Durga Puja: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:09, 29 November 2025

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Durga Puja (ISO: Script error: No such module "lang"., Script error: No such module "IPA"., Script error: No such module "IPA".), also known as Durgotsava or Sharadotsava, is a major Hindu festival honouring the goddess Durga and commemorating her victory over Mahishasura.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In 2021, 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.^[1]

The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashvin (September–October) on the Hindu luni-solar calendar.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn It lasts ten days, with the final five being most prominent.^[2]Template:Sfn Even though Durga Puja and Navaratri are both dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga and are observed simultaneously, they are not the same festival.^[3]

The puja is performed in homes and public spaces with temporary structures (known as pandals), religious recitations, cultural performances, visiting, feasting, and processions; it is central to the Shaktism tradition.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Scriptures portray Durga's defeat of Mahishasura, often interpreted as the triumph of good over evil; some traditions also link the festival with post-monsoon harvest themes.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Durga Puja coincides with Navaratri and Dussehra celebrations observed by other traditions of Hinduism.^[4]Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Alongside Durga, devotees commonly venerate Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya. Major public celebrations run from Mahalaya to Vijayadashami and conclude with immersion of the images; practices vary by region.

Durga Puja is an old tradition with medieval textual references and detailed manuals from at least the 14th century; elite and community forms expanded under early modern and colonial patronage.^[5]Template:Sfn

Names

In West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand and Tripura, Durga Puja is also called Akalbodhan (literally, "untimely awakening of Durga"), Sharadiya pujo or puja ("autumnal worship"), Sharodotsab ("festival of autumn"), Maha pujo ("grand puja"), Maayer pujo ("worship of the Mother"),Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Durga pujo,^[6] or merely Puja(In Odisha, Bihar) or Pujo. In Bangladesh, Durga Puja has historically been celebrated as Bhagabati puja.^[7] Maa Durga is known as the Goddess of Power (feminine) which represents triumph of Goodness over evil.

Durga Puja is also referred to by the names of related Shakta Hindu festivals such as Navaratri, celebrated on the same days elsewhere in India;Template:Sfn such as in Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Maharashtra,Template:Efn-ua Kullu Dussehra, celebrated in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh;Template:Efn-ua Mysore Dasara celebrated in Mysore, Karnataka;Template:Efn-ua Bommai Golu, celebrated in Tamil Nadu; Bommala Koluvu, celebrated in Andhra Pradesh;Template:Efn-ua and Bathukamma, celebrated in Telangana.

History and origins

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Durga is an ancient goddess of Hinduism according to available archeological and textual evidence. However, the origins of Durga Puja are unclear and undocumented.

File:Dadhimati Mata Temple, Rajasthan.jpg

The Dadhimati Mata Temple of Rajasthan preserves a Durga-related inscription from chapter 10 of Devi Mahatmya. The temple inscription has been dated by modern methods to 608 CE.Template:Sfn^[8]

File:Mahisasimardini Durga, Ambari, Guwahati.jpg

13th–14th century Durga statue from Ambari, Guwahati, Assam.

The name Durga, and related terms, appear in Vedic literature, such as in the Rigveda hymns 4.28, 5.34, 8.27, 8.47, 8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the Atharvaveda^[9]^[10]Template:Efn-ua A deity named Durgi appears in section 10.1.7 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka.^[9] While the Vedic literature uses the word Durga, the description therein lacks legendary details about her or about Durga Puja that is found in later Hindu literature.Template:Sfn

A key text associated with Durga Puja is Devi Mahatmya, which is recited during the festival. Durga was likely a well-established deity by the time this Hindu text was composed, which scholars estimate to date between 400 and 600 CE.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Devi Mahatmya scripture describes the nature of evil forces symbolised by Mahishasura as shape-shifting, deceptive, and adapting in nature, in form and in strategy to create difficulties and thus achieve their evil ends. Durga calmly understands and counters the evil in order to achieve her solemn goals.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Efn-uaDurga, in her various forms, appears as an independent deity in the Indian texts.Template:Sfn

In the Mahabharata, both Yudhisthira and Arjuna invoke hymns to Durga.Template:Sfn She appears in Harivamsa in the form of Vishnu's eulogy and in Pradyumna's prayer. The prominent mention of Durga in such epics may have led to her worship.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

File:Akalbodhan Venus Club 2010 Arnab Dutta.JPG

A display of sculpture-idols depicting Rama and Narada praying with Durga

File:Goddess idol at Gosani Jatra, Puri (6).jpg

Maa Durga Rudra Roop at Gosani Jatra Puri

Some versions of the Puranas mention Durga Puja to be a spring festival, while the Devi-Bhagavata Purana and two other Shakta Puranas mentions it to be an autumn festival. The Ramayana manuscripts are also inconsistent. Versions of Ramayana found in the north, west, and south of the Indian subcontinent describe Rama to be remembering Surya (the Hindu sun god) before his battle against Ravana, but the Bengali manuscripts of Ramayana, such as the Krittivasi Ramayana, a 15th-century manuscript by Krittivasa, mention Rama to be worshipping Durga.Template:Sfn As per the legend, Rama worshipped Durga in the autumn to have her blessings before defeating Ravana. While he was preparing for the worship of the goddess, Durga hid one of the 108 flowers of lotus, very essential for her worship. Having found only 107 of 108 lotuses at the time of the worship, Rama decided to offer one of his eyes in place of that lotus. When he was about to offer his eye, Durga appeared and told him that she had only hidden the flower in order to test his devotion and she was satisfied with it. She blessed Rama and he continued with her worship. Since the gods are believed to be sleeping during autumn, the awakening rite of the Durga puja is also known as akāla bodhana.^[11]

Surviving manuscripts from the 14th-century provide guidelines for Durga Puja, while historical records suggest the royalty and wealthy families to be sponsoring major Durga Puja public festivities, since at least the 16th-century.Template:Sfn The 11th or 12th-century Jain text Yasatilaka by Somadeva mentions an annual festival dedicated to a warrior goddess, celebrated by the king and his armed forces, and the description mirrors attributes of Durga Puja.Template:Sfn^[12]

According to some scholars, the worship of the fierce warrior goddess Durga, and her darker and more violent manifestation Kali, became popular in the Bengal region during and after the medieval era, marked by Muslim invasions and conquests.Template:Sfn

The significance of Durga and other goddesses in Hindu culture is stated to have increased after Islamic armies conquered regions of the Indian subcontinent.Template:Sfn According to yet other scholars, the marginalisation of Bengali Hindus during the medieval era led to a reassertion of Hindu identity and an emphasis on Durga Puja as a social festival, publicly celebrating the warrior goddess.Template:SfnFrom the medieval era up to present-day, Durga Puja has been celebrated as a socio-cultural event, while maintaining the roots of religious worship.^[13]

Rituals and practices

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Texts

The puja rituals involve mantras (words manifesting spiritual transformation), shlokas (holy verses), chants and arati, and offerings. The worship begins with a reading of the Sanskrit Devī Mahātmya from the sixth-century Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.Template:Sfn^[14] The shlokas and mantras praise the divinity of the goddess; according to the shlokas, Durga is omnipresent as the embodiment of power, nourishment, memory, forbearance, faith, forgiveness, intellect, wealth, emotions, desires, beauty, satisfaction, righteousness, fulfilment and peace.Template:Sfn Template:Efn-ua

Scriptural References

Source:^[15]

Markandeya Purana (Devi Mahatmya / Chandi Path): The primary text narrating the battle of Durga with Mahishasura.
Devi Bhagavata Purana: Expands on the cosmic significance of Maa Durga and her victory.
Skanda Purana: Mentions Durga's various forms and their purpose in destroying evil.
Varaha Purana: Contains references to the goddess as Mahishasura Mardini.
Tantra Texts (e.g., Devi Mahatmyam in Shakta Tantra): Emphasize her as Shakti, the supreme power.

