When is Durga Puja in 2018

Durga Puja It is a prayer ritual performed to make offerings, honoring, evoking or worshipping gods. The ceremony can also be performed to pay homage to the beloved ones who are deadon 26 to 30 September 2018

According to Hindu calendar, Durga Puja festival is commemorated from the 6th to 10th day of the bright lunar fortnight (Shukla Paksha) in the month of Ashvin. This auspicious period often referred as Devi Paksha or the “Fortnight of the Goddess” and ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja that means the worship of Goddess Lakshmi –

Lakshmi
Lakshmi’s name comes from the Sanskrit… on Kojagori Full Moon Night”.

This festival signifies the triumph of Goddess Durga Puja 2018 over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. He was a demon who had the power to transform into a buffalo at will. He was blessed by Brahma that no man could kill him. He wanted to take over the heaven and conquer the universe. Durga failed him in his attempt by fighting and killing him. According to some legends, he is believed to be a great devotee of Durga, who played her enemy on her request as she wanted to teach the value of heaven to various Gods Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil.

Durga Puja is widely celebrated in many Indian states such as Assam, few regions of Bihar, Manipur, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura where it is a five-day annual holiday. In West Bengal, Tripura, which has a majority of Bengali Hindus, it is the biggest festival of the year. In Assam due to a presence of a large number of Bengali Hindus and Assamese Hindus, it is celebrated as one of the biggest religious festivals, referred as Bihu that is secular in nature. Durga Puja is not only the greatest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the state, but it also the most important socio-cultural event in Bengali Hindu society. Apart from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Kashmir, Delhi, Punjab, UP, Gujarat, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka.

Durga Puja is not only celebrated in Bengal but also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and Bangladesh. Nowadays, many Assamese and Bengali cultural organizations arrange for this festival in countries such as the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Singapore, and Kuwait, among others. In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum.

The importance of Durga Puja increased gradually during the British rule in Bengal and Assam. After the Hindu reformists had recognized Durga Puja as an important festival for uniting people for the independence movement. After independence, this festival became one of the largest celebrated festivals in the whole world. It is also the largest open air art exhibition in the World.

Rituals:

Devotees worship Shiva
Shiva is one of the Supreme Gods of Hindu Trinity that … and Durga along with Lakshmi, Saraswati –
The name Saraswati is a combination of two Sanskrit words, Ganesha

The guardian deity of Hindus, also known as the Ganapati (The God of all groups) is the son of Lord Shiva …, and Kartikeya.

After their marriage, Shiva and Parvati lived happily…. Many people even worship Mother Nature by nine types of plant (called “Kala Bou”), including a plantain (banana). It is the Banana tree that represents nine divine forms of Goddess Durga. Modern traditions have come to include the display of decorated and artistically depicted sculptures of Durga and exchange of Vijaya greetings and publication of Puja Annuals.