's date for the
puja that has gained ascendancy, although the spring puja, known as 'Baasanti
, is also present in the Hindu almanac. Since the season of the puja
is autumn, it is also known as ('Sharodia').
The pujas are held over a ten-day period, which is traditionally
viewed as the coming of the married daughter, Durga, to her father, Himalaya's home. It is the most
important festival in Bengal, and Bengalis celebrate with new clothes
and other gifts, which are worn on the evenings when the family goes out to see
the 'pandals' (temporary structures set up to venerate the goddess). Although
it is a Hindu festival, religion takes a back seat on these five days: Durga
Puja in Bengal is a carnival, where people from all backgrounds, regardless of
their religious beliefs, participate and enjoy themselves to the hilt.
The worship of Durga in the autumn ( 'Shorot'
) is the year's largest Hindu festival of Bengal. Puja
"worship," and Durga's Puja is celebrated from the sixth to tenth
day of the waning moon in the month of Ashvin
), 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.
alone more than two thousand pandals
are set up, all clamoring for the
admiration and praise of the populace. The city is adorned with lights. People
from all over the country visit the city at this time, and every night is one
mad carnival where thousands of people go 'pandal-hopping' with their friends and
family. Traffic comes to a standstill, and indeed, most people abandon their
vehicles to travel by foot after a point. A special task force is deployed to
control law and order. Durga Puja in Kolkata is often referred to as the Rio
Carnival of the Eastern Hemisphere.
In Bengal, Durga Puja is also called 'Akalbodhan['/U] ('untimely awakening of Durga'), [I]'Sharodiya Pujo'
( 'autumnal worship'), 'Sharodotsab'
('festival of autumn'), 'Maha Pujo'
('grand puja'), 'Maayer Pujo'
('worship of the Mother) or merely as 'Puja'
In East Bengal
(Bangladesh), Durga Puja used to be
celebrated as 'Bhagabati
. It is also called 'Durga
and Madhya Pradesh
Origin of the name 'Sharodiya':
The actual worship of the Goddess Durga as stipulated by the Hindu
scriptures falls in the month of 'Chaitra'
, which roughly overlaps with
March or April. This ceremony is however not observed by many and is restricted
to a handful in the state of West Bengal.
The more popular form, which is also known as 'Sharodiya'
(Autumnal) Durga Puja, is celebrated later in the year with the dates falling
either in September or October. Since the Goddess is invoked at the wrong time,
it is called 'Akaal Bodhon' in Bengali.
While the most recent revival of the Autumnal worship of Goddess Durga
can be traced to revivalist tendencies in the early freedom movement in Bengal, the first such Puja
was organised by Raja Nabakrishna
of the Shobhabazar
Rajbari of Calcutta in the year 1757.
A considerable literature exists around Durga in the Bengali
language and its early forms, including 'avnirnaya' (11th century), 'Durgabhaktitarangini' by Vidyapati (14th century), etc.
Durga Puja was popular in Bengal in the medieval period,
and records show that it was being held in the courts of Raajshahi
(16th century) and Nadia
district (18th century). It was during
the 18th century, however, that the worship of Durga became popular among the
landed aristocracy of Bengal, the Zamindars
Prominent Pujas were conducted by the landed zamindars and jagirdars, being
enriched by emerging British rule, including Raja Nabakrishna Deb, of
Shobhabajar, who initiated an elaborate Puja at his residence. Many of these
old puja exist to this day. Interestingly the oldest such Puja to be
conducted at the same venue is located in Rameswarpur,
Orissa, where it has been continuing for the last four centuries since the
Ghosh Mahashays from Kotarang near Howrah migrated there as a part
of Todarmal's contingent during Akbar's rule
Today, the culture of Durga Puja has shifted from the princely houses to 'Sarbojanin'
(literally, "involving all")
forms. The first such puja was held at Guptipara - it was called 'baarowari'
meaning twelve and 'yaar'
Community or 'Sharbojanin Puja':
Initially the Puja was organised by affluent families since they had the
money to organize the festival. During the late 19th and early 20th century, a
burgeoning middle class, primarily in Calcutta, wished to observe the
Puja. They created the community or Sarbojanin Pujas.
These Pujas are organized by a committee which represents a locality or
neighbourhood. They collect funds called "chaanda" through
door-to-door subscriptions. These funds are pooled and used for the expenses of
pandal construction, idol construction, ceremonies etc. The balance of the fund
is generally donated to a charitable cause, as decided by the committee.
Corporate sponsorships of the Pujas have gained momentum since the late 1990s.
Major Pujas in Calcutta and in major metro
areas such as Delhi
now derive almost all of their funds
from corporate sponsorships. Community fund drives have become a formality.
Despite the resources used to organise a Puja, entry of visitors into
the Pandal is generally free. Pujas in Calcutta and elsewhere
experiment with innovative concepts every year. Communities have created prizes
for Best Pandal, Best Puja, and other categories.
Creation of the idols:
The entire process of creation of the idols (murti
) from the collection
of clay to the ornamentation is a holy process, supervised by rites and other
rituals. On the Hindu date of Akshaya Tritiya
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 'Chakkhu Daan'
, literally, 'painting the eyes'.
Starting with Devi Durga, the eyes of the idols are painted on Mahalaya or the
first day of the Pujas. Before painting on the eyes, the artisans fast for a
day and eat only vegetarian food.
Many Pujas in and around Kolkata buy their idols from 'Kumartuli' (also Kumortuli
an artisans' town in north Calcutta.