Relation to harvest

Durga Puja as a harvest festival

Om you are rice [wheat...], Om you are life, you are the life of the gods, you are our life, your are our internal life, you are long life, you give life, Om the Sun with his rays (....)

— Hymn to start the Durga Puja,
Translator: David KinsleyTemplate:Sfn

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Durga Puja is, in part, a post-monsoon harvest festival observed on the same days in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism as those in its other traditions.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The practice of including a bundle of nine different plants, called navapatrika,^[16]Template:Efn-ua as a symbolism of Durga, is a testament practice to its agricultural importance.Template:Sfn Many people think Nabapatrika is just a banana tree wrapped like a bride, often called “Kolabou”. In reality, it is a sacred combination of nine plants, each representing a form of divine energy and cosmic force.^[17] The typically selected plants include not only representative important crops, but also non-crops. This probably signifies the Hindu belief that the goddess is "not merely the power inherent in the growth of crops but the power inherent in all vegetation".Template:Sfn

The festival is a social and public event in the eastern and northeastern states of India, where it dominates religious and socio-cultural life, with temporary pandals built at community squares, roadside shrines, and temples. The festival is also observed by some Shakta Hindus as a private home-based festival.Template:Sfn

Before Durga puja there is Paata Puja, the ritual of making an idol on the day of the Rath Yatra, usually around July. 'Paata' is the wooden frame that forms the base for the idols.^[18]Template:Sfn

Day One

Durga Puja is a ten-day event. The festival begins with Mahalaya, a day on which Hindus perform tarpaṇa by offering water and food to their dead ancestors. The day also marks the arrival of Durga from her marital home in Kailash.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

The festival starts at twilight with prayers to Saraswati.Template:Sfn She is believed to be another aspect of goddess Durga. This is also the day when the eyes are painted of the deities on the representative clay sculpture-idols, bringing them to a lifelike appearance.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The day also marks prayers to Ganesha and visit to pandals and temples.Template:Sfn

Day Two to Five

Day two to five mark the remembrance of the goddess and her manifestations, such as Kumari (goddess of fertility), Mai (mother), Ajima (grandmother), Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) and in some regions as the Saptamatrikas (seven mothers) or Navadurga (nine aspects of Durga).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn On the sixth day major festivities and social celebrations start.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The first nine days overlap with Navaratri festivities in other traditions of Hinduism.Template:Sfn Template:SfnThe specific practices vary by region.Template:Sfn

Day Six to Nine

The next significant day of the festival is the sixth day (Shashthi), on which devotees welcomes the goddess and festive celebrations are inaugurated. Rituals typically performed on the sixth day include:

Bodhana: Involves rites to awaken and welcome the goddess to be a guest. The amorphous sight of the goddess is consecrated into a ghata or noggin while the visible sight is consecrated into the murti or idol. These rituals are known as ghatasthapana and pranapratistha respectively.Template:Sfn

Adhivasa: Anointing ritual wherein symbolic offerings are made to Durga, with each item representing a remembrance of subtle forms of her.Template:Sfn

On the seventh day (Saptami), eighth (Ashtami) and ninth (Navami) days, the goddess along with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya are revered and these days mark the main days of worship with recitation of scriptures, puja, legends of Durga in Devi Mahatmya, social visits to elaborately decorated and illuminated pandals (temporary structures meant for hosting the puja), among others.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Navapatrika snan: Bathing of the navapatrika with holy water done on the seventh day of the festival.Template:Sfn
Sandhi puja and Ashtami pushpanjali: The eighth day begins with elaborate pushpanjali rituals. The cusp of the ending of the eighth day and beginning of the ninth day is considered to be the moment when per scriptures Durga engaged in a fierce battle against Mahishasura and was attacked by the demons Chanda and Munda. Goddess Chamunda emerged from the third eye of Durga and killed Chanda and Munda at the cusp of Ashtami and Navami, the eighth and ninth days respectively. This moment is marked by the sandhi puja, involving the offering of 108 lotuses and lighting of 108 lamps. It is a forty-eight minutes long ritual commemorating the climax of battle. The rituals are performed in the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami. In some regions, devotees sacrifice an animal such as a buffalo or goat, but in many regions, there is not an actual animal sacrifice and a symbolic sacrifice substitutes it. The surrogate effigy is smeared in red vermilion to symbolise the blood spilled.Template:Sfn The goddess is then offered food (bhog). Some places also engage in devotional service.Template:Sfn

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Day Ten

Script error: No such module "lang". and immersion: The tenth and last day, called Vijaya Dashami is marked by Script error: No such module "lang"., where women smear Script error: No such module "lang". or vermillion on the sculpture-idols and also smear each other with it. This ritual signifies the wishing of a blissful marital life for married women. Historically the ritual has been restricted to married women. The tenth day is the day when Durga emerged victorious against Mahishasura and it ends with a procession where the clay sculpture-idols are ceremoniously taken to a river or coast for immersion rites.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Following the immersion, Durga is believed to return to her mythological marital home of Kailasa to Shiva and the cosmos in general. People distribute sweets and gifts, visit their friends and family members on the tenth day.Template:Sfn Some communities such as those near Varanasi mark the day after Vijaya Dashami, called Ekadashi, by visiting a Durga temple.Template:Sfn

File:Smearing vermillion on Durga Puja Festival.jpg

Women at Nowgong Bengali Association Durga Puja joyfully smear each other with Vermillion as part of the exuberant Durga Puja festival celebrations in Nagaon, Assam, India.

