Durga Pooja is an integral part of the Hindu culture in India. Celebrated in
between September to November throughout the country, this Pooja is considered
to be one of the most complex and difficult Pooja out of all the Hindu
ceremonies. It is a nine days long affair in which the Goddess of Power ‘ Maa
Durga’ is worshipped in nine different forms namely Shailputri, Brahmcharini,
Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri and
Siddhidatri. It is said that worshipping Goddess Durga with full devotion brings
success, luck, health and prosperity to one’s family. There are also several
legends and stories associated with this Pooja, to know them in detail, read on.
Legends of Durga Puja
Goddess Durga
Goddess Durga is considered to be a united front of all Divine forces against
the evil and wickedness existing in the society. It is said that whenever the
evil would upsurge on earth, the Gods will unite together to eliminate those
forces and establish a kingdom of peace and prosperity. Likewise, when the
terror of the buffalo headed ‘Mahishasur’ took a toll on the life of innocent
and poor devotees of the Gods, the gods in heaven decided to create an
all-powerful being to kill the demon king Mahishasur. As Mahishasur was destined
to be killed only a women, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh created a beautiful,
magnificent woman with ten hands with their power. All the gods then furnished
her with their special weapons. She was then named Durga i.e ‘the invincible’.
Durga ten fought against Mahishasur for nine days and finally killed him on the
occasion of ‘Vijayadashmi’.
Pandavas
Another story associated with Durga Pooja has been taken from the great epic
‘Mahabharata’. It is said that on the occasion of Vijayadashmi, the Pandavas
declared their true identity after spending their last year of exile in
disguise. They brought down the weapons from the Shami tree which they had hung
over there before entering the palace of King Virat and entering into the phase
of disguise. It is said that since then the exchange of Shami leaves on the
Vijayadashmi day became symbol of good, will and victory.
Lord Rama
The significance of Durga Pooja has also been inscribed in the great Hindu epic
‘Ramayana. It has been said that the Lord Ram before going on a war with the ten
headed demon ‘Ravana’ did "chandi-puja and invoked the blessings of Durga so
that he could become invincible. Durga, the Goddess of power then divulged the
secret to Ram how he could kill Ravana.
Kautsa
Another interesting story associated with Durga Pooja is that of ‘Kautsa’, the
young son of Devdatt. It is said that after completion of his studies he
insisted on his guru Varatantu to accept ‘gurudakshina’. After lots of request
his Guru, finally asked for 14 crore gold coins, one crore for each of the 14
sciences he taught Kautsa. Kautsa then went to king Raghuraj, the ancestor of
Rama who was known for his generosity but just at that time he had emptied all
his coffers on the Brahmins, after performing the Vishvajit sacrifice. So,
Raghuraj went to Lord Indra and asked for some gold coins. Indra in return asked
Kuber, the god of wealth to make rainfall of gold coins on the "shanu" and "apati"
trees round Raghuraja's city of Ayodhya. In this manner Raghu was able to
fulfill his promise to Kautsa. The remaining coins were lavishly dispersed to
the people of Ayodhya city. As this event happened on the day of ‘Vijaya Dashmi’,
it has become a custom of this day to collect "apati" leaves and exchange it as
auspicious gifts.
|
|
