Durga Puja

Durga Puja is a popular Hindu festival celebrated every year in the whole of India. This great festival is dedicated to goddess Durga and is also celebrated to celebrate the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura a demon. It is celebrated mostly by Hindus all over the world. Durga puja is mostly popular in many Indian states like West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, etc., and is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm.

According to the Hindu calendar, this great festival is celebrated in the month of Ashwin. During September–October all over the country. Durga Puja is celebrated for ten of which the last five are celebrated with more interest with several rituals.

This festival is dedicated is Goddess Durga but these great celebrations also include other major gods and goddesses of Hinduism such as the goddess of wealth and prosperity- Goddess Laxmi, The goddess of knowledge and music- Goddess Saraswati, The god of good beginnings- Lord Ganesha, and The god of war- Lord Kartikeya who are believed to be the children of Goddess Durga according to Odia traditions.

Durga Puja is believed to mark the visit of Goddess Durga to her parent’s home with her beloved children from Kailash Parvat. The festival is started by Mahalaya, which is believed to mark the start of Goddess Durga’s journey to her parent’s home.

Durga festival in India is celebrated for 10 days. The last five days are extremely important for the devotee as puja is celebrated with great grandeur. The popular Durga festival starts with Mahalaya. Mahalaya is a day when the Hindus invite Goddesses to visit earth and also they pay homage to the loved ones who have died.

The 6th day is called Shasthi according to the Hindu calendar. On the 6th day, Goddess Durga is welcomed by the people. The 7th day is called Saptami, the 8th day is called Ashtami, and the 9th day is called Navami which are the main days of this great festival. During these days Goddess Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Lord Ganesh, and Karthikeya are also worshipped along with goddess Durga.

In Odisha, Durga puja is Celebrated everywhere but it is the main festival of Cuttack.

History of Durga Puja

It is believed that on this day, Goddess Durga had killed the demon named Mahisasura. Once, the God Brahma was impressed with the tapasya of Mahisashura and blessed him.  With his blessing, Mahisashura became so powerful that no one could defeat him. No man or animal on earth possesses the power to defeat him.

By seeing the cruelty of Mahisashura, all the Gods became concerned and were helpless and came to seek help from Lord Brahma, Lord Brahma gave them a solution. As the blessing did not mention “woman”, so, he gave the solution that a woman could kill him. All the gods with his power created a woman known as Goddess Durga. A woman with extreme power who can defeat evil power with her goodwill and purity.

Then goddess Durga had a war with Mahisashura and she defeated him.

Why Durga Puja is Celebrated

Durga puja is Celebrated every year to mark the victory of good over evil. In which goddess Durga, goddess of strength overcame the evil power and defeated the demon Mahishasura, who had gained a boon from Lord Brahma that no man or animal can kill him, but a woman killed him and eradicated evil from the earth.

On this day, the great Lord Rama had also defeated Ravana, an evil power who had kidnapped goddess Sita and wanted to marry her.

People celebrate Durga puja every year to worship Goddess Durga and invite her to earth from Kailash Parvat to remove evil from the earth. Durga is the goddess of strength who overcame all the evil powers. It is believed that during Durga puja goddesses come to earth to shower blessings upon their children and devotees.

Who started Durga puja?

The landlords and zamindar of Dinajpur and Malda started the first Durga Puja celebration in Bengal and from then Durga Puja is Celebrated everywhere in the country annually as a grand celebration. It is believed that during Durga Puja goddesses come to earth with her children and shower blessings upon their devotees.

Highlights of Durga Puja

Durga Puja is a great festival that marks the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura.

According to the Hindu calendar, Durga Puja is celebrated during Ashwin’s seventh month of the Hindu calendar, which falls between September and October.

The first day of Durga Puja is Mahalaya, the day on which goddesses are invited to earth, and also marks the arrival of the goddess Durga along with her children on earth from Kailash Parvat.

The last day of Durga Puja is known as Dashami which is the day when goddess Durga achieved her victory over the demon Mahishasura and removed evil from earth.

Durga puja is Celebrated in every temple of Goddess Durga as a grand celebration.

Temples are decorated with lights, flowers, and pandals in which Durga man’s idol made up of clay along with other Gods are installed in temples.

