The season of faith has come. Every
day the sun rises, defeating the befallen darkness to deliver us from evil with
the light of goodness! It is that time of the year again when the good steps in
to eradicate all the evil. Yes, it is time for Ma Durga to make her presence
felt.
Ma Durga or ma Shakti as she is
commonly known as, represents morality, power, strength, protection and much
more to us mere mortals. She is the ultimate divine mother who protects us from
the evil forces. She is the one to deliver us from jealousy, hatred,
selfishness, and ego and of course, anger. Her very name ‘Durga’ simply means
the one is inaccessible yet present for the ones she loves, someone who is
invincible and the one who can redeem or free us from mires of the world.
Powerful and beautiful,
Ma Durga is portrayed as the Devi with ten arms, sitting astride a lion,
carrying weapons and a lotus flower. She is the embodiment of Shakti and
energy. Mother to Kartikeya, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganesha, she is never seen
without her children. But there is more to Ma Durga.
Durga – the warrior goddess is
just one form of our divine mother. Borne from Vishnu, shiva and other powerful
gods, she has many many roops. However, the festival of navratri pays tribute
to her nine incantations – one for each of the nine days.
Day 1 – Shailputri
Day 2 – Brahmacharini
Day 3 – Chandraghanta
Day 4 – Kushmanda
Day 5 – Skanda Mata
Day 6 – Katyayani
Day 7 – Kalratri
Day 8 – Maha Gauri
Day 9 – Siddhidatri
Ma Durga is at once a powerful warrior,
a loyal wife, epitome of perseverance, extremely brave, bringer of happiness
and peace, but dangerous if messed with!
As a fellow Bengali, Durga pujo
was and is, a much-sought-after festival. The very mention of this festival
brings the idea of ‘new’ to my mind – a new beginning, a new approach to life,
renewed vigor and of course, a stronger sense to stay away from the tempting
evil. But Ma Durga is a lot more to me than just a festival.
I do not see her as a part of a
religion. She is not Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Parsi. She is, as I have
mentioned above, a source of strength to all – man, woman and child. A light of
energy to help us do good things. Through the nine days and celebration of her
nine avatars, she teaches us that there are many facets to life. The good, bad
and the ugly are bundled up together. It is up to us to see, to choose the good
over the evil. There is always a choice and we must make it.
“SOSTHI” Te Thak Notun Chhoa“SAPTAMI” Hok Sisir Dhoa Anjali Dao “ASHTAMI” Te Adda Jamuk “NAVAMI” Te "DASHMI” Te Hok Misti Mukh Pujo Tomar Khub Jomuk
ReplyDeleteHappy Durga Puja.
Being a non bengali who grew up in bengal, I used to scan newspaper articles, anything, to read up on the festival, apart from the usual pandal hopping of course. Such posts, I have always loved! :)
I am glad you liked the post :)Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLovely post <3
ReplyDeletewww.theeche.com
@elmundoo
ReplyDeleteThank you :)