Dhunuchi naach and Script error: No such module "lang".: Dhunuchi naach involves a dance ritual performed with Script error: No such module "lang". (incense burner). Drummers called Script error: No such module "lang"., carrying large leather-strung Dhaks, Dhols and other traditional drums depending on the region, to create music, to which people dance either during or not during arati. Some places, especially home pujas, also observe dhuno pora, a ritual involving married women carrying dhunuchis burning with incense and dried coconuts, on a cloth on their head and hands,

Decorations, sculptures, and stages

Script error: No such module "Multiple image". The process of the creation of clay sculpture-idols (pratima or murti) for the puja, from the collection of clay to the ornamentation is a ceremonial process. Though the festival is observed post-monsoon harvest, the artisans begin making the sculpture-idols months before, during summer. The process begins with prayers to Ganesha and to the perceived divinity in materials such as bamboo frames in which the sculpture-idols are cast.Template:Sfn

Durga statue being made

Clay statue being made

Clay, or alluvial soil, collected from different regions form the base. This choice is a tradition wherein Durga, perceived as the creative energy and material, is believed to be present everywhere and in everything in the universe.Template:Sfn In certain traditions in Kolkata, a custom is to include soil samples in the clay mixture for Durga from areas believed to be nishiddho pallis (forbidden territories; territories inhabited by the "social outcasts" such as brothels).Template:Sfn^[19]^[20]

The clay base is combined with straw, kneaded, and then moulded into a cast made from hay and bamboo. This is layered to a fine final shape, cleaned, painted, and polished. A layer of a fibre called jute, mixed in with clay, is also attached to the top to prevent the statue from cracking in the months ahead. The heads of the statues are more complex and are usually made separately.Template:Sfn The limbs of the statues are mostly shaped from bundles of straws.Template:Sfn Then, starting about August, the local artisans hand-paint the sculpture-idols which are later dressed in clothing, are decorated and bejewelled, and displayed at the puja altars.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

The procedure for and proportions of the sculpture-idols are described in arts-related Sanskrit texts of Hinduism, such as the Vishvakarma Sashtra.Template:Sfn

Environmental impact

File:A view of immersion of Goddess Durga on the last day of Durga Puja festival at Yamuna River in Delhi on October 17, 2010.jpg

A Durga sculpture-idol in the river, post-immersion.

The sculpture-idols for the puja are traditionally made of biodegradable materials such as straw, clay, soil, and wood.Template:Sfn In today's times, brighter coloured statues have increased in popularity and have diversified the use of non-biodegradable, cheaper or more colourful substitute synthetic raw materials. Environmental activists have raised concerns about the paint used to produce the statue, stating that the heavy metals in these paints pollute rivers when the statues are immersed at the end of the Durga festival.Template:Sfn

Brighter colours that are also biodegradable and eco-friendly, as well as the traditional natural colours, are typically more expensive compared to the non biodegradable paints.Template:Sfn The Indian state of West Bengal has banned the use of hazardous paints, and various state government have started distributing lead-free paints to artisans at no cost to prevent pollution.^[21]

Animal sacrifice, symbolic sacrifice

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File:Immolation Sacrifice, Mouh Boli, Durga Puja.jpg

Sacrifice of a buffalo during Durga Puja, in Assam.

Shakta Hindu communities mark the slaying of Mahishasura and the victory of Durga with a symbolic or actual sacrifice. Most communities prefer symbolic sacrifice, where a statue of the asura is made of flour or equivalent, is immolated and smeared with vermilion, symbolic of the blood that had spilled during the battle.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Other substitutes include a vegetable or a sweet dish considered equivalent to the animal.Template:Sfn In certain instances, devotees consider animal sacrifice distasteful, and practice alternate means of expressing devotion while respecting the views of others in their tradition.Template:Sfn

In communities performing actual sacrifice, an animal is sacrificed, mainly at temples.Template:Sfn In Nepal, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam, animal sacrifices are performed at Shakta temples to commemorate the legend of Durga slaying Mahishasura.Template:Sfn This involves slaying of a fowl, pig, goat, or male water-buffalo. Large scale animal sacrifices are rare among Hindus outside the regions of Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Nepal. In these regions, festivals are primarily when significant animal sacrifices are observed.Template:Sfn

The Rajputs of Rajasthan worship their weapons and horses in the related festival of Navaratri, and some historically observed the sacrifice of a goat, a practice that continues in some places.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The sacrifice ritual, supervised he the priest, requires slaying of the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite of passage into manhood and readiness as a warrior.Template:Sfn The Kuldevi (clan deity) among these Rajput communities is a warrior goddess, with local legends tracing reverence for her during Rajput-Muslim wars.Template:Sfn Template:Better source needed

Pandals and theme-based pujas

Script error: No such module "Multiple image". Months before the start of Durga Puja, youth members of the community collect funds and donations, engage priests and artisans, buy votive materials and help build pandals centered around a theme, which has rose to prominence in recent years. Such themes have included sex work,^[22] celebration of humanity,^[23] marginalisation of queer persons and transgender persons,^[24] folk culture,^[25] celebration of cinema,^[26] womanhood,^[25] pro-environment themes,^[27] while others have chosen metaphorical themes such as celebration of maati (literally, soil or ash) and "finding one's own light".^[28] Pandals have also been replicated on existing temples, structures, and monuments^[29]^[30] and yet others have been made of elements such as metal scraps,^[31] nails,^[32] and turmeric^[33] among others. Durga Puja pandals have also been centered around themes to acknowledge political events such as the 2019 Balakot airstrike and to protest against the National Register of Citizens of India.^[34]^[35]

The budget required for such theme-based pujas is significantly higher than traditional pujas. For such theme-based pujas, the preparations and the building of pandals are a significant arts-related economic activity, often attracting major sponsors.Template:Sfn Such commercialised pujas attract crowds of visitors. The growth of competitiveness in theme-based pandals has escalated costs and scale of Durga Puja in eastern states of India. Some segments of the society criticise the billboards, the economic competition, and seek return to basics.^[36] The competition takes many forms, such as the height of statue. In 2015, an 88-foot statue of Durga in Kolkata's Deshapriya Park attracted numerous devotees, with some estimates placing visitors at one million.^[37]^[38]

Regional celebrations and observances

File:Durga puja in Dhakeshwari temple.jpg

Durga Puja in Dhakeshwari Temple, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

There exists variation in Durga Puja worship practices and rituals, as is the case with other Hindu festivals, in the Indian subcontinent.Template:Sfn Hinduism accepts flexibility and leaves the set of practices to the choice of the individuals concerned. Different localised rituals may be observed regionally, with these variations accepted across temples, pandals, and within families.Template:Sfn

The festival is most commonly associated with Bengali Hindus, and with the community having variability and differences in practices. There may exist differences of practice between the puja of theme-based Pandals, family pujas (with puja of erstwhile aristocrat families known as bonedi puja), and community pujas (known as barowari pujas) of neighbourhoods or apartments.Template:Sfn

The rituals of the puja also varies from being Vedic, Puranic, or Tantric, or a combination of these.Template:Sfn The Bengali Durga Puja rituals typically combine all three. The non-Bengali Durga Puja rituals tend to be essentially Vedic (srauta) in nature but they too incorporate esoteric elements making the puja an example of a culmination of Vedic-Tantric practices.Template:Sfn

