5/5 Arijit G. 8 months ago on Google
It
is
a
place
for
Durga
Puja
worship.
Durga
Puja
(ISO:
Durgā
Pūjā),
also
known
as
Durgotsava
or
Sharodotsav,
is
an
annual
Hindu
festival
originating
in
the
Indian
subcontinent
which
reveres
and
pays
homage
to
the
Hindu
goddess
Durga,
and
is
also
celebrated
because
of
Durga's
victory
over
Mahishasura.
It
is
celebrated
all
over
the
world
by
the
Hindu
community,
but
it
is
particularly
popular
and
traditionally
celebrated
in
the
Indian
state
of
West
Bengal,
and
other
states
like
Bihar,
Assam,
Tripura,
Odisha,
Jharkhand,
Uttar
Pradesh
(eastern
parts)
and
some
other
countries
like
Bangladesh,
Nepal
and
Sri
Lanka.
The
festival
is
observed
in
the
Indian
calendar
in
the
month
of
Ashwin,
which
corresponds
to
September–October
in
the
Gregorian
calendar.
Durga
Puja
is
a
ten-day
festival,
of
which
the
last
five
are
of
the
most
significance.
The
puja
is
performed
in
homes
and
public,
the
latter
featuring
a
temporary
stage
and
structural
decorations
(known
as
pandals).
The
festival
is
also
marked
by
scripture
recitations,
performance
arts,
revelry,
gift-giving,
family
visits,
feasting,
and
public
processions,
Melā.
Durga
Puja
is
an
important
festival
in
the
Shaktism
tradition
of
Hinduism.
Durga
Puja
in
Kolkata
has
been
inscribed
on
the
intangible
cultural
heritage
list
of
UNESCO
in
December
2021.
The
Hindu
calendar
is
lunisolar
but
most
festival
dates
are
specified
using
the
lunar
portion
of
the
calendar.
A
lunar
day
is
uniquely
identified
by
three
calendar
elements:
māsa
(lunar
month),
pakṣa
(lunar
fortnight)
and
tithi
(lunar
day).
Furthermore,
when
specifying
the
masa,
one
of
two
traditions
are
applicable,
viz.
amānta
/
pūrṇimānta.
Iff
a
festival
falls
in
the
waning
phase
of
the
moon,
these
two
traditions
identify
the
same
lunar
day
as
falling
in
two
different
(but
successive)
masa.
A
lunar
year
is
shorter
than
a
solar
year
by
about
eleven
days.
As
a
result,
most
Hindu
festivals
occur
on
different
days
in
successive
years
on
the
Gregorian
calendar.
As
per
Hindu
scriptures,
the
festival
marks
the
victory
of
goddess
Durga
in
her
battle
against
the
shape-shifting
asura,
Mahishasura.
Thus,
the
festival
epitomizes
the
victory
of
good
over
evil,
though
it
is
also
in
part
a
harvest
festival
celebrating
the
goddess
as
the
motherly
power
behind
all
of
life
and
creation.
Durga
Puja
coincides
with
Navaratri
and
Dussehra
celebrations
observed
by
other
traditions
of
Hinduism.
The
primary
goddess
revered
during
Durga
Puja
is
Durga,
but
celebrations
also
include
other
major
deities
of
Hinduism
such
as
Lakshmi
(the
goddess
of
wealth
and
prosperity),
Saraswati
(the
goddess
of
knowledge
and
music),
Ganesha
(the
god
of
good
beginnings),
and
Kartikeya
(the
god
of
war).
In
Bengali
traditions,
these
deities
are
considered
to
be
Durga's
children,
and
Durga
Puja
is
believed
to
commemorate
Durga's
visit
to
her
natal
home
with
her
beloved
children.
The
festival
is
preceded
by
Mahalaya,
which
is
believed
to
mark
the
start
of
Durga's
journey
to
her
natal
home.
Primary
celebrations
begin
on
the
sixth
day
(Shasthi),
on
which
the
goddess
is
welcomed
with
rituals.
The
festival
ends
on
the
tenth
day
(Vijaya
Dashami),
when
devotees
embark
on
a
procession
carrying
the
worshipped
clay
sculpture-idols
to
a
river,
or
other
water
body,
and
immerse
them,
symbolic
of
her
return
to
the
divine
cosmos
and
her
marital
home
with
Shiva
in
Kailash.
Regional
and
community
variations
in
celebration
of
the
festival
and
rituals
observed
exist.
Durga
Puja
is
an
old
tradition
of
Hinduism,
though
its
exact
origins
are
unclear.
Surviving
manuscripts
from
the
14th—century
provide
guidelines
for
Durga
Puja,
while
historical
records
suggest
that
royalty
and
wealthy
families
were
sponsoring
major
Durga
Puja
festivities
since
at
least
the
16th-century.[self-published
source?
The
prominence
of
Durga
Puja
increased
during
the
British
Raj
in
the
provinces
of
Bengal,
Odisha
and
Assam.
However,
in
modern
times,
the
importance
of
Durga
Puja
is
more
as
a
social
and
cultural
festival
than
a
religious
one,
wherever
it
is
observed.
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