Durga Puja

For the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, see Durga Puja in Kolkata.

Durga Puja
Devi Durga killing Mahishasura with her trident riding her vahana (mount), the lion. Lakshmi and Ganesha flank the left while Saraswati and Kartikeya flank the right.
NicknameDurgotsava, Shaaradotsava
StatusPublic holiday in Indian states of West Bengal, Odisha,Tripura, Bihar, Assam and the country Bangladesh and Nepal[1]
Optional holiday in Pakistan
GenreReligious and cultural festival
BeginsMahalaya
EndsVijaya Dashami
FrequencyAnnual
FoundersRama, according to the legends
ParticipantsMainly Eastern, Northeast India[2] and Hindus in Bangladesh[3] and Nepal[4][5][6][7]
Major eventsWorshipping Hindu deities, family and other social gatherings, shopping and gift-giving, feasting, pandal visiting, and cultural events
Main observationCeremonial worship of Goddess Durga
Explanatory note
Hindu festival dates

The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day).

Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa.

A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar.
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Durga Puja (ISO: Durgā Pūjā), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasura.[8][9] It is particularly celebrated in the Indian state of West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Assam and by Hindus in Bangladesh.[5][6][10][11] The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashvin, which corresponds to September–October in the Gregorian calendar.[12][13] Durga Puja is a ten-day festival,[14][8] of which the last five are of the most significance.[15][13] The puja is performed in homes and public, the latter featuring a temporary stage and structural decorations (known as pandals). The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift-giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions called a melā.[8][16][17] Durga Puja is an important festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism.[18][19][20] Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO in December 2021.[21] In Cuttack(Odisha) Many Durga Idols are Crafted from Silver. 34 Puja mandaps are decorated with silver tableaus. In Odisha the pandals feature stunning decorations, showcasing traditional and contemporary themes that attract thousands of visitors. Durga Puja which is celebrated as Gosani Yatra in Puri. In this festival of Puri, several big clay idols of Mahisamardini Durga are worshipped every year in the month of Asvina (October).

As per Hindu scriptures, the festival marks the victory of goddess Durga in her battle against the shape-shifting Demon, Mahishasura.[22][23][A] Thus, the festival epitomizes the victory of good over evil, though it is also in part a harvest festival celebrating the goddess as the motherly power behind all of life and creation.[25][26] Durga Puja coincides with Navaratri and Dussehra celebrations observed by other traditions of Hinduism.[27][28][29]

The primary goddess revered during Durga Puja is Durga, but celebrations also include other major deities of Hinduism such as Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth and prosperity), Saraswati (the goddess of knowledge and music), Ganesha (the god of good beginnings), and Kartikeya (the god of war). In Bengali traditions, these deities are considered to be Durga's children, and Durga Puja is believed to commemorate Durga's visit to her natal home with her beloved children. The festival is preceded by Mahalaya, which is believed to mark the start of Durga's journey to her natal home. Primary celebrations begin on the sixth day (Shasthi), on which the goddess is welcomed with rituals. The festival ends on the tenth day (Vijaya Dashami), when devotees embark on a procession carrying the worshipped clay sculpture-idols to a river, or other water bodies, and immerse them, symbolic of her return to the divine cosmos and her marital home with Shiva in Kailash. Regional and community variations in celebration of the festival and rituals observed exist.

Durga Puja is an old tradition of Hinduism,[30] though its exact origins are unclear. Surviving manuscripts from the 14th-century provide guidelines for Durga Puja, while historical records suggest that royalty and wealthy families were sponsoring major Durga Puja festivities since at least the 16th-century.[31][self-published source?][18] The prominence of Durga Puja increased during the British Raj in the provinces of Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Assam.[32][9] However, in modern times, the importance of Durga Puja is more as a social and cultural festival than a religious one, wherever it is observed. [citation needed]

Over the years, Durga Puja has morphed into an inseparable part of Indian culture with a diverse group of people celebrating this festival in their unique way while on tradition.[9]

  1. ^ "Nepal Public Holidays". Edarabia.com. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Celebrating Durga puja across India: Top destinations for festive bliss". Business Insider India.
  3. ^ "Durga festival returns to indigenous village after 150 years". Dhaka Tribune. 17 October 2015.
  4. ^ "The Festive Season in Nepal Has Begun. One Month of Holidays- Durga Puja and Dipawali". 21 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b Campbell, R.J. and Little, V. (1989). Humanities in the Primary School. Falmer Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-8500-0544-5. LCCN 89036052.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Ghosh, J. (2019). General Knowledge of Northeast India: For All Psc and Competitive Exams. Educreation Publishing. p. 152.
  7. ^ Rahman, M. (2018). The Political History of Muslim Bengal: An Unfinished Battle of Faith. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-5275-2061-5.
  8. ^ a b c Lochtefeld 2002, p. 208.
  9. ^ a b c Bradley 2012, p. 214.
  10. ^ Dikshit, K.R. and Dikshit, J.K. (2013). North-East India: Land, People and Economy. Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research. Springer Netherlands. pp. 351–353. ISBN 978-9-4007-7055-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ GOYAL, VISHAL (2 January 2013). Manage Your Problems - The Gopal Bhand Way. V&S Publishers. ISBN 978-93-5057-333-4.
  12. ^ Kinsley 1988, pp. 106–108.
  13. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica 2015.
  14. ^ Doniger 1999, p. 306.
  15. ^ Parmita Borah (2 October 2011). "Durga Puja – a Celebration of Female Supremacy". EF News International. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  16. ^ Melton 2011, pp. 239–241.
  17. ^ Amazzone 2011, pp. 82–83.
  18. ^ a b McDermott 2001, pp. 172–174.
  19. ^ Foulston & Abbott 2009, pp. 162–169.
  20. ^ Rodrigues 2003, pp. 7–8.
  21. ^ "UNESCO – Durga Puja in Kolkata". ich.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  22. ^ Daniélou 1991, p. 288.
  23. ^ McDaniel 2004, pp. 215–219.
  24. ^ McDaniel 2004, pp. 20–21, 217–219.
  25. ^ Kinsley 1988, pp. 111–112.
  26. ^ Donner 2016, p. 25.
  27. ^ "Durga Puja (Durga Ashtami) 2020: Is Maa Durga Worthy to Worship?". S A NEWS. 24 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  28. ^ Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 212–213.
  29. ^ Jones & Ryan 2006, pp. 308–309.
  30. ^ "Durga Puja | Traditions & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  31. ^ "Dutta Chaudhuri Ancestry". 14 February 2021.
  32. ^ "Durga Puja". Assam Online Portal. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012.


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