39 Facts About Durga Puja

1.

Durga Puja, known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasur.

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2.

Durga Puja is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are of the most significance.

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3.

Durga Puja is an important festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism.

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4.

Durga Puja coincides with Navaratri and Dussehra celebrations observed by other traditions of Hinduism.

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5.

Primary goddess revered during Durga Puja is Durga but celebrations include other major deities of Hinduism such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya.

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6.

In Bengali and Odia traditions, these deities are considered to be Durga's children, and Durga Puja is believed to commemorate Durga's visit to her natal home with her beloved children.

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7.

Durga Puja is an old tradition of Hinduism, though its exact origins are unclear.

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8.

The prominence of Durga Puja increased during the British Raj in the provinces of Bengal, Odisha and Assam.

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9.

However, in modern times, the importance of Durga Puja is more as a social and cultural festival than a religious one, wherever it is observed.

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10.

In West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Tripura, Durga Puja is called Akalbodhan, Sharadiya pujo, Sharodotsab, Maha pujo, Maayer pujo, Durga pujo, or merely Puja or Pujo.

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11.

In Bangladesh, Durga Puja has historically been celebrated as Bhagabati puja.

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12.

Maa Durga Puja is known as the Goddess of Power which represents triumph of Goodness over evil.

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13.

Durga Puja is referred to by the names of related Shakta Hindu festivals such as Navaratri, celebrated on the same days elsewhere in India; such as in Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Maharashtra, Kullu dussehra, celebrated in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh; Mysore dussehra celebrated in Mysore, Karnataka; Bommai golu, celebrated in Tamil Nadu; Bommala koluvu, celebrated in Andhra Pradesh; and Bathukamma, celebrated in Telangana.

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14.

Durga Puja is an ancient deity of Hinduism according to available archeological and textual evidence.

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15.

Name Durga Puja, and related terms, appear in Vedic literature, such as in the Rigveda hymns 4.

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16.

Durga Puja appears in Harivamsa in the form of Vishnu's eulogy and in Pradyumna's prayer.

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17.

When he was about to offer his eye, Goddess Durga Puja appeared and told him that she had only hidden the flower in order to testify his devotion and she was satisfied with it.

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18.

Durga Puja blessed Lord Rama and Lord Rama continued with her worship, which is better known by Akaal Bodhan in the context.

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19.

Durga Puja is a ten-day event, of which the last five days involve certain rituals and practices.

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20.

Durga Puja is, in part, a post-monsoon harvest festival observed on the same days in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism as those in its other traditions.

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21.

The practice of including a bundle of nine different plants, called navapatrika, as a symbolism of Durga Puja, is a testament practice to its agricultural importance.

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22.

Durga Puja is believed to be another aspect of goddess Durga, and who is the external and internal activity of all existence, in everything and everywhere.

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23.

The shlokas and mantras praise the divinity of the goddess; according to the shlokas Durga Puja is omnipresent as the embodiment of power, nourishment, memory, forbearance, faith, forgiveness, intellect, wealth, emotions, desires, beauty, satisfaction, righteousness, fulfillment and peace.

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24.

Durga Puja pandals have been centered around themes to acknowledge political events such as the 2019 Balakot airstrike and to protest against the National Register of Citizens of India.

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25.

The non-Bengali Durga Puja rituals tend to be essentially Vedic in nature but they too incorporate esoteric elements making the puja an example of a culmination of Vedic-Tantric practices.

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26.

Historical evidence suggests that the Durga Puja has evolved over time, becoming more elaborate, social, and creative.

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27.

The rituals associated with the Durga Puja migrated to other regions from Bengal, such as in Varanasi, a city that has historically attracted sponsorship from Hindus from various parts of the Indian subcontinent including Bengal.

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28.

Durga Puja is a widely celebrated festival in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Odisha.

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29.

Today, Durga Puja has turned into a consumerist social carnival, a major public spectacle and a major arts event riding on the wave of commercialisation, corporate sponsorship, and craze for award-winning.

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30.

Durga Puja is a gift-giving and shopping season for communities celebrating it, with people buying gifts for not only family members but for close relatives and friends.

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31.

In Odisha, Durga Puja is the most important festival of the people of the state.

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32.

Durga Puja is a very important festival for Odias, during the 4 days of the festival, the streets of the city turns into a wonderland throughout the state, people welcome the arrival of their maa by rejoicing themselves, eating tasty food, wearing new clothes, seeing different pandals across the city, family gathering and gift givings.

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33.

Durga Puja has been started at the Durgabari temple, in Agartala by King Radha Kishore Manikya Bahadur.

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34.

Beyond being an art festival and a socio-religious event, Durga Puja has been a political event with regional and national political parties having sponsored Durga Puja celebrations.

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35.

In 2019, Kolkata's Durga Puja was nominated by the Indian government for the 2020 UNESCO Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

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36.

Durga Puja plays a great significance in the living of certain peoples.

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37.

Dramas enacting the legend of Durga Puja slaying Mahishasura are telecasted on the television.

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38.

Beyond south Asia, Durga Puja is organized by Bengali communities in the United States of America.

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39.

Durga Puja celebrations have been started in Hong Kong by the Bengali diaspora.

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