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The story of Durga Puja

Rajib Kumar Das
Creation of Goddess Durga
GODDESS Durga represents a united front of all Divine forces against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. The gods in heaven decided to create an all-powerful being to kill the demon king Mahishasur who was ready to attack them. At that very moment a stream of lightning dazzled forth from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and it turned into a beautiful, magnificent woman with ten hands. Then all the gods furnished her with their special weapons. The image of Durga, the Eternal Mother destroying the demon, Mahishasur is symbolic of the final confrontation of the spiritual urge of man with his baser passions.
Pandavas
As per our great epic Mahabharat, Pandavas after wandering in the forest for 12 years, hung their
weapons on a Shami tree before entering the court of King Virat to spend the last one year in disguise. After the completion of that year on Vijayadashmi, the day of Dussehra, they brought down the weapons from the Shami tree and declared their true identity. Since that day the exchange of Shami leaves on Dussehra day became symbols of good, will and victory.
Lord Rama
This festival has immense mythological significance. As per Ramayan, Ram did chandi-puja and invoked the blessings of Durga to kill Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka who had abducted Seeta and had charmed life. Durga divulged the secret to Ram as to how he could kill Ravana. Then after vanquishing him, Ram with Seeta and Laxman returned victorious to his kingdom of Ayodhya on Diwali day.
Kautsa
Kautsa, the young son of Devdatt, insisted that his guru Varatantu accept "gurudakshina," after finishing his education. After lots of persistence his guru finally asked for 14 crore gold coins, one crore for each of the 14 sciences he taught Kautsa. Kautsa went to king Raghuraj, who was known for his generosity and was an ancestor of Rama. But just at that time he had emptied all his coffers on the Brahmins, after performing the Vishvajit sacrifice. So, the king went to Lord Indra and asked for the gold coins. Indra summoned Kuber, the god of wealth. Indra told Kuber: "Make a rain of gold coins fall on theshanu and apati trees round Raghuraja's city of Ayodhya." The rain of coins began to fall. King Raghu gave all the coins to Kautsa, who gave 14 crores gold coins to his gum. The remaining coins were lavishly distributed to the people of Ayodhya city. This happened on the day of Dussehra. In remembrance of this event the custom is kept of looting the leaves of the apati trees, and people present each other these leaves as sone (gold).
During Durga Puja, God in the form of the Divine Mother is worshiped in Her various forms as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Though the Goddess is one, She is represented and worshiped in three different aspects. On the first three nights of the festival, Durga is worshiped. On the following three, Lakshmi and then Saraswati Devi on the last three nights. The following tenth day is called Vijayadasami. Vijaya means "victory;" the victory over one's own mind that can come only when these three -- Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati - are worshiped.
Meaning of Durga
Durga is perhaps the most widely worshiped deity of Shakti. Maa Durga's divine characterization including the entire Devibhagavatham is dedicated to her. Durga means one who is difficult to approach. However, since she is the mother of universe, she is the personification of tender love, wealth, power, beauty and all virtues.
Implications of the idol The complete image of Goddess Durga represents destruction of evil and protection of good, and reflects the point that in order to become divine one should keep one's animal instincts under control. Thus, by worshiping Durga the idea of ruthless destruction is invoked to annihilate all the desires and unfold divinity.
Its connotation
In Bengal, Goddess Durga is worshiped for nine days. In South India, an altar decorated with a stepped platform and filled with small images of gods, animals, birds and other beings, animate and inanimate, is worshiped for nine days. This altar is known as the Kolu. People re-dedicate themselves to their profession. On this day, a child also begins to learn the alphabet in a ceremony known as aksarabhyasa. This day marks the beginning of any type of learning. One offers gifts to one's teachers, seeks their blessings, and prays for success in one's new endeavours.
The writer is Documentation and Finance Assistant, Char Livelihood Programme. Email: das.rajibkumar85@yahoo.com