I acknowledge the source of compilation and web-link at the end of this write up.
The Glory of Autumn
Autumn (Sharat) is regarded as one of the best seasons in India. The sun is on his southward journey and, as his blazing rays begin to slant, the subcontinent feels freedom from the oppressive heat of summer months. The monsoon has infused new life into trees, shrubs, creepers, herbs, grass, moss and lichen; and Gaia, the Earth Goddess, shows herself off in her richly embroidered green apparel of lush vegetation everywhere.
In the villages there is a look of plentitude and peace. The granaries are full with freshly garnered grain, the fields offer large open spaces with cattle grazing here and there, and along the borders of fields you can see rows of white and light pink kashphool (flowers of a kind of tall grass) tassels waving triumphantly in the breeze. Overhead, the sky is deep blue with an occasional white cloud sailing across lazily to an unknown destination. A kind of mystic silence pervades the air, broken only by the laughter of children playing here and there.
It is as if Nature has prepared herself for the advent of the Divine Mother. Indeed, which other season can be a better one to welcome the Divine Mother than autumn? And Durga Puja is about the advent of the Divine Mother.
Worship of the Divine Mother
Worship of the Divine Mother is one of the oldest forms of worship known to humanity. In prehistoric times, God was worshipped as the Divine Mother all over the world. Evidences for Mother Worship have been recovered in different places in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. But it is only in India that Mother worship went beyond the framework of a cult and became a full-fledged living religion supported by an advanced theology, scriptures, rites, customs and festivals which are followed by millions of people even in modern times. And in Bengal, worship of God as Mother attained the highest form of a cultural refinement and ritual sophistication, and became the dominant faith and practice of the people.
Sri Ramakrishna used to say: ''To look upon God as Mother is the purest and the highest form of Sadhana'' (Matribhav shuddha bhav, sadhanar shesh katha). Why did he say that? Because Mother's love is the most unselfish and unconditional form of human love. For a child, mother is all sufficient: apart from giving birth, she provides everything that the child needs - nourishment, protection, warmth, comfort, training, education. To look upon God as Mother is to make God all-sufficient in one's life. It is a very natural, intimate and purest form of relationship.
Mother Worship in India
Worship of God as Mother has prevailed in India from prehistoric times. It was perhaps in vogue in Mohenjodaro-Harappa civilization. In the Rig Veda, there is a wonderful hymn known as Devi-Suktam (which is chanted during Durga Puja days) in which the Divine Mother declares that She moves with the Rudras, Vasus, Adityas, and all other gods, that She is the power of all gods, that She is the Queen of the world, and so on.
It is, however, in the Devi-Mahatmya, popularly known as the Chandi, that worship of the Divine Mother assumes an independent, supreme status. Although Chandi forms a part of Markandeya Purana, it is treated as an independent scripture. For devotees of the Divine Mother, especially in Bengal, Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu, Chandi is regarded as the most sacred and valued scripture. It was composed sometime between the 6th and 9th centuries AD.
Another authoritative book on Shakti worship is Devi-Bhagavatam. Between the 6th and 16th centuries a class of Shakta scriptures known as the Tantras (believed to be 63 in all) came into existence. The Tantras became popular in three areas, namely Bengal, Kerala and Kashmir, which form the three angles of a geographical triangle.
Worship of the Divine Mother is prevalent all over India - from Kanyakumari (famous for its Kanyakumari temple) to Kashmir (Kshirbhavani temple) and from Rajasthan (Amba temple) to Kolkata (Kalighat temple). In fact, there is hardly any large area in India which does not have a Devi temple. Great heroes of the past worshipped the Divine Mother. Sri Rama is said to have worshipped Durga before killing Ravana. Shivaji, the great Maratha king, was a votary of Bhavani. Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, is also said to have been a worshipper of Mother Durga.
Different Forms of Divine Mother
Although the Divine Mother is only one, Her manifestations are many. During the early centuries of the Christian Era, the Divine Mother was worshipped as an independent and Supreme Goddess. She was mostly pictured as riding a lion (Simha-vahini). This is the image of Durga we find in the Chandi where she appears as Chamundeshvari and Mahishasura-mardini.
In later centuries, the Divine Mother came to be regarded as the spouse of God Shiva. Here again, there were two schools. In one school, the Divine Mother and Shiva are regarded as equal in power. This school, known as ''Samya'', is the more common one, especially in South India. In the other school, known as ''Kaula'', the Divine Mother as Kali is regarded as the dynamic principle, and Shiva as the passive principle. This school is most prevalent in Bengal, and also in Kashmir and Kerala.
The Divine Mother is regarded as having ''Ten Great Wisdom Forms'' (Dasha-mahavidya). These ten Goddesses are:
1. Kali
2. Tara
3. Tripura Sundari
4. Bhuvaneshwari
5. Bhairavi
6. Chhinnamasta
7. Dhumavati
8. Bagalamukhi
9. Matangi (Saraswati)
10. Kamala (Lakshmi)
Navaratri and Durga Puja
The nine days from the first day after the new moon (known as Mahalaya) in the Indian month of Ashwin to the 9th day constitute the festival of Navaratri which is observed all over India. During this period, the Divine Mother is worshipped in some form or other. The majority of Hindus who cannot conduct such worship at home visit Mother's temple in their locality after taking bath and putting on new clothes. The tenth day is known as Dassera. In the northern parts of India, on this day the life of Rama (known as Ramlila) is enacted in public. In many parts of India, on this day weapons, implements, instruments, etc are worshipped. [In Bengal, this worship of tools and implements takes place on another special day known as Vishwakarma Puja.]
It is during this period of Navaratri that Durga Puja is celebrated in Bengal. The celebration of Durga Puja is a unique feature of the socio-religious culture of Bengal. In no other part of India does the worship of Durga affect the lives of the people so deeply as it does in Bengal. Festivities begin from Mahalaya and go on for nearly a month. During this period, people put on new clothes, worship the Divine Mother at any of the beautiful Durga pandals put up in different parts of the city or town, and enjoy feasts.
The most striking aspect of Durga Puja is the image of the Divine Mother as Mahishasura-mardini. Here the Divine Mother is seen as having ten arms, each wielding a weapon. [Hence She is described as Dasha-prahara-dharini.] Once the image is consecrated, and the Deity is invoked in it, it undergoes a transfiguration. It is no longer a clay image but the living Goddess, radiating power, knowledge, love and joy, the benign Mother of the Universe who has come to bless Her children and to assure them of Her love, help and protection.
Another prominent feature of Durga Puja celebration is the gorgeous Pandal or Durga dalan in which the worship is conducted. Durga Puja is meant for public worship, in which a large number of people participate. Its rituals and paraphernalia are quite expensive. Formerly only kings and aristocratic families could afford to celebrate such public worship. But in modern times Durga Puja is done through organized community effort. People of a locality or street form a celebration committee, take collections and put up the imposing pandal.
Who first started this kind of public celebration of Durga Puja? The generally accepted view is that it was Kamsa-narayan, king of Tahirpur in Rajshahi District (now in Bangladesh), who first started the present style of public celebration of Durga Puja around the year 1600.
Commingling of Legends
What is the mythological basis of Durga Puja? Several mythological legends have commingled to form the basis of Durga Puja. These are mentioned below:
1. Before fighting Ravana, Sri Ramachandra was advised by Narada to propitiate Devi Durga. According to Hindu mythology, during the six months of the sun's southward journey the gods remain asleep. (They remain awake during the six months when the sun moves northward.) So Rama had to awaken the Goddess first. This is why the first ritual in Durga Puja is the awakening (bodhan) of Durga. This legend is found in the Ramayana in Bengali written by Krittivas. In some other Puranas it is mentioned that, when Rama wanted to propitiate Devi, it was Brahma who did the awakening.
The present-day Durga Puja is, thus, a commemoration of the first Durga Puja performed by Sri Rama.
2. The second legend is about the coming of Devi Uma from Her abode in Kailash to the home of her parents - Himavat and Menaka. She comes riding a lion. In the Vedas, Uma is first mentioned in the Kena Upanishad where She is described as Uma Haimavati. It is a popular belief in Bengal that Uma comes and stays with the people for three days. A whole set of songs, known as Agamani, describing the homecoming of Uma has come into existence. These songs are sung during the days preceding Durga Puja. These songs serve to spiritualize Hindu mother's love and concern for their married daughters.
3. The third legend is about Sati Devi. Although neither Sati nor Uma is mentioned in the Chandi, in the mool-mantra used in Durga Puja, Sri Durga is addressed as Daksha-yajna-vinashini, ''The Destroyer of Daksha's sacrifice.''
