Durga Puja begins today with Maha Shasthi -

FE Team | Published: October 20, 2023 00:29:17

Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Bangalee Hindu community, begins today with incarnation of Goddess Durga on the day of Maha Shasthi at temples and makeshift mandaps across the country amid due religious fervour and gaiety, reports BSS.
The five-day Sharadiyo Durgotsab will commence with Kalparambho in the morning which will be followed by Adhibash, Amantran (invitation) and Bodhon (incarnation) in the late afternoon as Maha Shasthi Tithi starts on 12.31am on Friday.
Dhakeshwari National Temple priest Barun Chakrabarty said the festival would begin with Kalparambho at 8am at the temple and later in the late afternoon Adhibash, Amantran and Bodhon would be held at the base of the Bel tree on the temple premises in order to awaken Goddess Durga.
The most auspicious time to observe the Kalparambha ritual is the early morning. This involves the installation a pot or Kalash filled with water, invoking Goddess Durga on the base of a Bel plant (Bilva Tree) and taking a Sankalp (determination) to perform the Durga Puja by following all necessary rituals and practices in proper manner for the next four days.
According to Hindu religious texts, the ideal time of worshipping the goddess is spring. Autumn is considered the season where the 'devatas' or Hindu deities go into rest mode. If deities have to be invoked at this time they must be awakened from their sleep.
This process is known as 'Bodhon' which is performed in the evening likewise Kalparambha. During this ritual, a water-filled kalash (pot) is kept at the base of the Bel tree.
The face of the deity is unveiled. Prayers are offered to the goddess. This is followed by the Amantran (invitation) and the Adhivas rituals, through which the deity is invited and given a grand welcome.
At this stage, married women apply sindoor (vermilion) on their foreheads, put on new sarees and welcome the goddess through a glass of gangaajal (water from the holy Ganges), a couple of paan pata (betel leaves) and supari (betel nuts).
Goddess Durga is commonly depicted with different vehicles every year, and to be precise, there are four of them, each of which carries its own symbolic meaning.
In 2023, Goddess Durga will arrive and depart in horse this year and it will mean war and dispute and inclement weather, Dhaka University Jagannath Hall Upasanalaya's chief priest Sadhan Chakrabarty said adding "this is considered inauspicious".