Durga Puja is celebrated every year in the Hindu month of Ashwin (September-October). Akal Bodhan performed by Sri Ramchandra to demolish Ravana. The awakening of Durga is celebrated as present day durga puja the orginal known as Basanti Puja which is usually in the month of Spring of the year.

The first grand worship of Goddess Durga in dates back in 1500s. Landlords or zamindar of Dinajpur and Malda initiated the first Durga Puja in Bengal. According to another source, Raja Kangshanarayan of Taherpur or Bhabananda Mazumdar of Nadiya organized the first Sharadiya or Autumn Durga Puja in Bengal in c 1606.

Baro-Wari Puja : The origin of the community puja can be credited to the twelve friends of Guptipara in Hoogly, West Bengal, who collaborated and collected contributions from local residents to conduct the first community puja called the ‘baro-yaari’ puja or the ‘twelve-pal’ puja in 1790. The baro-yaari puja was brought to Kolkata in 1832 by Raja Harinath of Cossimbazar, who performed the Durga Puja at his ancestral home in Murshidabad from 1824 to 1831.

Sarba-Janin Durga Puja : “The baro-wari” puja gave way to the sarbajanin or community puja in 1910, when the Sanatan Dharmotsahini Sabha organized the first truly community puja in Baghbazar in Kolkata with full participation. The institution of the community Durga Puja in the 18th and the 19th century Bengal contributed rich cultural heritage in Bengal.

Hindu mythology tells the fierce battle of Durga with Mahishasura, a demon who earned the favour of Lord Shiva after long and hard penance. Lord Shiva, pleased with the devotion of the demon, blessed him that no man or deity would be able to kill him. Mahishasura started his reign of terror over the Universe and people were killed mercilessly. He even attacked the abode of the gods. The war between gods and demons lasted a hundred years, in which Mahishasura was the leader of the Asuras or demons and Indra was the chief of the gods. In this contest the army of the gods was defeated by the more powerful demons. When Mahishasura conquered the gods, he became their leader.

Formation of Durga : She is basically evolved from the the power and energy of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. All other Super Powers gave their best in the formation of Devi who could recue them from all the evil . The power of Durga continues beyond Mahishasura, through the tale of goddess Kaushiki, another form of goddess Durga. After Mahishasura, two more demon brothers, Shumbha and Nishumbha started trouble in the heaven. The gods prayed to Mahamaya – the mother Goddess – to help them. At that moment, Goddess Parvati – wife of Lord Shiva – heard about the demons, a beautiful woman emerged from Parvati’s body. She was named Kaushiki. Upon the emergence of Kaushiki, Parvati’s body turned black and she then became known as Kalika. Kaushiki was seen by Chanda and Munda, the two trusted assistants of Shumbha and Nishumbha. Shumbha sent Dhumralochana to capture the goddess. Shumbha sent Chanda and Munda to capture the Devi. On seeing Chanda and Munda coming, From the Devi Kaushiki’s eyebrows emerged a ferocious looking goddess with a sword and a noose in her hands. She wore a tiger skin around her body. Her big eyes were red and from her tongue saliva dribbled. She was goddess Kali. She killed Chanda and Munda and dragged their bodies to Kaushiki. This gave Kali the name of Chamunda.

Among the asuras there was one named Raktabija. The replication of several demon from one drop of blood. Devi Kalika swallowed up Raktabeeja and the asuras which emerged from his blood. Nishumbha was killed by Kaushiki. Durga is also known as Mahamaya.

Various Forms of Goddess Durga

Goddess Durga is propitiated as various forms, as have been mentioned in various holy Hindu texts. Some of these sets of forms overlap partially. All of these forms however mark an independent Goddess who is intricately involved in the protection of nature and cosmic order and in destruction of evil forces who try to overturn this balance.

The Markandeya Purana places the ten forms of Durga in the following order:

Durga: The Goddess who first received and showed her beautiful face to entice the demons.

Dashabhooja: In this fierce ten-armed form of hers, she destroyed a part of the army of demons.

Singha-Vahini: In this form atop a lion, she fought with Raktabeeja, the general of Shumbha and Nishumbha whose drops of blood created thousands of demons.

Mahisha-Mardini: In this form she slew Shumbha, the demon, who had taken the form of a buffalo.

Jagadhatri: In this form she overcame the army of demons.

Kali: In this form she destroyed Raktabeeja by drinking his drops of blood and not allowing them to fall on the ground thus disallowing the further creation of demons from his blood.

Muktakeshi: In this form with flowing hair she overcame another army of demons.

Tara: In this form she killed Sambhu.

Chinnamastika: In this form she killed Nishumbha.

Jagadgauree: In this form she was worshipped by all the gods on their salvation from the demons.

Goddess Durga is also intricately associated with three distinct aspects of the cosmos as seen in the Hindu thought process. Durga is said to be associated with Shakti, Maya and Prakriti.

Shakti, the Basis, is the underlying power of the divine, the aspects of the divine that permits and provokes creative activity, a creative force, personified as goddess.

Goddess as Shakti: the male gods contribute their strength and vigor to the goddess, who epitomizes power, action and strength in the battle with demons. Durga is action and power personified and as such is a fitting representation of the idea of Shakti.