Daksha was one of the Prajapatis or Creators of the Universe. He had eight daughters, of whom the eldest was Sati. Against her father's wish, Sati married the great God Shiva who was an ascetic wearing matted hair and leading an unconventional life on Mount Kailash. After some years, the roving Rishi Narada reached Kailash and gave the news that Daksha was going to conduct a big sacrifice to which all gods and goddesses were invited, except Sati and Shiva. Although uninvited, Sati went to see her father. But Daksha spoke insultingly of Shiva and, unable to bear the insult, Sati fell down dead. Shiva was naturally enraged; and his anger burnt to ashes Daksha and his sacrifice, and then Shiva began a dance of destruction. But the gods intervened, and Shiva finally returned to His meditation in Mount Kailash. Sati was reborn as Parvati who, after years of intense tapas, got Shiva as Her husband once again.
The mool-mantra, Daksha-yajna-vinashinyai, refers to the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice mentioned above. It is, however, quite obvious that this great Mantra has some deeper mystic, esoteric meaning far beyond the mythological significance.
4. The most important legend which is central to Durga Puja is about Durga, and forms the theme of Chandi. The word Durga literally means one who ''protects like a fort'' or one who ''destroys the evil consequences'' of our actions (durgati-nashini). In the Chandi, Durga is mostly referred to simply as Devi, the Goddess, and occasionally as Ambika. She is an independent, supreme Goddess, not the consort of any male God.
As already mentioned, the Chandi is one of the oldest scriptures on Mother Worship. It was obviously composed before the sectarian divisions of Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism entered Hinduism. Hence Devi is referred to in this book as the Power of Vishnu and also addressed as Narayani repeatedly.
Durga in Chandi
The Chandi is divided into three parts. In the first part Devi appears as Mahamaya which is described as yoga-nidra of Vishnu. That is to say, Mahamaya is the power of Tamas which makes people lethargic, indolent and sleepy. Under the influence of this cosmic delusive Power, Lord Vishnu went to sleep. At that time two demons by name Madhu and Kaitabh came out the ears of Vishnu and attacked Brahma the Creator God. Brahma then praised the Divine Mother as Mahamaya or Yoga-nidra. Pleased with the petition, she withdrew herself from Vishnu's body. Vishnu now woke up and killed Madhu and Kaitabh.
In the second part Devi appears as Mahishasura-mardini and is also called Chandika. The story goes that when a powerful demon by name Mahishasura was the king of the Asuras (demons), they attacked the Devas (gods) and vanquished them. The defeated gods went to Shiva and Vishnu and complained about the atrocities of Mahishasura. Hearing this, Vishnu, Shiva and other presiding Deities became angry. The rays of their anger combined to form a supremely powerful and dazzlingly bright female Being - the Devi known also as Chandika and Ambika. Seeing the dazzling brightness of the Devi, Mahishasura first sent his army to attack Her. But the Divine Mother exterminated them all. Then Mahishasura, who had the form of a buffalo, himself attacked Her. Devi at once jumped upon his body, pressed his neck with her foot, struck his chest with her spear, and finally cut off his head. The gods being extremely relieved and pleased, praised the Devi, and their praise takes up the rest of the second part of Chandi.
In the third part of the book, Devi appears first as Parvati and then, out of her form, there arises another form known as Kalika. But she continues to be referred to as Ambika. The third part narrates another valorous act of the Divine Mother. Once upon a time two brothers, Shumbha and Nishumbha became lords of the three worlds, and the gods lost everything. Coming to know of the beauty of Kalika, they sent word to her asking her to come to them. When she spurned their order, they at first sent two demons, Chanda and Munda, to capture her. Seeing them, Ambika became angry and out of that anger there issued forth a terrible form known as Kali who fought with the demons. Finally Kali cut off the heads of Chanda and Munda. She thus came to be called Chamunda. Now Shumbha and Nishumbha themselves rode in their chariots and attacked Ambika and Kali. After a protracted battle Ambika herself destroyed Shumbha and Nishumbha.
Significance of Chandi
The image of Durga as Mahishasuramardini epitomizes the Chandi. To understand the significance of the image we have to understand the significance of the Chandi.
The gory scene depicted by the image of Durga, and the blood-curdling descriptions of a warrior Goddess exterminating hordes of evil doers drenching the earth with blood, may be enigmatic and repulsive to some people, especially to those who are outside the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. A mature and realistic understanding of the Divine in the context of the real situations in human life and society is necessary to understand the true significance of Chandi. The basic significance of Chandi may be briefly stated as follows.
1. The main purpose of Chandi is to glorify Shakti. Shakti is the dynamic aspect of the ultimate Reality known as Brahman. Shakti is generally regarded as the feminine principle. The feminine principle has two aspects: a lower, seductive aspect, and a higher, maternal aspect. It is the higher maternal aspect that is glorified in the Chandi, and in the Shakta tradition in general. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: Jini Brahma tini Shakti, tini i Ma ''He who is Brahman is Shakti, and He himself is the Mother of the Universe''
A mother has three main functions: to give birth, to nourish, to care and protect. It is the third aspect that is highlighted in the Chandi. God is not a disinterested spectator of the drama of human life. She is an active participant. She protects people from dangers. Think of the cosmic figure of a Divine Mother towering over millions of people guarding them from dangers, punishing evil doers. Well, you can see this image of the Cosmic Mother in the Chandi.
2. The second purpose of the Chandi is to depict the reality of evil. Vice, wickedness, cruelty, injustice, suffering - all these are as much real as virtue, love, compassion, cooperation etc which humanity has idealized and dreamed about from time immemorial. Dharma and Adharma, virtue and vice, are two inseparable aspects of reality, and we have to accept both.
We generally tend to associate Godhead only with love and compassion. We forget that Godhead has also an aspect of power, terror and destruction. It was this destructive aspect of Godhead that Sri Krishna showed Arjuna through the Vishwarupa Darshana revelation. What we find in the Chandi is the same terrible aspect, but associated with the Eternal Feminine.
Mahishasura, Shumbha, Nishumbha and other characters portrayed in the Chandi are of course mythological, but this does not make them irrelevant in the present-day world. Do we not find similar, or even worse, types of people in modern times? Political leaders who commit mass genocide, terrorists who bomb crowded trains, buses and market places, serial murders, rapists et cetra, about whom we read in newspapers - are these people in any way better than the demons described in the Chandi? As a matter of fact, Chandi assumes greater reality and relevance in the contemporary world than at any other time before.
Chandi is not a book of romance. Nor does it promise a utopian world. On the contrary, it wakes us up from our futile dreams and situates us right in the midst of the terrible realities of the present-day world which we very often fail to face.
3. The third message of the Chandi is the empowerment of women. In recent years there is a lot of talk about empowerment of women, especially in rural and tribal areas in India. The Chandi shows to what heights this empowerment can be raised. In all countries in all times, women have been indoctrinated from childhood to believe that they are weak, helpless and totally dependent on men. The Chandi shows how much power women can wield, how they can work independently, and face boldly even the worst challenges of life without unduly depending on men.
4. Lastly, Chandi delivers a message of hope, the assurance of divine help and succour. In spite of all the terrible happenings described in the book, there is absolutely no pessimistic tone or note of despair in the Chandi. Let troubles and difficulties come, let even dire calamities occur; we have nothing to fear, for there is a God, a Mother, who protects us from all dangers or gives us the inner strength to face them. In modern times the Divine Mother, born as Sri Sarada Devi, has given us this assurance: ''Always remember, there is somebody behind you Place your burden upon me and remain unperturbed.'' This is also the last message of the Chandi.
A considerable literature exists around Durga in the Bengali language and its early forms, including avnirnaya (11th century), Durgabhaktitarangini by Vidyapati (14th century), etc. Durga Puja was popular in Bengal in the medieval period, and records exist of it being held in the courts of Rajshahi (16th century) and Nadia district (18th century). Legend has it that the first Puja was organised by Raja Kangshanarayan of Teherpur, Nadia at cost of rupees 8 lacs(approx(. Raja Jagatnarayan of Bhaduria followed soon after, spending of Rs9lakh(approx) Other Hindu kings too came forward and the puja spread far and wide to Gour, RajMahal, Murshibad and Krishnagar. It was during the 18th century, however, that the worship of Durga became popular among the landed elite of Bengal, Zamindars. Prominent Pujas were conducted by the landed zamindars and jagirdars, enriched by British rule, including Raja Nabakrishna Deb, of Shobhabajar, who initiated an elaborate Puja at his residence.
Soon Durgha Puja bacame the Great annual festival for bringing together family, friends and neighbours and infusing life into the moribund village community. By mid of 18th Century, the national festival of the Bengalis had become the occasion for the nouveaux riches Babus of Kolkata to flaunt their wealth. They invited Europeans in every evening in their feast to grace their occasion. The participation of the Company Sahibs was a matter of great prestige for the host. As per The Calcutta Chronicle there was other dignitaries who hosted Durga Puja attended the British. They included Prankrishna Singha, Kesthochand Mitra, Narayan Mitra, Ramhari Thakur, Baranashi ghosh and Durpa Narayan Thukur.
The British too Participated enthusiastically and had Prassad and did Pranam, often lying Prostrate on the ground. The soldiers would salute "Goddess Doorgah". The British was so enthusiasm that Company Auditor General John Chips organized Durga Puja at his Birbhum Office.
