Durga Puja : Most Popular Festival of India

Durga Puja 2019 : Countdown Begins
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in West Bengal and some other parts of India. It is observed every year during late September or early October. This festival is a celebration of the victory of Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. In 2019, Durga Puja is going to be celebrated on 4th October, 2019 with the Panchami Puja and will end on 8th October, 2019. The dates of this festival usually coincide with the last 5 days of Navratri, a popular celebration of the Hindus. The arrival of Goddess Durga on earth is observed as Mahalaya. The actual Durga Puja celebrations start 7 days after Mahalaya which is considered to be the day when Goddess Durga comes to our abode. History of Durga Puja Here's how the worship of Goddess Durga came into practice. In ancient times, there existed a buffalo demon called Mahishasura who had received a boon from Lord Brahma. According to this boon, no man or deity could kill Mahishasura. Having received blessings from Lord Brahma, Mahishasura started killing people mercilessly and harassing the gods. He was even successful in driving the gods away from their abode, that is, heaven.  To fight the demon and protect themselves as well as people on earth, the gods sought help from Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The supreme Gods were enraged at the exploits of Mahishasura.Their anger led to fires and thunderbolt. The energy of the fires resulted in the birth of Goddess Durga. She received her ten arms from Lord Vishnu and her legs from Lord Brahma.  Goddess Durga's face developed from the light of Lord Shiva. She received all the weapons to fight Mahishasura from the gods. Armed with these weapons, Goddess Durga defeated Mahishasura and helped the gods return to heaven. Since then Goddess Durga is worshipped by all gods and human beings.

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