Durga Puja is an annual Hindu festival celebrating the goddess Durga. It is particularly popular and traditionally celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Tripura and the country of Bangladesh. The festival is observed in the month of Ashwin, which corresponds to the months of September–October in the Gregorian calendar. The origins of the festival are unclear and undocumented, but it is believed to commemorate the goddess’ visit to her natal home.
About Durga Puja in brief
Durga Puja is an annual Hindu festival celebrating the goddess Durga. It is particularly popular and traditionally celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Tripura and the country of Bangladesh. Durga puja is also referred to by the names of related Shakta Hindu festivals such as Navaratri, celebrated on the same days elsewhere in India. The festival is observed in the month of Ashwin, which corresponds to the months of September–October in the Gregorian calendar, and is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are of significance. In Bengali and Odia traditions, these deities are considered to be Durga’s children. The primary goddess revered are Parvati Durga and Lakshmi Durga, but celebrations also include other major deities of Hinduism such as Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya. The origins of the festival are unclear and undocumented, but it is believed to commemorate the goddess’ visit to her natal home with her beloved and nice children. In today’s time, the importance of Durga pujas is as much as a social and cultural festival as a religious one, wherever it is observed. Over the years, Durga pujas have become an inseparable part of Indian culture with innumerable people celebrating this festival in their own unique way while pertaining to tradition. In Bangladesh, the festival has historically been celebrated as Bhagabati puja, or merely Puja or Pujo.
It coincides with Navarati and Dussehra celebrations observed by other Hinduism, in which the Ram lila dance-drama is enacted, celebrating the victory of Rama against Ravana, and effigies of Ravana are burnt. In the 11th or 12th-century Jain text Yasilaka mentions an annual festival dedicated to a warrior goddess, celebrated by a king named Yasilva, who was also a lover of the goddess, and dedicated the festival to his wife, who died in childbirth. The importance of this festival increased during the British Raj in the provinces of Bengal, Odishas and Assam. The puja ends on the tenth day, when devotees embark on a procession carrying the worshipped clay sculpture-idols to a river, or other water body, and immerse them, symbolic of her return to the divine cosmos and her marital home with Shiva in Kailash. The Puja is performed in homes and in the public, the latter featuring temporary stage and structural decorations. The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions. The dates of the Puja are unknown, but are believed to be between the 14th and 16th century, and to have been sponsored by royalty and wealthy families to be celebrated by at least the 16th century. The Festival is an ancient Hinduism according to archeological and textual evidence.
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This page is based on the article Durga Puja published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 24, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