Though there are many confusion about the inception of Durgapuja in Kolkata but some believe that the Puja of Saborno Chowdhury is the oldest puja in the city started at 1610 near Behala sakher Bazaar area. Second oldest Durgapuja is the Puja of Govindaram Mitra Of Kumartuli at the ealier 1800.Next renowned oldest Durgapuja is the Puja of Sovbazaar Raj Bar
While the most recent revival of the Autumnal worship of Goddess Durga can be traced to revivalist tendencies in the early freedom movement in Bengal, the first such Puja was organised by Raja Nabakrishna Deb the Shobabazar Rajbari of Calcutta in honour of Lord Clive in the year 1757. The puja was organised because Clive wished to pay thanks for his victory in the Battle of Plasseya. He was unable to do so in a Church because the only church in Calcutta at that time was destroyed by Siraj-ud-Daulah. Indeed many wealthy mercantile and Zamindar families in Bengal made British Officers of the East India Company guests of honour in the Pujas. The hosts vied with one another in arranging the most sumptuous fares, decorations and entertainment for their guests.
Many of these old pujas exist to this day. Interestingly the oldest such Puja to be conducted at the same venue is in Rameswarpur, Orissa, where it continues for the last four centuries since the Ghosh Mahashays from Kotarang near Howrah migrated as a part of Todarmal's contingent during Akbar's rule. Today, the culture of Durga Puja has shifted from the princely houses to Sarbojanin (literally, "involving all") forms. The first such puja was held Guptipara - it was called barowari (baro meaning twelve and yar meaning friends).
Crowds gather to offer flower worship or pushpanjali on the mornings, of the sixth to ninth days of the waxing moon fortnight known as Devi Pakshya (lit. Devi = goddess; Pakshya = period; Devi Pakshya meaning the period of the goddess).
Devi Durga is the Goddess of shakti (strength). Markendeya Purana describes nine forms of the Devi. From ancient scriptures and legends, it is known that the system of worshipping the Goddess in images curved on stones has been in practice from long past. It has been mentioned in some scriptures that the Gopinis of Braja Dham worshipped the Devi in the form of Katyani on the bank of the sacred river Yamuna, in order to get their beloved Sri Krishna, by making idols with sands.
On the Hindu date of Akshaya Tritiya when the Ratha Yatra is held, clay for the idols is collected from the banks of a river, preferably the Ganges. After the required rites, the clay is transported from which the idols are fashioned. An important event is 'Chakkhu Daan', literally donation of the eyes. Starting with Devi Durga, the eyes of the idols are painted on Mahalaya or the first day of the Pujas. Before painting on the eyes, the artisans fast for a day and eat only vegetarian food.
In 1610, the first Durga puja in Kolkata was supposedly celebrated by the Roychowdhuri family of Barisha. Though this was a private affair, community or ‘Baroyari’ Durga puja was started in Guptipara, in Hooghly by 12 young men when they were barred from participating in a family Durga puja in 1761. They formed a committee which accepted subscriptions for organising the puja. Since then, community pujas in Bengal came to be known as ‘Baroyari – ‘baro’ meaning 12 and ‘yar’ meaning friends.In Kolkata, the first ‘Baroyari’ Durga Puja was organized in 1910 by the ‘SanatanDharmotsahini Sabha’ at Balaram Bosu Ghat Road, Bhawanipur. At the same time, similar Baroyari Pujas were held at Ramdhan Mitra Lane and Sikdar Bagan. The Indian freedom struggle also had an influence on Durga puja in Kolkata. In 1926, Atindranath Bose initiated the first ‘Sarbojanin’ Durga puja in which anybody, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, could participate in the festivities. This was consciously done to instill a feeling of unity.
Image of Durga in an early 19th century lithogragh
Today's Puja, however, goes far beyond religion. In fact, visiting the pandals recent years, one can only say that Durgapuja is the largest outdoor art festival on earth. In the 1990s, a preponderance of architectural models came up on the pandal exteriors, but today the art motif extends to elaborate interiors, executed by trained artists, with consistent stylistic elements, carefully executed and bearing the name of the artist.
The sculpture of the idol itself has evolved. The worship always depicts Durga with her four children, and occasionally two attendant deities and some banana-tree figures. In the olden days, all five idols would be depicted in a single frame, traditionally called pata. Since the 1980s however, the trend is to depict each idol separately
Environmental hazards from the materials used to make and color the idols pollute local water sources, as the idols are brought directly into the river at the end of festivities. Efforts are underway to introduce eco-friendly materials to the artisans who make the idols
Commercialization of Hindu festivals like Durga Puja in the last quarter of 20th century have become a major environmental concern as devout Hindus want bigger and brighter idols
Pandals and idols inspired by a particular theme have been the hallmark of many community or Sarbajanin Pujas in Kolkata since the 1990s. Puja committees decide on a particular theme, whose elements are incorporated into the pandal and the idols.
Rapid growth of competitiveness in theme pandals, and also rapid growth of massive billboards that come up at strategic junctions, prior to Puja and allied commercial activities, has also created a cultural backlash from city's traditional Puja pandals, which now claim, "We do not do theme puja, we do Durga puja,”,
Durga Puja is one of the most important events in the Bengali society's calendar. Many Bengali films, albums and books are released to coincide with the Puja.
Durga idols are immersed inside water bodies with the shouting of slogan Bolo Durga mai-ki jai' (glory be to Mother Durga') and 'aashchhe bochhor abar hobe' ('it will happen again next year')
Durga Puja is also celebrated in Nepal and Bhutan according to local traditions and variations.
Durga's Puja is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day of the waning moon in the month of Ashvin ( আশ্বিন ), which is the sixth month in the Bengali calendar. Occasionally however, due to shifts in the lunar cycle relative to the solar months, it may also be held in the following month, Kartika (কার্তিক). In the Gregorian calendar, these dates correspond to the months of September and October.
The Krittibas Ramayana, Rama invokes the goddess Durga in his battle against Ravana. Although she was traditionally worshipped in the spring, due to contingencies of battle, Rama had to invoke her in the autumn akaal bodhan. Today it is this Rama's date for the puja that has gained ascendancy, although the spring puja, known as Basanti Puja [One of the oldest 'sabeki' Basanti Puja is held every year at spring in Barddhaman Pal Bari], is also present in the Hindu almanac. Since the season of the puja is autumn, it is also known as 'Sharodia'(শারদীয়া).
Durga Puja in Kolkata is often referred to as the Rio Carnival of the Eastern Hemisphere.
The oldest puja are in North Kolkata, like Baghbazar Sarbojonin, Kumartuli, Ahiritola, Md. Ali Park, College Square.
Berhampore
Cossimbazars Puja is the oldest puja which is about 300 years old. All visitors are mostly from Berhampore city and coming through different part of Murshidabad [2] district and adjacent districts. Specially the Astami and Nabami nights are filled with crowd from different part of the district. Visitors come out on the roads with their family and friends.
Assam
It is also known that after Bihu , Durga Puja is the most famous festival of Assam. According to historian Late Benudhar Sarma, the present form of worship of Durga with earthen idol in Assam was started during the reign of Ahom King Susenghphaa or Pratap Singha. The King heard about the festivity, the pomp and grandeur with which the King Naranarayan of Koch Bihar celebrated Durga Puja from one Sondar Gohain, who was under captivity of the Koch raja. King Pratap Singha sent artisans to Koch Bihar to learn the art of idol making. The King organised the first such Durga Puja celebration in Bhatiapara near Sibsagar. This was the first time Durga Puja with earthen idols in Assam was held for the masses, in addition to the worship in Durga temples like Kamakhya, Digheswari Temple, Maha Bhairabi Temple, Ugrotara, Tamreswari Mandir, etc
Sri Sri Kamakhya Dham in Assam is a Shakti Peeth. Kesaikhati Gosani of Tamreswari Mandir is also a place of Shakti Puja. From ancient times Devi has been being worshipped with various kinds of sacrifices. It is said that even human beings were sacrificed at Kesaikhati Gosani. Durga Puja is the most popular festival in eastern India, particularly in West Bengal.
It is said that king Surath was the first man to perform Durga Puja on earth. It is also said that earlier Durga Puja was celebrated in the Spring season. Lord Rama , in order to defeat Ravana worshipped Devi Durga untimely in the Autumn season and since then the Durga Puja is being celebrated in the Autumn season.
