Shree, Souvenir - Durga Puja 2013, Assam Society of Bangalore Volume I | Page 86

powers of all the three Gods - Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiv.
The fierce battle lasted ten days during which
Mahishasura turned himself into many dreadful
beasts and attempted defeat her. Needless to say,
Durga proved to be more than a match for the asura
and finally slayed Mahishasura on the tenth day
when he was transforming himself into a buffalo.
Every year Durga Puja starts== with Mahalaya the day which marks the beginning of Durga Puja.
This is an invocation to Maa Durga to descend on
earth.
Maha Sashti: with Maha Sashti puja, the
celebration Durga Puja begins. It is the day when
the Goddess is said to descend on earth from
heaven. She is accompanied by her children
Ganesh, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartik. On this day,
the idol of the goddess is unveiled followed by the
Kalparambho, Bodhon (invocation), Amontron and
Adibas.

Maha Saptami: on this day, all nine different plants,
symbolizing the nature-pervading power of the
Goddess, are worshipped followed by
Kalparambho, Mahasnan and Saptami Puja.
Maha Ashtami: This is the most important day of
Durga Puja when young girls are worshipped, which
is known as Kumari Puja. The devotees also
observe the Sandhi Puja, which is performed at the
cusp of the eighth and ninth days. This is supposed
to be the time during which Durga assumes the
terrible and powerful form known as Chamundi.
Maha Navami: this is the final day of Durga Puja
which comes together with the concluding part of
the Sandhi Puja. Maha Navami is a day of great
feasting. Bhog is offered to the Goddess as Prasad
and later distributed among the devotees.
Bijaya Dashami – This is the day of bidding farewell
to Maa Durga. It is an emotional moment for the
devotees who spend a few days serving the
Goddess. As per popular belief Maa Durga again
returns to her abode on this day.
(The writer is originally from Dibrugarh, Assam and
currently working in Tata Consultancy Services, Bengaluru)

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