Mahalaya 2021: Celebrations begin a week before Durga Puja; check history and significance of day here

A week prior to Durga Puja celebrations, Mahalaya is observed by the devotees of Goddess Durga. According to the Hindu calendar, Mahalaya marks the last day of Pitru Paksha, which will be observed today, 6 October. Mahalaya is marked and celebrated in the states including West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura and Karnataka where devotees begin the countdown of Durga Puja. As per the Hindu Mythology, it is believed that Goddess Durga was created on this day by Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswar. They formed Goddess Durga to defeat the demon King Mahishasura with her divine powers. So, on this day, devotees celebrate the arrival of Goddess Durga to earth from Kailash Parvat. Furthermore, artists and sculptors will add colour to Goddess Durga’s eyes on this special day. They also perform a special puja before this. Devotees pray to Durga, the goddess of power, as it is believed that she comes to Earth to bless her people. It is believed that the Goddess travelled on a boat, palanquin, elephant or by horse. Also, the Durga puja commences on the seventh day of Mahalaya and ends on the tenth day of Dusshera. Details on Amavasya Tithi of Mahalaya: The tithi will begin on 5 October at 07:04 pm and it will end at 04:34 pm on 6 October. This day will be recognised as the end of 16-day long Pitru Paksha, where people will remember the departed souls by offering them ‘tarpan’ and mark the beginning of Devi Paksha. History: As per Hindu scriptures, King Mahishasura was blessed with an advantage and boon that no God or human could kill him. On being blessed with this advantage, Mahishasura attacked the Devtas and destroyed them completely. A few of them escaped and went to Lord Brahma to seek help. Then, Brahma guided them to Vishnu and Mahadeva. With power and prayers, the gods projected and collectively gave birth to a strong form of energy that looked like a ten-armed goddess. Each god gave her one protective armour, to fight against the demon. The fierce war between Goddess Durga and Mahishasura lasted for nine days, and on the 10th day, she finally killed him. How is the day celebrated? On this special day, devotees wake up early in the morning to worship Goddess Durga by reciting Chandipath and other devotional mantras. Since the year 1931, a one and half-hour audio montage of Chandipath along with Bengali devotional songs have aired on the All India Radio from daybreak.