Durga Puja 2017

Durga Puja is one of the major festival of the Indian subcontinent, which is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga. The festival is celebrated during the Navratri which falls in the brighter fortnight (Shukla Paksha) in the month of Ashwin. Durga Puja commemorates the victory of the good over the evil, and leads the way from darkness to light. Durga Puja 2017 dates falls between 26th of September and 30th of September. The festival will continue for a period of five days, starting from the sixth day of Navaratri and continuing till the tenth day of Navaratri 2017, which will be celebrated as Dashmi or Vijayadashmi. The day is widely celebrated in West Bengal with great zeal and gusto.

Days of Durga Puja

• Kalprambha

On the sixth day of the Navaratri, Kalprambha marks the beginning of the festivities of Durga Puja. Ghatasthapana or Kalash sthapana is done on Kalprambha, in which a pot filled with water is duly offered to Goddess Durga before commencing the great festival. On this day, Bilva Nimantran is done by placing a Kalash filled with water under a Bilva tree. This holds immense importance as Bilva is considered precious to Lord Shiva. It is on this day that Akaal Bodhan is done, which signifies the waking up of Goddess Durga from her sleep. It should be remembered that Akaal Bodhan should be done during the evening time only. This year, Kalprambha will be observed on 26 September.

• Nabapatrika Puja - Durga Puja Saptami

On the seventh day (Saptami) of Navaratri, the Nabapatrika Puja is done. As the name suggests, it involves the worship of 9 leaves, which are those of banana, turmeric, pomegranate, ashok, rice, bilva, barley, kacchi and manka. The Nabapatrika Puja is also known as Kolabou Puja. The day commences with a holy bath known as Kolabou Snan, after which the nine leaves are decorated in a white saree with red borders and Goddess Durga idol is placed at the altar. The Praan Pratishtha, Shodashopachara and Maa Durga aarti are performed and Goddess Durga is venerated. As soon as the Puja is over, Prasad in distributed among the family members. It is regarded to be the first day of worship of Goddess Durga. In 2017, Nabapatrika Puja will be performed on September 27.

• Durga Puja Ashtami

The second day of worship of Maa Durga is on the eighth day of Navaratri, which is also known as Maha Durgashtami. On this day, the worship of Goddess Durga is done in the same way like that of saptami, but Praan Pratishtha is not done. Directly after the Maha Snan (great spiritual bath), the rituals for the Shodashopachara Puja are performed. The speciality of this day is that nine pots are kept and all the nine manifestations of the Goddess are worshipped. Another important characteristic of Durga Puja Ashtami is the Kanya Pujan or Kumari Pujan, in which young girls are worshipped in order to exemplify the feminine power of the feminine deity, Goddess Shakti. The Maha Ashtami will be celebrated on 28th of September in 2017.

The time between the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami is known as Sandhi Kaal. It is believed that it was during this time that the Goddess annihilated Asur Chand and Mund. The Sandhi Kaal is considered to be the right time for Durga Puja and Durga Aarti.

• Durga Puja Maha Navmi

The last of the worship of Goddess Durga is celebrated as the Durga Maha Navmi Puja. The rituals of the day involve Maha Snan and Shodashopachara Puja, and also some additional ones including Navami Havan and Durga Balidan. It is considered that it was on this day that Goddess Durga exterminated the demon Mahishasura, hence she is glorified with the name Mahishasur Mardini, meaning the slayer of Mahishasur. The Durga Maha Navami Puja will be celebrated on 29 September, 2017.

Durga Balidan is also observed by making a sacrifice to Goddess Durga. Now that it is believed to be unethical to sacrifice an animal, Hindus symbolically make sacrifice of various fruits and vegetables.

• Durga Visarjan and Vijayadashami

The Durga Puja is concluded with Durga Visarjan, in which the idol of Goddess Durga is immersed in water as a holy practice. It is after the Durga Visarjan that most of the people break their fasts. The day also witnesses the celebration of the Sindoor Utsav, in which married women play with vermilion (sindoor) and put it on each other with great joy and fervour. The Durga Visarjan 2017 will be carried out on September 30 this year.

The day marks the victory of good over evil. It was on the same day that Lord Rama killed Ravana and rescued his wife, Goddess Sita. the day is celebrated with unswerving devotion and joy in all the country, especially in West Bengal, where people flood the streets with processions and create a joyful environment with their festive activities.

Legend

The Durga Puja festival comes to end on Dashami, the day of victory. It is believed that Mahishasur was a demon, born of a female buffalo and an Asur. Mahishasur got the boon that he could not be defeated by anyone, but a woman was an exception. Mahishasur regarded it to be the boon of immortality as he never imagined a woman could overpower him. He started a war against the Gods (Devtas) and created chaos in all the Lokas. Then emerged Goddess Durga, who slayed the demon during the Sandhi Kaal and protected all the Lokas.

Importance of Durga Puja

It is believed that Goddess Durga nurtures, cares, and protects all her devotees who have a true love and devotion for her. Thus, the devotees take Durga Puja as a golden chance to appease the goddess and obtain her choicest blessings.

Here, at MyKundali we hope that Goddess Durga confers upon you her divine blessings and save you from every negative thing that might harm you and your loved ones!