There is an interesting story about introduction of earthen idols in Assam as narrated by historian Late Benudhar Sarma. The story runs as follows: During the rule of Assam by the Ahom kings, Koch Behar was a neighbouring State. King Nara Narayan of Koch Behar was a very powerful king. He reconstructed the Kamakhya temple. Nara Narayana’s brother Chila Rai or Sukladhwas was a very valiant hero. Being two neighbouring States, occasionally conflict took place between the two States leading to war. It was 1483 sakabda. King Nara Narayana accompanied with General brother Chila Rai and a strong army of sixty thousand soldiers proceeded to conquer Ahom kingdom. At that time ‘Khora Raja’ was in the Ahom throne. Getting the information that Koch king is proceeding to occupy Ahom kingdom, Khora Raja with his army proceeded to fight the enemy. A fierce battle took place between the two armies for seven days onthe bank of the river Dihing. The Ahom soldiers could not withstand the attacks of the strong army of General Chila Rai. Seeing no chance of victory, the Ahom king sent proposal for a Treaty to the Koch king. Accordingly a Treaty was agreed upon between the two kings. As per conditions of the Treaty, the Ahom king sent to the Koch king various items. Besides, along with the gifts, the Ahom king sent a group of nobles and many weavers, blacksmiths etc to the Koch king. The group leader of the nobles thus sent, was one Apachu (ugly) Gohain. The name of the youth was Apachu, but actually he was very handsome. King Nara Narayana was very affectionate to this youth. Even the king made him a partner in playing dice. The queen seeing the handsome youth became sympathetic to him. She came to know from the king that the name of the handsome youth was Apachu Gohain. The queen felt pity. She told the king that the name Apachu was quite misfitting to such a handsome man and the name should be changed. The king agreed and changed the name from Apachu Gohain to Sondar (Sundaa) ie handsome.
Days passed. One day the queen again approached the king and made a request. She told the king that Sondar Gohain had been a captive in the Koch kingdom. It did not do any benefit to the Koch kingdom any way. On the other hand in the Ahom kingdom his family must have suffered much in his absence. So, the youth might be released to go back to his family. The king found the argument reasonable and decided that the Ahom noble would be freed.
The king conveyed the decision to Sondar Gohain. Then Sondar Gohain politely told to the king that he would not go back to the Ahom kingdom alone. Because the Ahom king did not send him alone. A group of people accompanied him. So, he would go back if his fellow men were also allowed to accompany him. King Nara Narayana then consulted his brother Chila Rai about the condition put forward by Sondar Gohain. Sondar Gohain was informed that he would be allowed to take with him all the people who could cross the river Tosha from sun rise to sun set on the fateful day. Sondar Gohain gave his consent. The day for freeing Sondar Gohain was fixed. The preceding night of the day, Chila Rai sent away all the boats except a small one, from the crossing point of the river Tosha. Finding no way out Sondar Gohain’s men used the small boat for crossing the river. As a result only a few men could cross the river within the stipulated time. As per conditions imposed, Sondar Gohain ultimately had to leave for the Ahom kingdom with those few men. Koch Behar is in the Bhati (down stream) direction from Ahom kingdom. The Ahom king established the people coming from Koch Behar near Sivasagar and the place was known as Bhatiapara.
Swargadew Pratap Singha was in the Ahom throne then. One day the king asked Sondar Gohain if he noticed any thing peculiar during his captivity in the Koch kingdom. To this Sondar Gohain replied that during his stay in Koch Behar, he noticed a peculiar festival. It was the Durga Puja performed by making earthen idols of Goddess Durga. The king celebrated Durga Puja with pomp and grandeur by making earthen idols of ten handed Goddess Durga. People from far and near came to enjoy the festival. Great Fair took place. Entertainments were arranged.
Swargadew Pratap Singha was very much amused. He wished to hold such a festival in his kingdom also. He sent some artisans to Koch Behar to learn the skill of making earthen idols. The artisans learnt the art and came back.
In the 1527 sakabda king Pratap Singha celebrated Durga Puja with earthen idols at Bhatiapara. The Durga Puja celebrated at Bhatiapara is said to be the first Durga Puja on earthen idols in Assam. Subsequently similar Pujas were celebrated by the kings and the nobles. Now a days the Puja has been mostly a community festival in Assam.
New Delhi
In Delhi, there are approximately 400 registered pujas which are celebrated with great fanfare by Bengalis living in the city. Unlike most of the Durga Pujas in Kolkata, the celebrations in Delhi maintain a less commercial atmosphere. The oldest Durga Puja, started in 1910, is popularly known as the Kashmere Gate Puja or Heritage Durga Puja.
Orissa
Various accounts exist which ascribe the origin of Durga Puja in the state of Orissa. All historical accounts agree on the influence from other regions although some mythological accounts describe an independent origin.
Durga Puja is a festival, which is observed for 10 days. Orissa, the land of Lord Jagannath,the land of powerful Hindu Kingdom, the land of Raja & Maharaja's, the royals of Orissa patronage anuual Sharodiyo Utsav before the state abolition with Republic of India. The Durga Puja is celebrated in two different ways in Orissa. In Shakti peethas (temples of goddess) the Durga Puja is observed with proper rituals for 10 to 16 days known as Shodasa Upachara/Shohala dinatmaka,which starts from 7 days earlier to mahalaya called as mulastami and ends on Vijaydasami dussehra. Goddess Durga is also worshiped by devotees in different pandals in form deities across the state. The pandals are decorated with beautiful decoratives.
According to Markandeya Purana the King of Chedi dynasty Suratha started rituals of Durga Puja during 300B.C.The Chedi dynasty belongs to Kalinga(modern Orissa). Durga Puia has different names in different Puranas and Sastras. In Devi Purana & Kalika Purana it is named as Vijaya Dashami. It is named as Mahaparbana in Devi Mahatmya and Duseehera in Markandeya Purana.
The present form of worship of Durga with earthen idol in Orissa was started during the reign of Ganga King Chodaganga Dev in the 11th century at Puri. The earthen idol of Mahishamardini Durga is known as Gosani and the Dussehra fesival is known as Gosani Yatra. It is noteworthy that the co-worship of Mahisamardini Durga with Madhava (Lord Jagannath) is prevalent from 11th century,Ganga period, in Puri.
Before the concept of Sarvajanin Durga Puja started, it was being conducted by princely houses and the first such Puja being conducted anywhere in the world at the same venue and continuing till date is in Orissa. It is at Rameswarpur in Bhadrak district of the state, where it was started about four centuries ago by the Mahashay family who migrated in from Kotarang near Howrah as a part of Todarmal's famous survey of India during Emperor Akbar's rule.
It is said that in the year 1512 to 1517 Chaitanya Deva had come to Cuttack, the capital of Gajapati empire of Orissa and the then emperor of Orissa Gajapati Pratap Rudra Dev received him at Gadagadia Ghata situated near the river bank of Mahanadi very close to the kings Palace popularly known as Barabati fort. In that year Sri Chatanya Deva started Durga puja at Binod Bihari temple presently known as Balu Bazar. Further it is also believed that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whose birth placed is Cuttack had organized Durga puja with great pomp and show to organize youngsters in British India exactly like Lokamanya Balagangadar Tilak had done it at Maharastra(the Ganesh Utsav).
The first recorded Sarvajanin Durga Puja in the state is said to have been in the year 1832 in the Kazibajaar area of Cuttack.
A pandal in Orissa is called "Medho". For many years, the most expensive installation was the ChaandiMerrha (Chaandi means Silver) of Choudhuri Bajaar area of Cuttack. The ornamentation was done entirely in silver. A substantial increase in funding has led to the gold plating of the ornamentation. Now it is known as "Suna Medho" (Suna means Gold). A few other Pujas in Cuttack now have silver ornaments, too.
The largest Pujas are held in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela. Shaheed Nagar, Nayapalli and Rasulgarh spend the most on the idols, decorations, lighting, and other elements.
One reason for the wide acceptance of Durga Puja is the importance of Maa Tarini, who is considered one of the embodiments of Shakti in Oriya culture. In addition, the state is close to Bengal and the peoples share a common socio-cultural history spanning millennia. Orissa is home to many important shrines dedicated to the Goddess; great festivities are organised there on Durga and Kali Puja.
It is thus one of the prime festivals of Orissa as well. People in Orissa celebrate it on a large scale. The Goddess Durga is among the sacred goddesses of Orissa. The celebrations are quite similar to the neighbouring state of West Bengal.
175 Durga Puja pandals were erected this year in Meghalaya. Bangalore is hosting around 26 Durga Pujas while Mumbai is reported to have over 100 Pujas.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh has the second largest Hindu population in the world. Being the greatest religious festival for Bengali Hindus, Durga Puja celebrations span across the country with over thousands of Puja Mandaps set in villages, towns and cities. Schools and colleges are closed for five days while the last day of the festival, Bijay Dashami, is a national holiday. The President of Bangladesh also hosts a National Reception for the Hindu community in Bangabhaban
This year 27000 puja pandals were erected across Bangladesh.
Nepal
Dussehra in Nepal is called Dashain. As it is chiefly a Hindu nation, the pattern and dates of the festivals coincide with those of India. The King of Nepal plays a key role in the festivities, particularly during Saptami or the Seventh day of the pujas. Despite the overthrow of monarchy in Nepal, the Royal Family still has a significant cultural role in the nation.
Belur Math Durga Puja
Durga Puja was first celebrated at Belur Math in 1901. Since then Durga Puja has been celebrated at Belur Math year after year, although for a few years after the first celebration in 1901, Pratima worship was not done. (In this connection it should be mentioned that Durga Puja was conducted on a small scale, without the image, by the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna during the early years of Ramakrishna Math at Baranagar.) It was Swami Vivekananda himself who started the first Durga Puja with the image at Belur Math. As a rule, Hindu Sannyasins do not conduct this kind of ritualistic worship. Why then did Swamiji start the new tradition?
