Durga Puja

Last year we saw the preparations for Durga Puja in Varanasi but during the festival we were already back home.
The nine-day period from the new moon day to the ninth day of Ashvina is considered the most auspicious time of the Hindu Calendar and is hence the most celebrated time of the year known as Durga Puja (4-11 October). The festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil.
Goddess Durga represents a united front of all Divine forces against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. The gods in heaven decided to create an all-powerful being to kill the demon king Mahishasur who was ready to attack them. At that very moment a stream of lightning dazzled forth from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and it turned into a beautiful, magnificent woman with ten hands. Then all the gods furnished her with their special weapons. The image of Durga, the Eternal Mother destroying the demon, Mahishasur is symbolic of the final confrontation of the spiritual urge of man with his baser passions.

Durga, in Sanskrit means “She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach.” Goddess Durga is a form of Shakti worshipped for her gracious as well as terrifying aspect. The Goddess Durga is Mother of the Universe, she represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of a female dynamism. [LINK]