There are several stories behind the worship of Devi Durga. One is the story of Ram invoking the goddess for his victory over Ravan. Another is that Mother Durga visits her parents’ home with her children-Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati from Kailash. In keeping with this tradition, Bengali households don the role of Durga’s paternal home and begin preparing for the annual home coming. Yet another is the slaying of Mahishasur by Devi Durga. All in all, Durga Puja celebrates the feminine aspect of divinity-both maternal and fierce, that creates life, protects good and destroys evil. The message of woman empowerment through Durga Puja where the Goddess is worshipped as a Mother and warrior and not as a consort to a God is clear.
In picture: The Idol is composed of Durga at the centre flanked on her left by Saraswati(Goddess of learning&arts) and kartik (God of war) and on her right by Laskhmi (Goddess of wealth) and Ganesh(remover of obstacles).On extreme right is the Kola Bou. All the gods&goddesses are depicted with their respective steed.
1. Akal Bodhon or Untimely Worship (অকাল বোধন)- The worship of Goddess Durga is customarily during Spring (Basanto Pujo). In Bengal, we worship her in the month of Ashwin, the time when Ram prayed to Durga for victory in battle against Ravan. The battle started on Saptami and Ravan was killed on Dashami. Ram's Durga Puja was first depicted in Krittivasi Ramayan composed in 15th century.
2. Ulta Rath- Traditionally, the sculptors start making the idols on the day of the return of the Jagannath Rath(Ulta Rath). The piece of wood from the previous year's structure called Katahmo is used in the making of the idol after a special Katahmo Puja. Katahmo is basically the skeletal structure of the idol around which the clay is used to fashion the Goddess and her family. So the wooden frame is reused every year.
3. Punya Mati or Mud from prostitute’s house- Work on the idol starts with Mud begged from the house of a courtesan as a gift or blessing. One explanation is that people who visit the prostitutes for sex leave their purity and virtue outside the door, thus making the soil in front of the home of a prostitute virtuous. Another is that the festival and worship of the goddess includes everybody and prostitutes are an example of those who live on the fringes of society.
4. Mahalaya- is the day of the new moon at the beginning of Autumn when the gods are awakened and marks the beginning of Devi Paksha. During Mahalaya Amavasya, people offer prayers to their ancestors at early dawn. The ritual is called Shraddh or Tarpan. This is the day Goddess starts her journey to her earthly home to bestow her blessings. On this day, the artist draws the eyes of the Goddess on the idol.
5. Bodhan- As this is Akaal Bodhan or untimely worship, separate ritual is performed to infuse life into the idol. The Main Puja, or worship, starts on "Shashthi" i.e. sixth day, generally underneath a "Bael" tree and by installing a Ghat(Copper Pot with Ganga water). At dusk, the "Pran" or life of the the goddess is brought from a nearby pond or water body, wrapped in a Banana plant and then reinstated on the "Ghat" and then to the Image. The process of virtually implanting life into the Ghat and then into the Image is known as "Bodhan".
6. Kola Bou or Nabapatrika- popularly known as Lord Ganesh's wife. It is an ancient ritual of worshiping nine types of plants (or nine forms of the goddess), together worshiped as a symbol of the goddess. The nine plants comprising Nabapatrika are: the Banana plant, the Colacassia plant, the Turmeric plant, the Jayanti tree, the Wood apple tree, the Pomegranate tree, the Arum plant, the Rice plant and the Ashoka tree. Nabapatrika was actually a popular ritual performed by the peasant folks for prosperous harvest during Autumn, the time for reaping crops. As idol worship was not common then, people worshipped Mother Nature. Later when Durga Puja became a popular festival of "Sharat", all the nine holy rituals of the Nabapatrika were added to the ceremonies of Durga Puja. During the olden times the holy bath was an elaborate affair. All the nine Goddesses representing Nabapatrika are bathed with waters from 8 different holy places accompanied with Dhaak and bells. She is then adorned in a typically bengali white saree with red border and vermilion is smeared on the leaves. Offerings of flowers, sandalwood paste and incense sticks are made. Later Kola Bou is placed on the right side of the Lord Ganesha. This takes place on Saptami morning.
7. Blue Lotus-Before Ram started the war, he invoked the goddess for blessings and victory. But Ravan had already prayed to the goddess and received the boon that she would sit on his chariot. So, Bibhishan suggested Rama that the latter should try once again to appease Goddess Durga by offering 108 blue lotuses. Summoned by Ram, Hanuman flew to Debidaha, the only place where one could find blue lotuses. In the course of the puja which Ram started on Saptami, Durga hid one lotus to test Ram. When Ram found only 107 blue lotus at the altar, he plucked out his own eye (Ram’s eyes were described as lotus like and blue). At that moment on Ashtami, Devi Durga appeared in front of him and gave Rama the boon that she would leave the chariot of Ravan, thus ensuring his victory.
8. Sandhi Pujo and Kumari Pujo- Sandhi Pujo, the most important ritual of Durga Pujo is conducted in last 24 minutes of Ashtami and first 24 minutes of navami that constitute the Sandhi or ''Sacred Juncture''.That is the moment Chanda and Munda were killed by Goddess Chamunda and Mahishasur was slayed by Durga. Many "Rajbaris", including, the zamindar of Sutanuti of Sobhabajar Rajbari fired cannon balls to announce the "Sandhikhan". An animal sacrifice is also given during this “Sacred juncture”. Worship of a young girl, treating her as Devi, is also a part of Ashtami Pujo and was started at Belur math by Swami Vivekananda.
9. Sindoor Khela-is a part of Boron or the farewell to the goddess who has to leave her parents’ home for her abode at kailash. The married women bid her farewell by exchanging vermillon marks on each other’s foreheads and also on the forehead of Goddess Durga. The women take a last look at the Goddess by looking at her reflection in a mirror/water placed near the idol. After immersion, sweets are also exchanged along with "Kolakuli" or mutual hugging and this ritual is known as Bijoya. Bijoya ensures friendship among individuals who then collectively vow to spend the year ahead in Peace and Harmony and to ward off any evil or hardship.
10. Neelkanth bird or Blue jay-The blue throated bird is regarded as the bird of Shiva (Shiva is also known as blue throated one or neelkanth after taking the poison that was churned out of the ocean). This bird is released just before the immersion of the Goddess in the Ganges and is supposed to act as a messenger to Shiva that Durga is on her way back to Kailash.
Beautifully handmade Goddess Durga with her family in miniature by the immensely talented Jini Seal.This has been made of clay and fixed on a wooden frame and is about 20" wide and 12" tall. The weapons are individually crafted of wire.
Very nicely written, lot of these stories we've heard time and again here and there, in bits and pieces, its very nice to have them all at one place. Kinds of provides an insight to the complete festival of Durga Puja and the significance of the event and rituals. Good Job.
ReplyDelete