Skip to main content

Durga Puja

Durga Puja, or the annual celebration of Hindu goddess Durga, is one of India’s grandest festivals. It is a multiple-day celebration varying from 6 days in some parts of the country to 10 days in others. In most of Northern India the festival is celebrated as Navratri (nine nights). Regardless of these variations, the last four days of Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijay Dashami, are particularly important and accordingly celebrated with much splendor around the country.

In most parts of the country, the festival commemorates the victory of the goddess over a demon called Mahishasura. As told by Hindu mythology, the demon was set out to wage war against the gods and it was up to Durga to slay him and protect earth. She began her battle against the demon on the seventh day of Navratri, known as Maha Saptami and slayed him by the final day of Vijay Dashami.

The goddess, known to Hindus as the ‘destroyer of evil’, is characterized by her ten arms carrying various lethal weapons, as well as her vehicle – the lion. Also known as Bhavani, Amba, Chandika, Gauri, Parvati, Mahishasuramardini, Durg a is the ‘Mother goddess’ and the ‘Protector of the Righteous’ to Hindu devotees.

Though the festival is considered to date back to ancient times in the Hindu religion, the first historic record of such a celebration of the goddess is available from the 1500s in West Bengal. However, the festival is considered to have gained a lot of prominence and have emerged to its current status as one of the country’s largest festivals during the country’s independence movement. The goddess was considered by many to be an icon for the country and its freedom struggle.

Today, the festival is celebrated with song and dance, fasting followed by feasts, elaborate decorations, and pujas or grand ceremonies at temples and religious recitals. In some parts of the country idols of the goddess are immersed in water, whereas in other parts of the country young girls dress as the goddess and partake in various rituals at temples and public celebrations.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; February 2, 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand, was a Russian-born American author and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism. Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early novels that were initially unsuccessful and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame with her 1943 novel The Fountainhead. In 1957, she published her best-selling work, the novel Atlas Shrugged. Afterward, until her death in 1982, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays. Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism. In politics, she condemned the initiation ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Native American Sign Language

  Native American sign language Illustrated guides to 400 gestures The illustrations above showing how to communicate using Native American/”Indian” sign language, come from two vintage sources — one in the ’50s, and the other (more comprehensive guide) from the ’20s. Indian Sign Language (1954) From The Golden Digest, Issue 1 (1954) Once they had many Indian tribes in America. They did not all speak the same language. But with sign language, one tribe could understand another.  Here are some things they would say.  Words shown:  Sunset Yes I/me/my Go/go away Horse/horse rider Buffalo Man Rising sun Tipi You Night Native American Sign Language is a visual communication system developed by Indigenous tribes for intertribal dialogue and storytelling. It showcases the cultural depth and linguistic creativity of Native American societies. Native American Sign Language (NASL), also known as Plains Indian Sign Language, is a sophisticated, visual-gestural communi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Remna Ni – Mizoram’s Day of Peace and Unity

Remna Ni, celebrated annually on June 30th in the northeastern state of Mizoram, holds a place of profound historical and emotional significance for the Mizo people. Known as “Peace Day,” Remna Ni commemorates the signing of the Mizo Peace Accord in 1986, which brought an end to two decades of insurgency and unrest in the state. It is a day not only to remember the past but to celebrate the return of peace, stability, and democratic progress in Mizoram.   The origins of Remna Ni lie in a long period of political turmoil. In the 1960s, due to dissatisfaction with the Indian government’s handling of famine and development in the Mizo Hills (then part of Assam), the Mizo National Front (MNF) launched an armed uprising in 1966, demanding independence. What followed was twenty years of armed conflict, curfews, and deep unrest that affected thousands of lives. For two decades, Mizoram remained under military and political tension, isolated from the developmental mainstream of India. ...
Post a Comment
Read more