One reason was to gain the acceptance of the local community for the new way of life that Swamiji and his monastic brothers were leading. The Hindu society in Calcutta had not fully accepted Swamiji's going to the West, and the rather unconventional ways of life at Belur Math which included disregard for caste rules and mixing with Western people. As a matter of fact, the celebration of Durga Puja helped to remove much of the misunderstanding and misgivings about the new monastic institution among the local people.
Another reason was Swamiji wanted to institutionalize respect for divinity of motherhood and sanctity of womanhood. Swamiji saw that one of the main reasons for the advancement of Western people was the elevation of women in the West, and one of the main reasons for the backwardness of India was the neglect of women in this country. Worship of the Divine Mother, especially the Kumari Puja, would create the awareness of the potential divinity of women and a respectful attitude towards them.
A third reason was supernatural. A few days before Durga Puja in 1901, Swamiji had a vision of Durga Puja being done at Belur Math. More or less at that time, Swami Brahmanandaji saw in a vision Mother Durga coming across the Ganga from Dakshineshwar to Belur Math. Swamiji asked Raja Maharaj to make preparations for Durga Puja immediately, although only a few days were left to begin the Puja.
The main problem was to get a clay image for worship. Enquiries at Kamartuli (the street in Kolkata where artisans make clay images) revealed that there was a single beautiful image of Durga in a shop. The person who had ordered it had not turned up, and so the artisan agreed to sell it to the monks.
Apart from the image, a lot of other things had to be collected for the elaborate ritualistic worship. Under able direction of Swami Brahmanandaji everything was done well at short notice.
The first Durga Puja at Belur Math was conducted in a huge Pendal (decorative shed) on the open ground to the north of the old shrine. The invocatory worship on Shashthi (the 6th day of the lunar month) was on 18 October 1901. The Pujari was Brahmachari Krishnalal and the Tantradharak was Isvar Chandra Chakravarty, the father of Shashi Maharaj. Sitting under the Bel tree (which now stands in front of his temple) Swamiji sang Agamani songs welcoming the Divine Mother.
The householder disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and orthodox Brahmins of nearby area had been specially invited, and thousands of people, irrespective of the distinctions of caste or religion, attended the three-day festival. On the night of Navami Swamiji sang many songs in praise of Divine Mother, some of which used to be sung by Sri Ramakrishna.
Holy Mother and Durga Puja
When Swamiji decided to celebrate Durga Puja at Belur Math, one of the first things he did was to seek the approval of Holy Mother Sarada Devi who was then staying at Baghbazar in Kolkata. Swami Premananda went to Mother, and Mother whole-heartedly approved the proposal. On Shashthi day She came with other women devotees and stayed at Nilambar Babu's garden house nearby. Mother attended the awakening ceremony that day and attended the Puja on all the three subsequent days.
Since Sannyasins cannot undertake this kind of ritualistic worship, Swamiji decreed that the Puja should be done in the name of Holy Mother. This became a tradition which continues to this day. Swamiji looked upon Sri Sarada Devi as the divine counterpart of Sri Ramakrishna, born for the awakening of womankind in the modern world. In a letter to Swami Shivananda written in 1894 from America, Swamiji had given expression to his conviction about the Divinity of Holy Mother as follows: ''Brother, I shall show how to worship the living Durga (Jivanta Durga), and then only shall I be worthy of my name. I shall be relieved when you have purchased a plot of land and established there the living Durga, the Mother (i.e. Sri Sarada Devi).'' The presence of Holy Mother, the Living Durga, during the Puja must have given boundless joy and satisfaction to Swamiji and the other disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.
Holy Mother attended the Durga Puja at Belur Math in 1912 and in 1916 and perhaps in some other years also. Each time Mother stayed for a few days and blessed Her monastic and lay children.
Agamani
As already mentioned elsewhere, several mythological legends underlie Durga Puja festival. One of these is the legend that every year during the Navaratri, Goddess Uma, who is identified with Parvati the divine consort of Shiva, comes to the home of her parents - Himavat and Menaka. In Bengal this legend has been universalized into the belief that the Divine Mother visits the homes of all her children during the three days of Durga Puja. Agamani songs are songs which vividly depict the maternal love and deep concern of Menaka for her divine daughter. They are sung to welcome Mother Uma into homes. They also reflect parents' love for their married daughters.
Swami Vivekananda was fond of Agamani songs because of the tender feelings expressed in them. On the Shashthi of the first Durga Puja at Belur Math, Swamiji sang Agamani songs such as, Giri Ganesh amar shubhakari etc. The tradition of singing Agamani songs continues in Belur Math. Every year from the first day (pratipada) after Mahalaya to the sixth day (Shashthi) Sadhus and Brahmacharins gather at the main temple of Sri Ramakrishna at dawn and sing Agamani songs in chorus. [At night, after Arati, they conduct Kalikirtan.]
Chandipath
During the nine days of Navaratri the book Chandi is recited everyday morning. This recital is done along with worship of the Goddess Chandi. In Belur Math this is done during the first five days at a corner of Natamandir and from the 6th at a corner of Durga Mandap itself.
Shashthi : the 6th day
This is a very important day when ritual preparations are made to begin the Durga Puja proper. These preparations are mainly three: Kalparambha, Bodhan, Adhivas and Amantran.
Kalparambha : This ritual is done early in the morning. It is mainly an act of making the samkalpa or ''sacramental intention'', the firm determination to conduct the Puja properly during the three days. The ritual consists of installing the ghata, water-filled copper pot, at a corner of Durga mandap and offering worship to Durga and Chandi.
Bodhan: This rite is performed at the Sandhya or dusk. The word Bodhan' literally means awakening'. As already mentioned elsewhere, the Hindu mythology holds that all gods and goddesses go to sleep for six months during the southward journey of the Sun. Autumn (Sharat), during which Durga Puja is done, falls in the middle of this period. Hence it is necessary to first of all awaken the deity Durga. We have already mentioned that the awakening of Durga was first done by Sri Ramachandra who wanted to propitiate the Goddess before fighting Ravana.
The ritual of Bodhan consists in installing a water-filled copper vessel at the base of the Bel (Bilva) tree (or, as is now done at Belur Math, keeping a branch of the Bel tree in the pot) and praying to the Divine Mother to awaken.
Adhivas and Amantran : These rites follow Bodhan. Adhivas means ''invocation''. Through Bodhan the Devi has awakened: now the awakened Devi has to be invoked in the Bel tree or branch of the tree. Adhivas is also a ritual of sanctification. The actual ritual consists of the following main steps.
1. Devi Durga and the Bel tree are first worshipped
2. Twenty-six sacramental things (mangalik dravya) are sanctified by touching Devi Durga and the Bel tree with them.
3. To ward off evil effects, a red coloured thread is tied around the altar where Puja is done.
The above ritual is followed by Amantran which literally means ''invitation''. Through this rite the Devi is invited or entreated to accept the Puja the next day (Saptami).
After this, Devi is worshipped with five items and Arati is done to Her.
Saptami Puja
The important point to note here is that a living medium is necessary to invoke the indwelling of a deity. It is through a living medium that Divinity manifests itself. On the sixth day Divinity was invoked in the Bel tree or a branch of it. On the seventh day the Deity is invoked in a group of nine plants known as Navapatrika. The nine plants, which include a branch of Bel tree also, are bundled together, given a ceremonial bath, covered with an orange coloured cloth and installed on a wooden seat on the right side of the image of Durga. This is followed by Mahasnan (great bath) on a mirror, using various materials. After this, consecration and divinization of the image, known as pranapratishtha, takes place. This is followed by elaborate worship of the Devi with sixteen items (shodashopacharapuja). The other deities, attendants and other objects associated with Devi are then worshipped. The Seventh Day's Puja is concluded with bhog (food offering) and Arati to Devi.
Ashtami Puja
As on Saptami, on Ashtami also, Mahasnan and Shodashopacharapuja are done. In addition, nine small pots with flags of different colours attached are installed and the Nine Shaktis are invoked in them and worshipped. After this sixty-four yoginis are worshipped. Then one crore yoginis are worshipped. This is followed by worship of Nava Durga (nine aspects of Durga) and Goddesses Jayanti, Mangala, Kali, Bhadrakali, Kapalani, Durga, Shiva, Kshama, Dhatri, Svaha and Svadha. Ashtami Puja is concluded with Bhog and Arati.
Kumari Puja : Worship of a young girl, treating her as Devi, is also a part of Ashtami Puja. Sri Ramakrishna has said that the Divine Mother manifests herself more in a pure-hearted girl and that is why Kumari Puja is done. He used to bow down before little girls looking upon them as manifestations of the Divine Mother. When Durga Puja was done at Belur Math for the first time, Swami Vivekananda worshipped several Kumaris. Now only one Kumari is worshipped. The same kinds of offerings made to the Devi are given to the Kumari also, and finally Arati is performed. Even senior monks offer flowers at her feet.