Maya

Maya, the Delusion, is the power that deludes an individual into thinking oneself to be the center of the world, the power that prevents an individual from experiencing the ultimate truth. It impels individuals into self-centered, egotistical actions and thus hides the underlying unity of reality and masks one’s essential identity with Brahman. Maya can be as either a positive or a negative energy.

Goddess as Maya : In the battle with Madhu and Kaitabha, she deludes the demons so that Vishnu can slay them. In the battle with Mahishasura, she enters into the battle more of leela (divine play), fighting with the demons because it pleases her, not out of sense of compulsion.

Prakriti

Prakriti is the physical world as well as the inherent rhythms within this world that impel nature to gratify and provide itself in its manifold species. She is both primordial matter, from which all material things come, and the living instincts and patterns, that imbue the material world with its proclivities to sustain and recreate itself in individual beings.

Goddess as Prakriti: In Devi Mahatmaya – a Hindu text on goddess Durga – it is stated that Durga is the world, and as the earth itself, she conveys cosmic stability. She is Sakambhari (she who provides the world with food from her own body). She is the foundation of all creatures and that, which nourishes all creatures. In her role as the cosmic queen, warrior goddess and demon slayer, Durga in effect protects herself in her aspect as the earth itself.

Hindu religious texts also talk about the existence of the Ten Great Feminine Cosmic Powers (Dasha Mahavidyas) which basically can be thought to be the ten fundamental aspects of the Supreme Cosmic Mother’s personality. Nevertheless, each Goddess has a specific cosmic function in the universal harmony. The traditional sequence of the ten Goddesses is:

Kali : The Power of Time and The Night of Eternity

Tara : The Power of Void and The Night of Anger

Tripura Sundari : The Power of Absolute Splendor

Bhuvaneshwari : The Power of Space and The Night of Perfect Realization

Tripura Bhairavi : The Power of Death and The Night of Destiny

Chhinnamasta : The Power of Sacrifice and The Night of Courage

Dhumavati : The Power of Deprivation and The Night of Frustration

Bagalamukhi : The Power of Instantaneous Stopping

Matangi : The Power of Domination and The Night of Illusion

Kamalatmika : The Power of Perfect Happiness and The Night of Paradise

Another such classification of the mother Goddess based on the various functions in protecting the cosmos and keeping the divine cosmic cycle running is the basis of the Nava Durga or the Nine Durgas. These nine goddesses, who actually are forms of Goddess Durga are propitiated on each day of a popular Hindu festival called the Navaratri.

Shailputri: As daughter (putri) of the Himalaya mountains (Shail), Parvati or Hemvati represents the first of the nine Durgas. She is depicted as holding a trident and a lotus in each of her two hands and is shown mounted on a bull.

Brahmacharini: The name indicates the phase of Parvati’s life when she was indulging in severe austerities to appease Lord Shiva into marrying her. She had pledged that she would remain unmarried (Brahmacharini) till Lord Shiva gives his consent to marrying Parvati. She is shown as holding a water pot (Kumbha) in one hand and a rosary in the other. She is considered as a holder of knowledge and wisdom. Rudrakhsa (rosary beads) form her favorite ornamentation.

Chandraghanta: As Chadraghanta, the goddess is depicted as having golden skin and with a moon-crescent near her forehead. She is shown as having three eyes and ten hands, eight of which carry weapons and two of which form gestures of giving boons and stopping harms. She is shown as sitting on a tiger. She is usually associated with the giver of knowledge, bliss and serenity.

Kushmanda: The fourth Durga is known as Kushmanda. She is depicted as emanating a cosmic aura and is depicted as having eight hands, seven of which carry weapons while the eighth carries a rosary.

Skanda Mata: Skanda Mata literally means the mother of Skanda. Skanda was the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati and was the leader of the army of gods.The goddess is shown as having four hands, two of which carry lotuses while two are in defending and granting gestures. She is shown sitting on a lion with her son Skanda in her lap.

Katyayani: Katyaynai is so named because of her stay at the hermitage of sage Katyayan for the purpose of penance. She is sometimes also said to be the daughter of sage Katyayan. She also is shown astride a lion and has three eyes and four arms. In one hand she holds a lotus and in another a weapon. The third and fourth hands show defending and granting gestures. Kaalratri: The seventh Durga, Kaalratri, is depicted as having black skin with bountiful hair, four arms and astride a donkey. In one hand she holds a cleaver and in another a burning torch. With the other two hands she forms gestures of granting and defending. She represents the enemy of darkness and ignorance.

Maha Gauri: Maha Gauri is depicted as the fairest of the nine Durgas and is often dressed in white or green. She emanates peace and compassion and is shown with three eyes and as riding a bull. She also has four arms, one of which carries a tambourine and another a trident. The other two form defending and granting gestures. It is said that when Parvati, consort of Lord Shiva, became dirty while observing penance, Lord Shiva bathed her with the holy waters of river Ganga. Parvati’s body turned lightning bright and thus she came to be known as Maha Gauri (Gauri means fair).

Siddhidatri: Siddhidatri means the giver of siddhis (magical or spiritual powers for the control of self, others and the forces of nature). It is said in Devipuran that the Supreme God, Lord Shiva received all of these powers by propitiating the Maha Shakti. The Goddess is sometimes shown atop a lion and sometimes atop a lotus. She is shown as having four arms, which hold a club, a conch shell and a lotus. The fourth hand forms a gesture of granting. Siddhidatri is considered to be the most powerful of all the nine forms of Durga.