Historical evidence suggests that the Durga Puja has evolved over time, becoming more elaborate, social, and creative. The festival had earlier been a domestic puja, a form of practice that still remains popular. But it had also come to be celebrated in the sarvajanin (public) form, where communities get together, pool their resources and efforts to set up pandals and illuminations, and celebrate the event as a "mega-show to share".Template:Sfn The origins of this variation are unclear, with some sources suggesting a family in Kolkata reviving such celebration in 1411 CE. While other set of sources suggest that a Bengali landlord, named Kamsanarayan, held a mega-show puja in late 16th-century Bengal.Template:Sfn Yet, this festival of Bengal is likely much older with the discovery of 11th and 12th-century Durga Puja manual manuscripts such as Durgotsavaviveka, Durgotsava Prayoga, Vasantaviveka and Kalaviveka.Template:Sfn The rituals associated with the Durga Puja migrated to other regions from Bengal, such as in Varanasi, a city that has historically attracted sponsorship from Hindus from various parts of the Indian subcontinent including Bengal.Template:Sfn In contemporary India, Durga Puja is celebrated in various styles and forms.Template:Sfn

In Kolkata, Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated magnificently.^[39]^[40] Kolkata alone hosted more than 3,000 Barowari pujas in Kolkata in 2022, with more than 200 pujas were organised in the city with a budget of over one crore rupees.^[41] Kolkata has been inscribed on the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists in December 2021.^[42]

In Bishnupur, West Bengal, Durga Puja holds a unique and significant place. The district boasts the Rajbari Durga Puja, also known as the Mrinmoyee Maa er pujo, which dates back to 994 AD. This makes it the oldest Durga Puja in the entire Bengal region, encompassing present-day Bangladesh, Odisha, and Tripura.^[43]

File:Grand decoration in the pandel of Sobuj Sangha, Basirhat.jpg

Durga Puja installation in Basirhat, West Bengal

File:Durga Idol at Vivekananda Sangha, Basirhat, West Bengal.jpg

Durga idol displayed to the public in Vivekananda Sangha, Basirhat, West Bengal

In Basirhat, West Bengal, the scale and intensity of Durga Puja celebrations are among the largest in North 24 Parganas district. In terms of the number of Durga Puja pandals, the city ranks fourth in West Bengal, following Kolkata, Asansol, Durgapur, and Siliguri.^[44]^[45] For more than 150 years, the Durga idol has been immersed on boats in this city. On the day of Vijayadashami, people usually come in Basirhat to see the immersion festival. The idols and installations have changed in the modern era, but the immersion continues to be done in the Ichamati River by boat according to the ancient tradition. A fair is held on both banks of the river centering on the immersion. The special attraction of this fair is wooden furniture and various wooden items.^[46]^[47]

Siliguri, West Bengal also hosts more than 100 durga pujas, 82 of which are registered by the Siliguri Metropolitan Police. Siliguri's Durga Puja is the third largest in West Bengal after Kolkata and Asansol-Durgapur.^[48]^[49]^[50]

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Durga Puja is a widely celebrated festival in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh (eastern parts), Assam, and Odisha.Template:Sfn It is celebrated over a five-day period. Streets are decked up with festive lights, loudspeakers play festive songs as well as recitation of hymns and chants by priests, and pandals are erected by communities. The roads become overcrowded with revellers, devotees, and pandal-hoppers visiting the pandals on puja days. It often creates chaotic traffic conditions. Shops, eateries, and restaurants stay open all night; fairs are also set up and cultural programmes are held.Template:Sfn People form organising committees, which plan and oversee the pandal during the festivities. Today, Durga Puja has turned into a consumerist social carnival, a major public spectacle and a major arts event riding on the wave of commercialisation, corporate sponsorship, and craze for award-winning. For private domestic pujas, families dedicate an area of their homes, known as thakur dalan, for Durga Puja where the sculpture-idols for worship is placed and decorated with home-dyed fabric, sola ornamentations, and gold and silver foil decorations. Elaborate rituals like arati are performed and prasad is distributed after being offered to the deities. As a tradition, married daughters visit their parents and celebrate the Durga Puja with them, a symbolism alluding to Durga who is popularly believed to return to her natal home during the puja.Template:Sfn

File:Durga Idol in Temple - Sovabazar Royal Palace - Kolkata 2012-10-20 0991.JPG

Durga Puja at the Shobhabazar Rajbari, in Kolkata, example of a bonedi puja.

File:Durga Puja in Bihar.jpg

Durga Puja in Begusarai, Bihar

Durga Puja is also a gift-giving and shopping season for communities celebrating it, with people buying gifts for not only family members but also for close relatives and friends. New clothes are the traditional gift, and people wear them to go out together during Durga Puja. During puja holidays, people may also go to places of tourist attractions while others return home to spend Durga Puja with their family.Template:Sfn It's a common trend amongst youngsters and even those who are older to go pandal-hopping and enjoy the celebrations.Template:Sfn

The organising committees of each puja pandal hires a purohita (priest) who performs the puja rituals on behalf of the community.Template:Sfn For the priests, Durga Puja is a time of activity wherein he pursues the timely completion of Vedic-Puranic-Tantric ritual sequences to make various offerings and perform fire oblations, in full public view, while the socio-cultural festivities occur in parallel.Template:Sfn The complex puja rituals include periods of accurate and melodic scripture recitation. The puja involves crowds of people visiting the pandals, with smaller groups visiting family pujas, to witness the celebrations.Template:Sfn On the last day, the sculpture-idols are carried out in immersion processions across Bengal, following which they are ritually immersed into rivers or other waterbodies. The immersion ceremony continues till a couple of days after the last day of puja.Template:Sfn

File:Sovabazar Royal Durga Idol Immersion Procession - Raja Naba Krishna Street - Kolkata 2014-10-03 9180.jpg

Immersion procession for Durga Puja, with the sculpture-idols being carried by people on bamboo poles.

According to some scholars, the ritual of immersing the Durga sculpture-idol into the river attracted the attention of colonial era travellers to the Bengal region from Europe, such as Garcin de Tassy and Emma Roberts. In 1831, Tassy reported that similar rituals were annually observed by the Muslim community in Bengal. Shia Bengali Muslims observed Muharram over ten days, taking out processions in memory of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn Ali, and then cast a memorial Imam's cenotaph into a river on the tenth day. Tassy further stated that the Bengali rituals of Muharram included the same offerings at the annual observation of Muharram that the Hindu rituals included during Durga Puja.Template:Sfn According to yet other scholars, the ritual of immersion in water by Hindus for Durga Puja in Bengal and Ganesh Chaturthi in the western states of India, may have grown because members of the Hindu community attempted to create a competing procession and immersion ritual to that of Muharram, allowed by the colonial British Indian government in the 19th and early 20th-centuries.Template:Sfn

File:Durga Puja, Matri Mandir, Safdarjung Enclave, Delhi, 2014.JPG

Durga Puja in New Delhi, 2014.

