Nilanjana Rai Reward Points : 400 Member Since : Tuesday, July 14, 2009
the Durga Puja are almost on the threshold and West Bengal is gearing up fats to celebrate it with elan. but what are the legends related to this festival?
Posted On : 9/5/2009 5:29:13 AM
Maniam PS [Guru] Reward Points : 137200 Member Since : Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The story goes that Mahisasur, the Buffalo Demon, through years of praying, received blessing from Lord Brahma, that no power can kill him which means he is invincible. But once gaining this power he started ravaging the whole world and killing people. And finally he wanted to uproot the Gods too. The Gods, in dismay, combined their powers to create a beautiful maiden, and each placed his or her most potent weapon in one of her ten hands riding a lion. The beautiful maiden is Durga and she went on to do battle with Mahisasur and eventually killed him. The victory of Durga over Mahisasur is celebrated as Durga Puja. I stand corrected on my explanation.
Posted On : 9/14/2009 10:54:22 PM
Amreeta DG Reward Points : 300 Member Since : Friday, September 18, 2009
Truly enough, Kolkata is all set to welcome its Mother Goddess this year. And yes referring back to your query, there are several legends associated with Durga Pujo. In Bengal, Durga is worshipped as a form of Shakti who vanquished Mahishasura. Being blessed by Brahma, Mahishasura was invincible by god or man. Capitalizing on this boon, Mahishasura attacked both earth and heaven. Exasperated and frightened by his tortures, the devatas in heaven ran to the trinity Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwar for help. Since no man or god can kill Mahishasura, the trinity decided to give form to Durga Shakti, a female form . With ten hands, Durga was armed with weapons gifted by the gods: Shiva gave her the trident, Vishnu his chakra, Vayu god of wind gave her arrows, Vishwakarma- axe, Indra- thunderbolt, Varun- conch shell, Himalaya- lion Durga s vahana , etc. According to legends, after nine days of continuous fighting, Mahishasura was finally killed on the tenth day and thus, earned the name, Mahishasura Mardini. In Bengal it is believed that every year during this time the goddess with her children lakshmi, saraswati, kartik and ganesh visits her maternal house on the earth and after a ten days stay with bishorjon she is sent back to Kailash. Durga Puja usually takes place in spring. It was Lord Rama who worshipped devi Durga in Sharot kaal autumn as he needed aid in killing Ravana. From then on the goddess is worshipped at this time. Hence, usually it is referred to as akal bodhon. In many parts of India, Dashami is celebrated. It is the day when Ravana was killed by Lord Rama.
Durga Puja Legends
