Today i.e. on October 07, Navratri is going to start. Mahalaya has a special place in the Durga Puja of Shardiya Navratri.
Mahalaya Amavasya 2021
Sharadiya Navratri begins on the next day of Mahalaya Amavasya i.e. on Pratipada. This year Navratri is going to start today i.e. on 07 October. Mahalaya has a special place in the Durga Puja of Shardiya Navratri. Durga Puja starts from the day of Mahalaya. The people of Bengal wait for this Mahalaya for a whole year. It is a religious belief that Shraddh ends with Mahalaya and Maa Durga comes to earth from Mount Kailash on this day and stays here for the next 10 days.
Sculptors start painting Durga’s eyes from the day of Mahalaya, the clouds have come to welcome Mahalaya today, Pitru Paksha will end and Shardiya Navratri will start from 7 One of the Durga Puja rituals among Bengalis, sculptors prepare the eyes of Maa Durga on the day of Mahalaya. Durga Puja will start with Mahalaya.
Mahalaya is the main festival of Bengalis
Although Mahalaya is the main festival of Bengalis, but it is celebrated with great enthusiasm and pomp across the country. Devotees who have faith in Maa Durga wait a lot for this day. The beginning of Durga Puja is considered to be from Mahalaya itself.
History of Mahalaya
According to mythological beliefs, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh created Maa Durga to kill the tyrannical demon Mahishasura. Mahishasura was blessed with a boon that no god or human would be able to kill him. After receiving such a boon, Mahishasura became the king of the demons and attacked the gods. The gods lost the war and Devlokar was ruled by Mahishasura. To protect him from Mahishasura, all the gods worshiped Adi Shakti along with Lord Vishnu. During this, a divine light emerged from the bodies of all the deities, which took the form of Goddess Durga. Maa Durga, armed with weapons, killed Mahishasura on the 10th day after fighting a fierce battle for nine days. Actually, Mahalaya signifies the arrival of Maa Durga on earth. Maa Durga is considered to be the goddess of power.
Dates of nine days of Navratri
| 7th October, Thursday | Pratipada Ghatasthapana and Maa Shailputri Puja |
| October 8, Friday | Second Mother Brahmacharini Puja |
| 9 October, Saturday | Tritiya and Chaturthi Maa Chandraghanta Puja and Maa Kushmanda Puja |
| 10th October, Sunday | Panchami Maa Skandmata Puja |
| 11 October, Monday | Shashthi Maa Katyayani Puja |
| 12 October, Tuesday | Saptami Maa Kalratri Puja |
| 13 October, Wednesday | Ashtami Maa Mahagauri Puja |
| October 14, Thursday | Navami Maa Siddhidatri Puja |
| October 15, Friday | Dashami Navratri Parana / Durga Visarjan |
Also read: 6 October 2021 Panchang: Know Wednesday’s Panchang, Shubh Muhurta and Rahukal.