In Maharashtra, the city of Nashik and other places such as CIDCO, Rajeevnagar, Panchavati, and Mahatmanagar host Durga Puja celebrations.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". While in Delhi, the first community Durga Puja was organised near Kashmiri Gate by a group of expatriate Bengalis, in 1910, a year before Delhi was declared the capital of British India. This group came to be the Delhi Durga Puja Samiti, popularly known as the Kashmere Gate Durga Puja.^[51] The Durga Puja at Timarpur, Delhi was started in the year 1914.^[52] In 2011, over 800 Durga Pujas were held in Delhi, with a few hundred more in Gurgaon and Noida.^[53]

File:Chaudhury Bazar Chandi Medha.jpg

Sculpture-idols in Cuttack, Odisha for Durga Puja, bedecked with jewellery.

In Odisha, Durga Puja is one of the most important festivals of the people of the state. During the 4 days of the festival, the streets of the city turns into a wonderland throughout the state, people welcome the arrival of their maa by rejoicing themselves, eating tasty food, wearing new clothes, seeing different pandals across the city, family gathering and gift givings. In 2019, ninety-seven pandals in Cuttack alone, Odisha were reported to bedeck respective sculpture-idols with silver jewellery for Durga Puja celebrations; such club of pandals termed regionally as Chandi Medha. The state capital is famous for the modern themes and creativity In the pandals, while the Western part of the state has a more retro decoration theme to the pandal. In the northern parts of the state particularly Balasore, Durga Puja is celebrated with much fervor and the Odia diaspora abroad especially in Australia, which originates 95% from the district of Balasore celebrates the puja in the same manner which is done back home in Balasore.^[54] In September 2019, 160 pandals were reported to be hosting Durga Puja in Cuttack.^[55]^[56]

While in Tripura there were over 2,500 community Durga Puja celebrations in 2013. Durga Puja has been started at the Durgabari temple, in Agartala by King Radha Kishore Manikya Bahadur.^[57]

Significance

Beyond being an art festival and a socio-religious event, Durga Puja has also been a political event with regional and national political parties having sponsored Durga Puja celebrations. In 2019, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee announced a grant of Template:INR25,000 to all community-organised Durga Pujas in the state.^[58]

In 2019, Kolkata's Durga Puja was nominated by the Indian government for the 2020 UNESCO Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.^[59]^[60] Durga Puja also stands to be politically and economically significant. The committees organising Durga Puja in Kolkata have close links to politicians.^[23] Politicians patronise the festival by making donations or helping raise money for funding of community pujas, or by marking their presence at puja events and inaugurations.^[23] The grant of Template:INR25,000 to puja organising committees in West Bengal by a debt-ridden state government was reported to cost a budget a Template:INR70 crores.^[61] The state government also announced an additional grant of Template:INR5,000 to puja organising committees fully managed by women alone, while also announcing a twenty-five per cent concession on total electricity bills for puja pandal.^[61] The government had made a grant of Template:INR10,000 each to more than 20,000 puja organising committees in the state in 2018.^[61]

A 2013 report by ASSOCHAM states West Bengal's Durga Puja to be a Template:INR25,000 crores worth economy, expected to grow at the compound annual growth rate of about 35 per-cent.^[62] Economic slowdowns in India, such as in 2019, have hence affected corporate sponsorships and puja budgets for public celebrations.^[63] In August 2019, the Income Tax Department of India had allegedly sent notices to various Durga Puja organising committees in West Bengal, against which the ruling party of the state, All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) protested.^[64]^[65] The Central Board of Direct Taxes denied sending any such notices,^[66] to which AITMC politician Madan Mitra is reported to have said that the intention may have been to enquire if tax deducted at source had been deducted on payments to vendors for organising community pujas.^[23]

Economic significance

Durga Puja directly affects the economy. A 2019 study by the British Council estimated the economic value of creative industries associated with Durga Puja in West Bengal at ₹32,377 crores (2.6% of the state's GDP in that financial year).^[67]^[68] In 2022, the economy of West Bengal was estimated to get a boost of 50,000 crore rupees.^[69] The annual GDP of West Bengal was expected to be expanded by 20-30 per cent that year.^[70]^[71] The factors responsible for this economic boost are mainly the increase of earning in transport, tourism, industry, business, shopping and other fields. The Kolkata Metro Railway recorded an earning of ₹6 crore in just five days of Durga Puja in 2022.^[72]^[73]

The famous puja pandals get sponsorship from renowned companies and labels. Usually, the dress and jewelries of the idols, the material used to make the typically very elaborate pandals, decorations, lightings are sponsored.

Social significance

Durga Puja plays a great significance in the living of certain peoples. The kumors, those who make the idols with clay and also makes other clay products, earns lakhs of rupees by selling a single set of Durga idol of average size. Hence, it makes their annual income because idols used in other festivals are much cheaper. Other professions that receive the majority of their annual income are dhaaki (plays dhaak), priest and other small homecrafts. It is assumed that these profession based small classes would become smaller in population if Durga Puja was absent.

Media attention

A painting by Gaganendranath Tagore depicting Durga Puja immersion.

Durga Puja has been a theme in various artistic works such as movies, paintings, and literature. Shown here is Pratima Visarjan by Gaganendranath Tagore, depicting a Durga Puja immersion procession. This painting inspired the colour scheme of the Indian film, Kahaani.

The day of Mahalaya is marked by the Indian Hindu community of West Bengal with Mahishasuramardini — a two-hours long All India Radio program — that has been popular in the Bengali community since the 1950s. While in earlier days it used to be recorded live, a pre-recorded version has come to be broadcast in recent decades. Bengalis traditionally wake up at four in the morning on Mahalaya to listen to the radio show, primarily involving recitations of chants and hymns from Devi Mahatmyam (or Chandi Path) by Birendra Krishna Bhadra and Pankaj Kumar Mullick. The show also features various devotional melodies.^[74]

Dramas enacting the legend of Durga slaying Mahishasura are telecasted on the television. Radio and television channels also air other festive shows,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". while Bengali and Odia magazines publish special editions for the puja known as Pujabarshiki (Annual Puja Edition) or Sharadiya Sankhya (Autumnal Volume). These contain works of writers, both established and upcoming, and are more voluminous than the regular issues. Some notable examples of such magazines in Bengali are Anandamela, Shuktara, Desh, Sananda, Nabakallol, and Bartaman.^[75]

Celebrations outside India

Script error: No such module "labelled list hatnote".Script error: No such module "Multiple image". Durga Puja is celebrated commonly by both Bangladesh's Bengali and non-Bengali Hindu community. Some Bengali Muslims also take part in the festivities.Template:Sfn In Dhaka, the Dhakeshwari Temple puja attracts visitors and devotees.Template:Sfn In Nepal, the festivities are celebrated as Dashain.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Beyond South Asia, Durga Puja is organised by Bengali communities across the world.

