Durga Puja Festival of West Bengal
Name of Festival : Durga Puja Festival
Major Territory of Celebration
Durga Puja Festival is celebrated in West Bengal and all over India
Time of celebration (Months)
Durga Pooja is celebrated twice a year, once in the month of Chaitra (April-May) and then in Ashwin (September-October).
Worship in Festival
In Janmashtami Festival people worship the Goddess Durga
About Festival
Durga puja or Durgotsava is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga.This festival is performed nine days of Navaratri. This festival is come in the month of october or Ashwin month according to Hindu calendar. This festival is celebrated to all over India but especially in West Bengal.
According to the Hindu mythology this celebration time is not the actual celebration of goddess Durga. This celebration takes place for five consecutive days. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi , Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Bijoya Dashami.
During this time period puja mandaps is arranged and puja pandals have beautifully decorated images of the goddess Durga and community pujas are organised.The religious ceremony starts on Saptami or the 7th day and are observed till Dashami 10th day. On the day of Bijoya dashami, the idols are taken in elaborate processions for immersion in the river or the sea.
Durga Puja also includes the worship of Shiva, and Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, who are considered to be Durga’s children
History
According to Hindu mythology there was demon Mahishasura who attacked the Gods and conquered heaven.Then all the god went to Shiva and Vishnu and prayed for help. Then the energies of the trinity of the Hindu Gods condensed to create the Goddess. Goddess Durga went to battle armed with the weapons given to her by the other Gods and killed the evil Mahishasura
Durga Puja is observed in her honour, to celebrate her victory over evil.
In Bengal, Durga Pooja is also known as Akalbodhan , Durgotsab (festival of Durga), Maayer Pujo (worship of the Mother). This festival is also called Navratri Puja in Gujarat, Delhi ,Maharashtra. It is celebrated as Kullu Dussehra in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh.