Celebrations of this 10-day festival are done with great joy and enthusiasm. Many rituals and puja take place to bring goddesses to earth.

People enjoy this festival by worshipping goddesses, enjoying sweets, and foods, visiting temples, enjoying evening Aarti, and keeping Navratri fast for 9 days for the well-being of the family.

People wear new dresses during Durga Puja and visit Many pandals with their families to seek the blessings of the goddess.

Ladies apply sindoor on each other on the day of Vijay Dashami and bid farewell to the goddess.

It is also believed that on Vijay Dashami, Lord Ram has also killed Ravana. That’s why on Dashmi, the statue of Ravana is destroyed everywhere which marks the eradication of evil power from earth.

Importance of days during Durga puja

Mahalaya

On Mahalaya day, it is believed that on this day Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswar created Lord Durga with their power to kill the demon king Mahisasura. Therefore, this day is marked as the arrival of Goddess Durga from Kailash Parvat to earth.

On the day of Mahalaya, the sculptors make the eyes of Goddess Durga’s idol which is made up of clay and fill colors in them, and several special pujas are performed.

On this day, every year goddess Durga is invited to Earth to eradicate evil from Earth. From this day, the celebration of Durga Puja starts.

Maha Navami

Maha Navami is the ninth day of the celebration of Durga puja. It is believed to be the final day of the battle between Goddess Durga and  Mahishasura, in which Maa Durga proves victorious kills Mahisasura, and eradicates evil from the earth.

Vijaya Dashami

The final day of Durga Puja also known as Vijaya Dashami, or Dussehra is marked by several traditional practices.

As per Hindu mythology, it was the day when Goddess Durga marked victory over the demon Mahishasura.

To enjoy the victory of the goddess, On this day, women bring sweets to the pandals and offer them to the idols, pray to the goddess, and seek blessing from her. They also give sindoor, or vermillion powder to idols, which is very famous in the Hindu religion.

Visarjan

On the day of visarjan, the idols are taken to a nearby lake pond, or river with drums, a DJ, etc.. People sing and dance with happiness, play abir with each other, and then the idol of the goddess is immersed in water bodies, and this is considered as the final act that marks the end of this great festival.

Durga puja 2023

• Mahalaya- 14th October, 2023
• Panchami, Fifth day – 19th October, 2023
• Shasthi, sixth day- 20th October, 2023
• Saptami, Seventh-day – 21st October, 2023
• Ashtami, Eighth and biggest day- 22nd October, 2023
• Navami, Ninth day- 23rd October, 2023
• Dashami, Dussehra- 24th October, 2023

Durga puja 2022

• Mahalaya- 25th September, 2022
• Panchami, Fifth day – 30th September, 2022
• Shasthi, sixth day- 1st October, 2022
• Saptami, Seventh-day – 2nd October, 2022
• Ashtami, Eighth and biggest day- 3rd October, 2022
• Navami, Ninth day- 4th October, 2022
• Dashami, Dussehra- 5th October, 2022

Durga puja 2024

• Mahalaya- 3rd October, 2024
• Panchami, Fifth day – 8th October, 2024
• Shasthi, sixth day-9th October 2024
• Saptami, Seventh-day – 10th October, 2024
• Ashtami, Eighth and biggest day- 11th October, 2024
• Navami, Ninth day- 12th October, 2024
• Dashami, Dussehra- 13th October, 2024

Famous city for Durga Puja Celebration in Odisha

In Odisha, Cuttack is a famous place for the Durga Puja celebration where more than 100 pandals are created. Durga puja is the main festival of Cuttack in Odisha.

Cuttack is the second largest city in Odisha located on the bank of river Mahanadi. Cuttack is also known as Silver City.

How to reach Cuttack

Reaching Cuttack is easy. Though it is the second-largest city in Odisha. It is well connected to other major cities through railways and roadways.

By Air

Cuttack does not have an airport, Biju Patnaik International Airport is the nearest airport from Cuttack which is about 32 km from Cuttack. This airport is well connected to other states of India.

By Rail

Cuttack Junction is the major railway station of Cuttack which is well connected to all major cities of India.

By Road

Cuttack is well connected to each major city of India through well-constructed roads. It is about 25 km away from Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha.

FAQs- Frequently Asked Questions