North America

In the United States Durga Puja is celebrated across the country in many cities.^[76] The oldest community Durga Puja in the US was held in Columbia University organised by the East Coast Durga Puja Association (ECDPA) in 1970.^[77]^[78] While many community pujas are typically held over a Friday-Sunday period, some pujas in the US e.g. organised by Bharat Sevashram Shangha, Paschimi,^[79] Women's Now^[80] and others follow the full 5 day schedule. While most major metropolitan centers have multiple Durga Pujas organised by multiple Bengali organisations, Saikat ^[81] in San Diego, CA, SABCC^[82] in San Antonio, TX, and the Bengali Association of Greater Chicago (BAGC), are three of the biggest American cities to have an unified Durga Pujas for the whole metropolitan area. In addition to the actual puja, most Durga Pujas in North America have a tradition of having elaborate cultural events involving both local artists and invited professional artists from India.

In Canada, Bengali Hindu communities both from Bangladesh and West Bengal, India organise several Durga Pujas.^[83] Greater Toronto Area has the most Durga Puja celebration venues organised by different Bengali cultural groups such as Bangladesh Canada Hindu Cultural Society (BCHCS), Bongo Poribar Sociocultural Association zetc.^[83] City of Toronto has a dedicated Durga Temple named Toronto Durgabari where Durga Puja is organised along with other Hindu celebrations. Most of the puja venues of Toronto area try to arrange the puja in the best way possible to follow the lunar calendar and timings.

South America

In Brazil, The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center, São Paulo, organises an annual Durga Puja.

Europe

Celebrations are also organised in Europe. The sculpture-idols are shipped from India and stored in warehouses to be re-used over the years.^[84] According to BBC News, for community celebrations in London in 2006, these "idols, belonging to a tableau measuring 18ft by 20ft, were made from clay, straw and vegetable dyes". At the end of the puja, the sculpture-idols were immersed in River Thames for the first time in 2006, after "the community was allowed to give a traditional send-off to the deities by London's port authorities".^[84] In Germany, the puja is celebrated in Cologne,^[85] and other cities. In Switzerland,^[86] puja in Baden, Aargau has been celebrated since 2003. In Sweden, the puja is celebrated in cities such as Stockholm and Helsingborg. The oldest and first puja in Sweden was founded in 1988 and is one of the oldest ones in Europe, and goes by the name Stockholm Bangiya Sanatan Samaj.^[87] In the Netherlands, the puja is celebrated in places such as Amstelveen, Eindhoven, and Voorschoten.

Africa

In South Africa, Durga Puja has been revived with celebrations in Johannesburg.^[88] In Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa Durga Puja is organised by the Addis Ababa Durga Pooja Committee

Australia

In Sydney, Durga Puja is celebrated in many community centers including at the Ponds Community Hub in Sydney where the Bengali Community Dorpon Cultural and Religious Association organised Durga Puja^[89]

Asia outside the subcontinent

Durga Puja celebrations have also been started in Hong Kong by the Bengali diaspora.^[90] In China Durga Puja has been organised in Shanghai^[91] and is organised by the Embassy of India in Beijing^[92] In Japan, Durga Puja is celebrated in Tokyo with much fanfare.^[93]^[94]

Footnotes

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References

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Bibliography

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Sen Ramprasad (1720–1781). Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair: Selected Poems to the Mother Goddess. Hohm Press. Template:ISBN.
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External links

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Durga Puja at the Encyclopædia Britannica
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Durga Puja: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:09, 29 November 2025

Contents

Names

History and origins

Rituals and practices

Texts

Scriptural References

Relation to harvest

Day One

Day Two to Five

Day Six to Nine

Day Ten

Decorations, sculptures, and stages

Environmental impact

Animal sacrifice, symbolic sacrifice

Pandals and theme-based pujas

Regional celebrations and observances

Significance

Economic significance

Social significance

Media attention

Celebrations outside India

North America

South America

Europe

Africa

Australia

Asia outside the subcontinent

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Navigation menu

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{for|the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage|Durga Puja in Kolkata}}
 {{Lead too long|date=March 2025}}
-{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
+{{Use Indian English|date=September 2025}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
 {{Infobox festival
 | name               = Durga Puja
-| native_name        =  <!--Do not fill this field; see WP:INDICSCRIPTS policy-->
+| native_name        = <!--Do not fill this field; see WP:INDICSCRIPTS policy-->
 | native_name_lang   =
-| nickname           = Durgotsava, Shaaradotsava
+| nickname           = Durgotsava, Sharadotsava
 | image              = File:বাগবাজার সার্বজনীন দুর্গোৎসব ২০১৮.jpg
-| caption            = Devi [[Durga]] killing [[Mahishasura]] with her [[trident]] riding her [[vahana]] (mount), the lion. [[Lakshmi]] and [[Ganesha]] flank the left while [[Saraswati]] and [[Kartikeya]] flank the right.
+| caption            = Devi [[Durga]] killing [[Mahishasura]] with her [[trident]] riding her ''[[vahana]]'' (mount), the lion. [[Lakshmi]] and [[Ganesha]] flank the left while [[Saraswati]] and [[Kartikeya]] flank the right.
-| status             = Public holiday in Indian states of [[West Bengal]], [[Odisha]],[[Tripura]], [[Bihar]], [[Assam]] and the country [[Bangladesh]] and [[Nepal]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Nepal Public Holidays |url=https://www.edarabia.com/nepal/public-holidays/ |access-date=2 October 2023 |work=Edarabia.com}}</ref><br /> Optional holiday in [[Pakistan]]
+| status             = Public holiday in Indian states of [[West Bengal]], [[Odisha]], [[Tripura]], [[Bihar]], [[Assam]] and the country [[Bangladesh]] and [[Nepal]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Nepal Public Holidays |url=https://www.edarabia.com/nepal/public-holidays/ |access-date=2 October 2023 |work=Edarabia.com}}</ref><br /> Optional holiday in [[Pakistan]]
 | genre              = [[Religious festival|Religious]] and [[cultural festival]]
-| begins             = [[Mahalaya]]
+| begins             = [[Mahalaya Amāvasyā]]
-| ends               = [[Vijaya Dashami]]
+| ends               = [[Vijaya Dashami or Dusshera]]
 | frequency          = Annual
 | founders           = [[Rama]], according to the legends
-| participants       = Mainly [[Eastern India|Eastern]], [[Northeast India]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/top-destinations-for-celebrating-durga-puja/articleshow/104346259.cms |title=Celebrating Durga puja across India: Top destinations for festive bliss |work=Business Insider India}}</ref> and [[Hindus]] in [[Bangladesh]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Durga festival returns to indigenous village after 150 years |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/amp/bangladesh/bangladesh-others/111684/durga-festival-returns-to-indigenous-village-after |work=Dhaka Tribune |date=17 October 2015}}</ref> and [[Nepal]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://steemit.com/festival/@jeetendra/the-festive-season-in-nepal-has-begun-one-month-of-holidays-durga-puja-and-dipawali |title=The Festive Season in Nepal Has Begun. One Month of Holidays- Durga Puja and Dipawali |date=21 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="DP1">{{cite book |title=Humanities in the Primary School |author1=Campbell, R.J. |author2=Little, V. |isbn=978-1-8500-0544-5 |lccn=89036052 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8sfFjV2BTEYC |year=1989 |page=182 |publisher=Falmer Press}}</ref><ref name="DP2">{{cite book |title=General Knowledge of Northeast India: For All Psc and Competitive Exams |author=Ghosh, J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1o-HDwAAQBAJ |year=2019 |page=152 |publisher=Educreation Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Political History of Muslim Bengal: An Unfinished Battle of Faith |author=Rahman, M. |isbn=978-1-5275-2061-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dN1DwAAQBAJ |year=2018 |page=240 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing}}</ref>
+| participants       = Mainly [[Eastern India|Eastern]], [[Northeast India]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/top-destinations-for-celebrating-durga-puja/articleshow/104346259.cms |title=Celebrating Durga puja across India: Top destinations for festive bliss |work=Business Insider India}}</ref> and [[Hindus]] in [[Bangladesh]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Durga festival returns to indigenous village after 150 years |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/bangladesh-others/111684/durga-festival-returns-to-indigenous-village-after |work=Dhaka Tribune |date=17 October 2015}}</ref> and [[Nepal]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://steemit.com/festival/@jeetendra/the-festive-season-in-nepal-has-begun-one-month-of-holidays-durga-puja-and-dipawali |title=The Festive Season in Nepal Has Begun. One Month of Holidays- Durga Puja and Dipawali |date=21 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="DP1">{{cite book |title=Humanities in the Primary School |author1=Campbell, R.J. |author2=Little, V. |isbn=978-1-8500-0544-5 |lccn=89036052 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8sfFjV2BTEYC |year=1989 |page=182 |publisher=Falmer Press}}</ref><ref name="DP2">{{cite book |title=General Knowledge of Northeast India: For All Psc and Competitive Exams |author=Ghosh, J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1o-HDwAAQBAJ |year=2019 |page=152 |publisher=Educreation Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Political History of Muslim Bengal: An Unfinished Battle of Faith |author=Rahman, M. |isbn=978-1-5275-2061-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dN1DwAAQBAJ |year=2018 |page=240 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing}}</ref>
-| date               = 28 September to 2 October 2025
+| date               = 28 September to 2 October 2025 (Dates vary annually per the Hindu lunisolar calendar)
 | events             = Worshipping Hindu deities, family and other social gatherings, shopping and gift-giving, feasting, ''pandal'' visiting, and cultural events
 | free_label         = Main observation
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 {{Saktism}}
-'''Durga Puja''' (<!--Do not add Indic scripts per WP:INDICSCRIPT-->[[ISO 15919|ISO]]: {{transliteration|sa|ISO|Durgā Pūjā}}, {{IPA|bn|d̪uɾɡapud͡ʒa|audio=LL-Q9610 (ben)-Titodutta-দুর্গাপূজা.wav}}), also known as '''Durgotsava''' or '''Shaaradotsava''', is an annual festival originating in the [[Indian subcontinent]] which pays homage to the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] goddess [[Durga]], and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over [[Mahishasur]]a.{{sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|p=208}}{{sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}} It is the biggest festival of [[Bengali Hindus]] and the Indian state of [[West Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Devalla |first=Rani |date=2024-10-03 |title=Bengali families brace for grand celebration of 'Durga pujo' |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/bengali-families-brace-for-grand-celebration-of-durga-pujo-911640 |access-date=2024-12-15 |work=The Hans India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cosentino |first=Simona |date=2024-10-07 |title=Durga Puja festival: where it originated and how it's celebrated |url=https://theconversation.com/durga-puja-festival-where-it-originated-and-how-its-celebrated-240413 |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Durga Puja in Kolkata|Durga Puja as celebrated in Kolkata]], West Bengal's capital city, was inscribed on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO]] in December 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Durga Puja inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/durga-puja-inscribed-unesco-representative-list-intangible-cultural-heritage-humanity#:~:text=Today,%20the%20Intergovernmental%20Committee%20for,to%2018%20December%20this%20year. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019182512/https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/durga-puja-inscribed-unesco-representative-list-intangible-cultural-heritage-humanity#:~:text=Today,%20the%20Intergovernmental%20Committee%20for,to%2018%20December%20this%20year. |archive-date=19 October 2022 |access-date=2024-12-15 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref>
+'''Durga Puja''' (<!--Do not add Indic scripts per WP:INDICSCRIPT-->[[ISO 15919|ISO]]: {{transliteration|sa|ISO|Durgā Pūjā}}, {{IPA|as|duɹɡäpuzä|audio=Durgapuja.wav}}, {{IPA|bn|d̪uɾɡapud͡ʒa|audio=LL-Q9610 (ben)-Titodutta-দুর্গাপূজা.wav}}), also known as '''Durgotsava''' or '''Sharadotsava''', is a major [[Hindus|Hindu]] festival honouring the goddess [[Durga]] and commemorating her victory over [[Mahishasura]].{{sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|p=208}}{{sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}} In 2021, 'Durga Puja in [[Kolkata]]' was inscribed on [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Durga Puja inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/durga-puja-inscribed-unesco-representative-list-intangible-cultural-heritage-humanity#:~:text=Today,%20the%20Intergovernmental%20Committee%20for,to%2018%20December%20this%20year. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019182512/https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/durga-puja-inscribed-unesco-representative-list-intangible-cultural-heritage-humanity#:~:text=Today,%20the%20Intergovernmental%20Committee%20for,to%2018%20December%20this%20year. |archive-date=19 October 2022 |access-date=15 December 2024 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref>
-In addition to West Bengal, Hindu Bengalis are native to [[Bangladesh]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-12 |title=Bangladesh's Hindus celebrate despite violence against minority groups |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3282128/bangladeshs-hindus-celebrate-despite-violence-against-minority-groups |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref> and Indian state of [[Tripura]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=TRIPURAINFO : The first news, views & information website of TRIPURA. |url=https://tripurainfo.com/news.aspx?intnid=22075&title=Traditional-practices-returned-this-Durga-Puja-Tripura-CM |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=tripurainfo.com}}</ref> [[Barak Valley|Assam (Barak Valley)]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-10-12 |title=Himanta Biswa Sarma reaches out to Barak Valley, visits region for Durga Puja |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/himanta-biswa-sarma-reaches-out-to-barak-valley-visits-region-for-durga-puja-101634049918193.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130224537/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/himanta-biswa-sarma-reaches-out-to-barak-valley-visits-region-for-durga-puja-101634049918193.html |archive-date=30 November 2024 |access-date=2024-12-20 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jharkhand]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Story |first=Jharkhand |date=2024-10-10 |title=Jharkhand News: Durga Puja rituals commence in Dhanbad with a holy bath of 'Kola Bou' |url=https://thejharkhandstory.co.in/jharkhand-news-durga-puja-rituals-commence-in-dhanbad-with-a-holy-bath-of-kola-bou/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=The Jharkhand Story |language=en-GB}}</ref> and [[Kosi-Seemanchal|Bihar (Kosi-Seemanchal)]];<ref>{{Cite news |title=56 सालों से मधुबनी कॉलोनी में बंगाली विधि विधान से होती है दुर्गापूजा, 2 साल बाद लगेगा 4 दिन का मेला |url=https://www.bhaskar.com/local/bihar/purnia/news/durga-puja-is-held-in-madhubani-colony-for-56-years-by-bengali-law-after-2-years-a-4-day-fair-will-be-held-130376320.html |work=Danik Bhaskar}}</ref> Therefore, Durga Puja is performed with great devotion in these places as well.
+The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of [[Ashwin|Ashvin]] (September–October) on the Hindu luni-solar calendar.{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=106–108}}{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}}  It lasts ten days, with the final five being most prominent.<ref>{{cite news |author=Parmita Borah |date=2 October 2011 |title=Durga Puja – a Celebration of Female Supremacy |url=http://www.efi-news.com/2011/10/durga-puja-celebration-of-female.html |publisher=EF News International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051716/http://www.efi-news.com/2011/10/durga-puja-celebration-of-female.html |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=usurped |access-date=26 October 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}} Even though Durga Puja and [[Navaratri]] are both dedicated to the [[Mahadevi|Hindu goddess Durga]] and are observed simultaneously, they are not the same festival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2024 |title=Navratri And Durga Puja: Understanding The Differences Between The Two Festivals |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/spiritual/navratri-and-durga-puja-understanding-the-differences-between-the-two-festivals-article-114014015 |access-date=15 December 2024 |website=Times Now |language=en}}</ref>
-The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of [[Ashwin|Ashvin]], which corresponds to September–October in the [[Gregorian calendar]].{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=106–108}}{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}} Durga Puja is a ten-day festival,{{sfn| Doniger|1999|p=306}}{{sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|p=208}} of which the last five are of the most significance.<ref>{{cite news |author=Parmita Borah |date=2 October 2011 |title=Durga Puja – a Celebration of Female Supremacy |url=http://www.efi-news.com/2011/10/durga-puja-celebration-of-female.html |publisher=EF News International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051716/http://www.efi-news.com/2011/10/durga-puja-celebration-of-female.html |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=usurped |access-date=26 October 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}} Even though Durga Puja and [[Navaratri]] are observed simultaneously dedicated to the [[Mahadevi|Hindu goddess Durga]], but they are not the same festival.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-07 |title=Navratri And Durga Puja: Understanding The Differences Between The Two Festivals |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/spiritual/navratri-and-durga-puja-understanding-the-differences-between-the-two-festivals-article-114014015 |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=Times Now |language=en}}</ref>
+The [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] is performed in homes and public spaces with temporary structures (known as ''[[pandal]]s'')'','' religious recitations, cultural performances, visiting, feasting, and processions; it is central to the [[Shaktism]] tradition.{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=208}}{{sfn|Melton|2011|pp=239–241}}{{sfn|Amazzone|2011|pp=82–83}}
-The [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] is performed in homes and public, the latter featuring a temporary stage and structural decorations (known as ''[[pandal]]s''). The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift-giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions called a [[melā]].{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=208}}{{sfn|Melton|2011|pp=239–241}}{{sfn|Amazzone|2011|pp=82–83}} Durga Puja is an important festival in the [[Shaktism]] tradition of [[Hinduism]].{{sfn| McDermott|2001|pp=172-174}}{{sfn|Foulston|Abbott|2009|pp=162–169}}{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=7–8}} Durga Puja which is celebrated as Gosani Yatra in Puri. In this festival of Puri, several big clay idols of Mahisamardini Durga are worshipped every year in the month of Asvina (October).
+Scriptures portray Durga's defeat of Mahishasura, often interpreted as the triumph of good over evil; some traditions also link the festival with post-monsoon harvest themes.{{sfn|Daniélou|1991|p=288}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=111–112}}{{sfn|Donner|2016|p=25}} Durga Puja coincides with [[Navaratri]] and [[Dussehra]] celebrations observed by other traditions of Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 October 2020|title=Durga Puja (Durga Ashtami) 2020: Is Maa Durga Worthy to Worship?|url=https://news.jagatgururampalji.org/durga-puja-durga-ashtami-2020/|access-date=25 October 2020|website=S A NEWS|language=en-US|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028205014/https://news.jagatgururampalji.org/durga-puja-durga-ashtami-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|pp=212–213}}{{sfn|Jones| Ryan|2006|pp=308–309}}
-As per [[Hindus|Hindu]] scriptures, the festival marks the victory of goddess Durga in her battle against the shape-shifting [[asura|Demon]], [[Mahishasura]].{{sfn|Daniélou|1991|p=288}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=215–219}}{{efn-ua|group=note|In the Shakta tradition of [[Hinduism]], many of the stories about obstacles and battles have been considered as metaphors for the divine and demonic within each human being, with liberation being the state of self-understanding whereby a virtuous nature & society emerging victorious over the vicious.{{sfn| McDaniel|2004|pp=20–21, 217–219}}}} Thus, the festival epitomizes the victory of good over evil, though it is also in part a harvest festival celebrating the goddess as the motherly power behind all of life and creation.{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=111–112}}{{sfn|Donner|2016|p=25}} Durga Puja coincides with [[Navaratri]] and [[Dussehra]] celebrations observed by other traditions of Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 October 2020|title=Durga Puja (Durga Ashtami) 2020: Is Maa Durga Worthy to Worship?|url=https://news.jagatgururampalji.org/durga-puja-durga-ashtami-2020/|access-date=25 October 2020|website=S A NEWS|language=en-US|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028205014/https://news.jagatgururampalji.org/durga-puja-durga-ashtami-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|pp=212–213}}{{sfn|Jones| Ryan|2006|pp=308–309}}
+Alongside Durga, devotees commonly venerate [[Lakshmi]], [[Saraswati]], [[Ganesha]] and [[Kartikeya]]. Major public celebrations run from [[Mahalaya]] to [[Vijayadashami]] and conclude with immersion of the images; practices vary by region.
-The primary goddess revered during Durga Puja is [[Durga]], but celebrations also include other major deities of [[Hinduism]] such as [[Lakshmi]] (the goddess of wealth and prosperity), [[Saraswati]] (the goddess of knowledge and music), [[Ganesha]] (the god of good beginnings), and [[Kartikeya]] (the god of war). In Bengali traditions, these deities are considered to be Durga's children, and Durga Puja is believed to commemorate Durga's visit to her natal home with her beloved children. The festival is preceded by [[Pitru Paksha|Mahalaya]], which is believed to mark the start of Durga's journey to her natal home. