Maha Asthami celebrated amidst rituals with fanfare

October 17: The slight nip in the air, the pujo-pujo feel, cooking up hearty meals, and a vibrant and carefree ambiance engulfed the Pujo visitors at the moment. The fantastic weather on the day of Maha Saptami of Durga Puja saw multitude of visitors in various pandals of all the three districts of Barak Valley. The mood of festivity has sunk in making everybody enjoy the most cherished autumn festival of the Bengalis.

After a favulous Saptami, it’s Maha Ashthami today. Maha Ashtami, which is also known as Durgashtami is considered as one of the most auspicious day in the entire span of Durgoutsav. The rituals start from early in the morning and continue till late in the evening. Not only the priests play a major role, but also common people participate in the puja as well. The participation of women in the Puja process in many of the pandals is noteworthy. It is believed that the idol gets livelier in this day as the priests perform elaborate rituals with complete devotion.

For Bengalis, Ashtami or Durga Ashtami is considered to be the most important day of Durga Puja. People dress up in new clothes and hit the pandals early in the morning for pushpanjali.  Durga Puja on Maha Ashtami begins with Mahasnaan of the idol. This is followed by the Shodashopachar Puja. In this puja, nine earthern pots are placed in the centre and worshipped.

On the day of Ashtami, special pujas like ‘Astra Puja‘ and ‘Sandhi Puja‘ also take place in Puja pandals. As part of Astra Puja, Goddess Durga’s weapons with which she defeated the buffalo demon Mahishasura are worshipped with much fervour. It is said that it was on the day of Ashtami, after a long drawn battle between Goddess Durga and Mahishasura, Goddess Kali appeared from Durga’s forehead to annihilate Mahishasura’s demons – Chando, Munda and Rakthabija. Therefore on this day, Ashta Nayikas, or the eight forms or incarnations of shakti are worshipped in the form of all encompassing Goddess Durga.

In many of the puja pandals ‘Kumari Puja’ was held. Kumari puja is one of the best mediums to please Ma Durga; it is said that the goddess is most happy when kumaris or maidens are venerated. Little girls irrespective of caste or creed are worshipped in the sense of offering prayers to the divine goddess.

It is a belief that kumaris of different classes possess different significances. In Meru Tantra, we find that all the gods are pleased by the worship of a Brahmin kumara; worshipping a Kshatriya kumari provides fame and prosperity; a Vaishya kumari provides wealth while Shudra kumari is related with progeny.

Kumari’s are called by different name as per their age. The two year old kumari is worshipped as Kumari, three year old as Tri-murti, four year old as Kalyani, five year old as Rohini, six year old as Kaalika, seven year old as Chandika, eight year old as Shambhavi, nine year old as Durga and 10 year old is worshipped as Subhadra.

In afternoons, devotees gather for special ‘Ashtami Bhog’. The evenings of Durga Ashtami are a sight to behold. One highlight, is of course the grand Aarti, which is accompanied with frenzied beats of dhol with special dhunuchi dance(dancing with earthen pots in which lay flared coconut husks). Another high point of Ashtami is Sandhi Puja. This particular puja is performed in an auspicious time called the Sandhi time. The auspicious time often falls in the last 24 minutes of Ashtami or first 24 minutes of Navami. Women and children start preparing for the puja hours in advance. 108 earthen lamps are lit during the Sandhi time as a ritual to invoke the blessings of the goddess. The goddess is also offered 108 lotus flowers and bilwa leaves.

Sandhi Puja is celebrated to worship the Chamunda form of Goddess Kali/Shakti. Chamunda came out of the Goddess Durga’s third eye on her forehead which was shut until Mahishasura breached rules of the battle. Chamunda slayed both Chando and Munda, the demons of Mahishasura.

As the puja progresses throughout the day, the number of visitors was gradually increasing. Though a huge crowd was on the streets, which led to long hours of traffic congestion, yet that could not dampen the spirit of the people. Traffic police carried on the crowd management part with utmost dedication. There were no reports of any untoward incident in the valley.

Team way2barak wishers all its readers a very happy Maha Ashthami. Do visit us again on Maha Navami.