Sandhi Puja : The last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami (a total of 48 minutes between the two lunar days) constitute the Sandhi or ''Sacred Juncture''. It is considered to be a most auspicious time. At this time Durga is worshipped as Chamunda (that is, Kali who killed the demon Chanda and Munda). This Puja is considered to be the highest point in the whole Durga Puja and the most important ritual.
It is customary to perform bali or animal sacrifice at this sacred juncture. When the first Durga Puja was celebrated at Belur Math in 1901, Swami Vivekananda wanted to have bali done. But Holy Mother prohibited it and, in obedience to Holy Mother's injunction, animal sacrifice is never done at Belur Math. Instead, a banana is sacrificed' as a symbolic bali.
Navami Puja
As in Ashtami, during Navami also Mahasnan and Shodashopacharapuja are offered to Devi. In addition, bali and Homa are performed. In Belur Math for bali white pumpkin and sugarcane are offered. The Homa (fire sacrifice) is a combination of Vedic and Tantric traditions.
Dashami Puja
In the morning a brief Puja, Shital bhog (cooling food offering) and Arati are first done. Then the Pujari and Tantradharak circumambulate the altar and perform the visarjan ritual. In this ritual the Devi, who had been invoked in the Navapatrika and consecrated Image, is entreated to return to Her celestial abode. The Divine Mother, however, dwells for ever in the hearts of devotees.
In the evening the Image of Durga along with Navapatrika is taken in procession to the river bank and immersed in the river. The water taken from the spot, known as Shanti Jal is sprinkled on the devotees who embrace one another as an expression of their solidarity as children of the same Divine Mother. And thus the holy Durga Puja comes to an end leaving joyous memories in the souls of people.
Goddesses of War
A. One of the astonishing phenomena in ancient mythology is the existence of goddesses of war, in contrast to the absence of women from the actual scene of war. For hundreds or even thousands of years of wars between rivaling tribes, peoples and countries, women have been excluded from one of the central occupations of human beings; but the appearance of goddesses of war persisted as long as there were any goddesses left in any pagan pantheon all round the globe, from America to the Far East to the Near East and Europe.
It is my contention that originally, War goddesses were not concerned with any of the battles mentioned above, but with the one kind that women did take an active part in, that led to their creation. This is not the concrete war taking place between peoples, but the symbolic seasonal battle taking place between two gods for the favors of the Goddess of Love, and for the right to leadership and power that her love would grant. Such mythological war was yearly conducted between figures like Baal and Mot, Balder and Hodder, Osiris/Horus and Set in order to gain the favors of the respective goddesses Anath, Nana and Isis The Fight for Love and Glory (s. link below). The goddess supervising this war would be none other than the Great Mother of Life and Death.
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B. Some War goddesses were considered warrior themselves, others were in charge of the war, or of some parts of it without taking an active part in it. Two nameless figures appear from ancient mythology as being in charge but not taking part in any war. One is know from an old Amerindians story, that tells how war trophies in the shape of scalps, mounted with eagle’s feathers, were placed in the hand of an old woman; she bore them about in a scalp-dance – naturally danced by men – while derogating epithets were uttered against the tribe from which these had been taken. The “old woman” seems to be in charge of the war dance, and by implication, symbolically in charge of the war itself. It may be understood that the person in charge of the war would be in charge of the life and death of the men who are going to face battle.
C. The second case is that of a “Dark Girl”, who had the body of a bird (making her a heavenly being), appearing in Chinese mythology as the one who taught the art of war to the Yellow Emperor of the Middle Heaven – one of China’s most esteemed ancient divine figures. Significantly, that same woman also taught the Yellow Emperor the art of love, and helped overcome his enemy the Green Buffalo by pouring water on the fire it had created. Both water and fire belong to the fertility scheme of things, and thus that “Dark Girl” is seen as being in charge not only on the Emperor’s ability in battle, but also of the personal rivalry between him and the Green Buffalo. The latter idea gets us back to the seasonal war theory mentioned above.
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D. Unlike the two nameless figures mentioned above, which seems to be remnants of ancient, long forgotten rituals and myths, many traditional War goddesses are still well known from old myths of European, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern and American cultures. One such famous War goddess is the Greek Athena, without whose help great warriors (like Odysseus, for instance) would hardly consider taking on such ventures. Athena, though, was first of all the Goddess of Wisdom who, like her Chinese counterpart, taught the art of war rather than took part in bloodshed. She was also in charge of wisdom and ethics, the order of civilization, justice and fertility. One can definitely see her as an all-rounded figure, in whom war was only one of many important functions.
E. A Great Mother goddess of War is also the Hindu Kali, known both for her cruelty and for her motherly care for all creation; Kali is sometimes considered an aspect of another Hindu War goddess, Durga, about whom the following story is told on the site ‘Goddesses of War’ Durga, a fierce warrior, was born during a lengthy battle between the Hindu gods and an army of demons. In desperation, the gods gathered together and breathed in unison. A ferocious fire blazed forth from their mouths, out of which Durga was born — a fully grown warrior, ready to fight. The gods quickly gave her a lion (or, some say, a tiger), to mount, and a weapon for each of her ten hands. Durga advanced toward the demons – one of them in the form of a buffalo, which is reminiscent of the Chinese story; as her arms flashed with their weapons, within moments she had slaughtered all the demons. On a site dedicated to her particularly, Durga is said to represent the power of the Supreme Being Shiva, to whom she was married, who preserves moral order and righteousness in creation. She is called “Divine Mother”, and one of her epithets is Maha, which means "Great" or "Terrific". She had three divine children, two sons and a daughter.
It seems obvious that both Athena and Durga, springing forth with full armor ready for battle out of the effort of male divinities, were created by patriarchal societies; however, their respective characters present them as much more ancient female figures, who had adapted masculine ideas of women’s loyalties. Both goddesses, however, beside being in charge of war, kept the main function of both fertility and wisdom belonging to ancient female divinities.
F. Another War goddess who was a Great Mother was the Babylonian Ishtar; like the other two, she was also given a “father” from among the gods. Ishtar was known from Canaanite myths as Atherath, or Ashera, Mother of the Gods, and she was also connected with the Sun through her title "The Lightbringer", beside being a “Goddess of Fertility, Love and War”. She was considered the most important goddess of the Near-East and Western Asia, like Durga she rode a lion, and in the figure of Atherath she was married to the Chief god, El, and she had two divine sons, Baal and Mot, and a divine daughter, the goddess Anath.
G. Anath, whose name may have been an anagram of the names of the goddesses Athena and Neith , was the most prominent goddess in charge of the seasonal war in the Middle East . She was deeply involved in the fertility cult of Baal (“Master”) and his twin brother Mot (“Death”) as their both sister and lover, for whose love and power they fought endlessly. Their endless seasonal battles took part twice a year, springtime and autumn, when there exists till today the eternal change of seasons between rainy and green, sunny and lifeless. Anath not only supervised this war but was happy to take active part in it as a known warrior, as she is described in the Canaanite poem of the 1400th cent. b.c. from Ras Shamra (the ancient site of the town of Ugarith), on the North Eastern coast of the Mediterrenean:
Anath's soul was exuberant,
As she plunged knee-deep in the soldiers' blood,
Up to her thighs in the warriors' gore … (Coogan 1978:91).
In this poem she is called The Queen of Heaven, which makes her, though only a daughter of the Mother Goddess, overlapping the title and function of Ishtar, the main Middle Eastern Goddess of War and Fertility. It may be noted that in her involvement with the battle between Baal and Mot, Anath is helped by the Canaanite Sun goddess.
H. Sun goddess is one title of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet , who is in charge of war, retribution and disease, but also of the cure of diseases. The Egyptian sun, like the Canaanite one in summer, is known for its harshness and cruelty; on the other hand, the sun is an important component of the idea of fertility. A counterpart to Sekhmet is the North African Neith who, beside being a War goddess, was also in charge of creation and of water. Water parallels the sun as a factor of fertility, while creation in Egypt is particularly connected with the emerging of the land from the flooding of the Nile in spring – that river is the only source of fertility in that country. Thus the two Egyptian goddesses of War form the two aspects of one deity of fertility: the harshness and deathlike Sun goddess and the comforting life giving Water goddess. Here we find again the connection between war and fertility, which would be hard to explain except on the ground of the seasonal war.
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I. War goddesses who are also Great Mothers in charge of Fertility appear not only in the East but also in Northern Europe. One of these is the Irish Morrigan, whose name means Great Queen; but in a site called by her name , Danielle Ni Dhighe says that “The Morrigan is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility. Her name translates as 'Phantom Queen'.” She is actually a triple goddess, made up of the three figures of Nemain, Macha, and Badb, sometimes called in the plural, The Morrigna, but she can also stand on her own as an individual. The Morrigna appeared as crows, ravens, vultures, and wolves, standing for war, battle, fighting, strife, panic, frenzy, blood, gore, and death, together with victory. Some aspects of the Morrigna also saw the future, as well as announced great victories with poetry. All together, the Morrigan presented a dark but powerful image. The Morrigan’s particular feature of both vicious war and fertility appears also in one of her aspects, Macha.
The Morrigan is compared to the Norse War goddess in the form of the Valkyries by using magic in order to choose who of the warriors would die in battle. She is said to have had a love affair with the hero Cuchulainn, making her also a parallel to the Middle Eastern goddesses of War and Love, Ishtar and Anath.
J. A close similarity exists in many areas between the Irish Morrigan and the Norse goddess Freya, who was also said to have been “a leader of the warrior Valkyries... riding a winged horse while taking the souls of dead warriors to Valhalla” . Freya, (who may also interchange with Freyja or Frigg), was said to be “the goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, healer, magic (s. links below); and some of her possessions connect her with the Sun: her golden chariot and winged horse, like those of the Greek Sun god Helios, and a cloak made of falcon feathers – the Egyptian Sun god Horus appeared in the form of a falcon.
K. The connection between the Sun and War, as has been shown in the characters of the Egyptian Sekhmet, the Babylonian Ishtar, and the Norse Freya, appears also in the Irish/Celtic goddess Brighid/Brigit, whose name means “bright”. Like the Greek Athena, she was also the patroness of wisdom connected with the Underworld, including the crafts, medicine and poetic inspiration. She “favored the use of spear or arrow”, and was known as the Goddess of Healers, Poets, Smiths, Childbirth, Fire and Hearth, and a patron of Warfare.
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L. Looking at the list of twenty-seven War goddesses given below, it may be noted that only six of them are connected with war alone. The best known of these is the Roman goddess Bellona (from the word belli – “war” in Latin – or perhaps, vice versa...). Bellona was a counterpart of the Greek goddess Enyo, whose name means “horror”; she is told to have been a mate of the War god Mars, but also one of the Graeae (“the Gray ones”), who were said to be “a triple goddess of war and wasters of cities”. She usually carried a spear, “appeared covered in blood with a striking attitude of violence”. However, Bellona’s festival was celebrated in June, very close to Midsummer and the time of the seasonal war between the two male figures who represented the life and death of the year. The connection may be tenuous, but it may exist, nonetheless.
Beside those War Goddesses in the list who are considered Mother goddesses, many of them are connected with Fertility in one way or another; either in the overall sense, like French Celtic Andarta or Latin Vacuna, or else in some particular aspect of Fertility, like Aztec Cihuateteo (childbirth), Chaldean Eshara (productive fields), or Tamil Korrawi (the jungle). Others are associated with the Underworld with its various aspects of wisdom and judgment.
Surprisingly, some of the War gods from the list below are also connected with Fertility: Roman Mars, for one, as well as Celtic Lugh; others are significantly associated with either fire (the Sun) or storms (Rain), which are important factors in fertility. The Armenian Aray is actually himself the god who dies and is resurrected in the manner of the best known Gods of Fertility, while the Germanic Tyr is said to be a god of Justice, as Hindu Durga is.
Durga’s festival is celebrated in the autumn, in the months corresponding to September/October; and the Wikipedia comments that “The worship of Durga in the autumn is the year's most major festival in East India.” These autumn months are when the monsoon’s torrential rains hit India, and again, these are both punishing by their destruction force and the killing of many people, and beneficial, by their being India’s main source of fertility.
Taking Durga as an example of an all-round War goddess, it has been said that she “protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces such as selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, and ego”; in another site it is said that she “symbolizes triumph over evil.” But this idea of evil has not place in the pagan, natural scheme of things; it is an artificial idea, which fits more into the late Hindu religion of ideas than into the natural world, to which the Great Mother (as Durga is said to be) would belong. The Great Mother, as a ruler of the Underworld beside being the ruler of Earth and Heaven, is also a goddess of Wisdom and Judgment. On the whole, she is both beneficial and punishing, as any good mother should be.
Thus, inspite of being said to be created by a set of male gods, the War goddess in the shape of the Great Mother Durga is in charge of the war that keeps the balance in the world between good and bad, light and darkness, life and death, and in sum, she is first and foremost a Goddess of Fertility.
* * *
List of war goddesses:
o Agrona, Britain and Wales — strife and slaughter
o Anat, Phoenicia — war and love, Queen of Heaven
o Andarta, Celtic Gaul — warrior and fertility
o Athena, Greece — war, wisdom and fertility
o Bellona/ Enyo, Rome — war
o Brighid, Ireland — Sun, crafts, medicine, inspiration, patroness of warfare
o Cihuateteo, Aztec — childbirth as battle
o Durga, Hindu — Mother of all
o Eshara, Chaldean — war and productive fields
o Freya, Norse — Fertility
o Ishtar, Babylon — High Mother of war and fertility
o Junda, Lithuania — war goddess
o Kali, India — Mother goddess
o Korrawi, Tamil — war, victory and the jungle
o Macha, Ireland — slaughter, blood and fertility
o Menhit, Egypt — slaughter
o Morrigan, Ireland — Great Queen and leader in war and peace
o Nanaja, Sumer and Middle East — war and sex
o Neith, Lower Egypt — war, water and creation
o Nerio, Roma — valor in war
o Oya, Yoruba — war and hurricanes, change and death
o Sekhmet, Lower Egypt — Sun, retribution and cure, war and judgment
o Toci, Aztec — Earth creation, war and labor
o Trebaruna, Lusitania — war and house.
o Vacuna, Latin — Victory and fertility.
o “Old Woman”, Amerindian — in charge of war dance
o “Dark Girl”, China — war and love
The List of war gods:
* Aray (or Ara — “the beautiful one”), Armenian — war, died and resurrected
* Camaxtli, Aztec — war, hunting, fate and fire
* Hadur, Hungary — war, originally god of fire, son of Golden Father and Dawn Mother
* Ictinike, Iowa — war, sun and treachery
* Karttikeya, Hindu — war, fire and storms
* Lugh, Celtic — war, sun and fertility
* Mars, Rome — war and fertility
* Si, Peruvian (Mochica) — Moon god of war and the elements (storms)
* Tu Matauenga, Polynesian — devoured his children.
* Tyr, Germanic (or Norse) — war and justice
Goddess as Aliens
There are a number of beings around us which belong to the earth plane, and also millions of other entities are visiting the earth plane moment by moment. The major problem of human beings is that they know and acknowledge what they can see with their naked eyes or hear with their ears or what can be scientifically validated through experiments. Unfortunately our eyes and ears are handicapped and cannot process subtle wavelengths and frequencies.
For instance our eyes cannot see infrared and if they do one can see the ghosts, angels and some other aliens. Similarly if our ears could process infrasonic sounds, we will have fore knowledge of earthquakes like the animals do. Our sciences limited by logic miss the reality of parallel universes and uncertainty principles that exists at the domain of particles.
In ancient civilizations there were free interactions between the aliens (gods and goddesses). In Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman, Mayan and other mythologies there are accounts of communication with the other worlds. Even humans have had sex with gods and produced children (for example, the Greek god Zeus is said to have fathered Dionysus by the mortal mother Semele, and other cultures have the idea of the sons of gods united with the daughters of men). Unfortunately when the humans started to discredit the invisible reality our brains began to orient only to the logical reality and material reality. Even after the discovery of atomic power in the invisible domain we are unwilling to accept gods and goddesses. Our neocortex has become so thick and dominant that we are insensitive to non-material realities.
No doubts the religionists accept the spirit and spiritual reality, but they are discredited by the majority of people who believe only in the material science and technology.
1) the Bible recongnizes the existence of other God(s). God in the Bible, is described as a "jealous God". When he commands "Thou shalt have no other gods before me", the Biblical god is exhibiting the all-too-human emotion of being possesive, and controlling.
2) At certain times in history, there have been sudden, and incredible scientific gains made by man. I believe the knowlege came from Aliens, or "Elihom". Look at the Egyptians. When the rest of mankind was living as beasts, the Egyptians had gutters, sewers, batteries, and built the Pyramids, in perfect synch with the Heavens, showing a knowlege of the layout of outer space. Couldn't it be possible, their Gods & Goddesses, were in fact Aliens?
3) Look at Easter Island. The Giant stones. Not native to the islands, they weigh tons. The age of the stones indicates a time when we believe man could not have built a boat capible of transporting the stones, let alone the tools to set them up.
4) the Mayan Calender, again, a detailed map of the Heavens. When the rest of the world, was "primitive", the Mayans, built their pyramids, also in alignment with the Heavens.
5) Now, these sudden, and incredible advances, came as the result for being TAUGHT these secrets. But Gods, Goddesses, or Aliens.
6) Maybe the Hebrew God was threatened, and therefore applied scare tactics, to keep His people away from other truths. What do you think? Maybe what we have been calling "Gods", are actually Aliens. Could be?
Sky Father and Mother Earth
Perhaps the Father's of our Ancestors came down and had Children with Aryan Woman.
The sky father is a recurring theme in pagan and neopagan mythology. The sky father is the complement of the earth mother and appears in some creation myths, many of which are European or ancient Near Eastern. Other cultures have quite different myths; Egyptian mythology features a sky mother and an earthly dying and reviving god of vegetation. Shinto gives precedence to a sun goddess. A sky father also relates to a solar deity, a god identified with the sun.
In Maori mythology, Ranginui was the sky father. In this story, the sky father and earth mother Papatuanuku, embraced and had divine children.
In China, the God of the Abrahamic religions is sometimes called 天父 which means the Sky Father or Heavenly Father.
It is in fact true that a male sky father, whose name has been reconstructed as *dyēus ph2ter, and who appears in Greek mythology as Zeus, in Roman mythology as Jupiter, in Norse mythology as Tyr, and in Vedic religion as Dyaus Pita, seems to have been shared and inherited from a common stock of Proto-Indo-European religion. Each of these names is cognate to the others. This is not, in fact, the most widespread inherited Indo-European deity. The dawn goddess whose name is reconstructed as *aus-os- is even more widespread; she appears in Greek mythology as Eos, in Rome as Aurora, in Germanic mythology as Eostre, in Baltic mythology as Aušra, in Slavic mythology as Zorya, and in Hinduism as Ushas. These names are all cognate as well. From what we can tell of Indo-European culture, there was neither a systematic bias against goddesses or a religious motivation towards male dominance greater than any other comparable culture.
Belief in the sky father and the military prowess of Aryan supermen was a feature of Nazi racial ideology; the swastika was chosen to embody this belief system because it was a solar symbol. Sympathy with the lost utopia of the matriarchal goddessdom arose later. Established as a recurring theme in important literature, the tale lived on among the literature faculty long after it had been dropped by the anthropology department. Its truth was assumed by several historical novelists and fantasy authors, including Mary Renault, Mary Stewart, and more recently Mercedes Lackey and Marion Zimmer Bradley, among many others.
A mother goddess is a goddess, often portrayed as the Earth Mother, who serves as a general fertility deity, the bountiful embodiment of the earth. As such, not all goddesses should be viewed a manifestations of the mother goddess.
She ranges in Western traditions from the elegant snake-offering goddess figures of Knossos to the rock-cut images of Cybele, to Dione ("the Goddess") who was invoked at Dodona, along with Zeus, until late Classical times.
Examples of Mother Goddess type
There is no dispute that many ancient cultures worshipped female deities which match the modern conception of a mother goddess as part of their pantheons. The following are examples
Sumerian, Mesopotamian and Greek goddesses
Tiamat in Sumerian mythology , Ishtar (Inanna) and Ninsun in Mesopotamia, Asherah in Canaan, `Ashtart in Syria, and Aphrodite in Greece, for example.
Celtic goddesses
The Irish goddess Anu, sometimes known as Danu, has an impact as a mother goddess, judging from the Dá Chích Anann near Killarney, County Kerry. Irish literature names the last and most favored generation of gods as "the people of Danu" (Tuatha de Dannan).
Norse goddesses
Amongst the German tribes a female goddess was probably worshipped in the Nordic Bronze Age religion, which was later known as the Nerthus of German mythology, and possibly living on in the Norse mythology worship of Freya. Her counterpart in Scandinavia was the male deity Njord. Other female goddesses in different pantheons may also be considered mother goddesses. Also Yggdrasil, the World Ash, is often understood as the Mother Goddess.
Olympian goddesses
In the Aegean, Anatolian, and ancient Near Eastern culture zones, a Mother Goddess was worshipped in the forms of Cybele (revered in Rome as Magna Mater, the 'Great Mother'), of Gaia, and of Rhea.
The Olympian goddesses of classical Greece had many characters with mother goddess attributes, including Hera, Demeter and Athena. In Minoan Crete one of her aspects was the Mistress of the Animals (Potnia Theron) who some say devolved into the huntress Artemis; the archaic Artemis of many breasts worshiped at Ephesus retained some of these aspects.
Hinduism
In the Hindu context, the worship of the Mother entity can be traced back to early Vedic culture, and perhaps even before. The Rigveda calls the divine female power Mahimata (R.V. 1.164.33), a term which literally means Mother Earth. At places, the Vedic literature alludes to her as Viraj, the universal mother, as Aditi, the mother of gods, and as Ambhrini, the one born of Primeval Ocean. Kali, the wife of Shiva, represents the destructive aspect of femininity and motherhood.
Today, Devi is seen in manifold forms, all representing the creative force in the world, as Maya and prakriti, the force that galvanizes the divine ground of existence into self-projection as the cosmos. She is not merely the Earth, though even this perspective is covered by Parvati. All the various Hindu female entities are seen as forming many faces of the same female Divinity.
Neopaganism
The Mother Goddess, amalgamated and combined with various feminine figures from world cultures of both the past and present, is worshipped by modern Wiccans and other Neo-pagans (see Triple Goddess). The mother goddess is usually viewed as mother earth by these groups.
Earth Mother
The Earth Mother is a motif that appears in many mythologies. The Earth Mother is a fertile goddess embodying the fertile earth itself and typically the mother of other deities, and so are also seen as patronesses of motherhood. This is generally thought of as being because the earth was seen as being the mother from which all life sprang.
Some of the Black Madonnas are believed to stem from ancient statues of Earth Mother, whose partner was the Moon above her. When Virgin Mary dethroned Earth Mother the Moon was placed under her feet.
The Rigveda calls the Female power Mahimata (R.V. 1.164.33), a term which literally means Mother Earth.
Examples of Earth Mothers
• Brigid
• Demeter
• Freya
• Frigg
• Gaia
• Ishtar
• Isis
• Jord
• Nerthus
There were giants upon earth: New book
• Reveals the existence of physical evidence of alien presence on Earth in the distant past
• Identifies and describes the demigods, such as Gilgamesh, descended from these visitors
• Outlines the tests of this physical evidence of alien presence that could unlock the secrets of health, longevity, life, and death
In whose genetic image were we made? The Bible’s Elohim who said ‘Let us fashion The Adam in our image and after our likeness’ were the gods of Sumer and Babylon–the Anunnaki who had come to Earth from their planet Nibiru. The Adam, he wrote, was genetically engineered by adding Anunnaki genes to those of an existing hominid, some 300,000 years ago. Then, according to the Bible, intermarriage took place:
‘There were giants upon the Earth’ who took Adam’s female offspring as wives, giving birth to ‘heroes of renown.’ With meticulous detail, Sitchin shows that these were the demigods of Sumerian and Babylonian lore, such as the famed Mesopotamian king Gilgamesh as well as the hero of the Deluge, the Babylonian Utnapishtim.
Are we then, all of us, descendants of demigods? In this crowning oeuvre, Zecharia Sitchin proceeds step-by-step through a mass of ancient writings and artifacts, leading the reader to the stunning Royal Tombs of Ur. He reveals a DNA source that could prove the biblical and Sumerian tales true, providing conclusive physical evidence for past alien presence on Earth and an unprecedented scientific opportunity to track down the ‘Missing Link’ in humankind’s evolution, unlocking the secrets of longevity and even the ultimate mystery of life and death.
Press Release
Petition Launched to Demand Alien DNA Testing at the Natural History Museum in London
4,500-year-old remains believed to be those of an alien goddess
In his new book, There Were Giants Upon the Earth, Zecharia Sitchin proceeds step-by-step through a mass of ancient writings and artifacts culminating in the identification of the ancient Sumerian Puabi as an alien goddess, whose 4,500-year-old skeletal remains–discovered in the Royal Tombs of Ur–may still contain DNA from her alien home planet.
Sitchin has urged the Natural History Museum in London, where Puabi’s remains are stored, to conduct DNA comparisons with human genomes. To date, the museum has not complied.
‘It is my fervent hope [to] convince the museum to conduct the tests,’ says Sitchin, noting the remains could reveal the DNA differences that represent our genetic missing link–that small but crucial group of ‘alien genes’ that upgraded us from wild hominids to modern man.
Source and References
http://www.durgapujas.com/history.htm
http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=174292&cid=2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja
http://www.belurmath.org/durga_puja/article_on_durga_puja.htm
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=oct0608/edit3
http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue213/war_goddesses.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080416004601AAKs6aV
http://www.articlesbase.com/nature-articles/goddesses-of-war-348003.html
http://blogs.pillaicenter.com/category/drpillai/
http://blogs.pillaicenter.com/2010/09/
http://www.unsolvedmysteries.com/usm293357.html?t=Debate
http://aryannordicalpinealiens.blogspot.com/2008/09/sky-father-and-mother-earth.html
http://blogs.monografias.com/sistema-limbico-neurociencias/2010/06/08/there-were-giants-upon-earth-new-book/
http://aryannordicalpinealiens.blogspot.com/2008/09/christians-stole-christmas-and-nazis.html
http://aryannordicalpinealiens.blogspot.com/2008/09/christians-stole-christmas-and-nazis.html
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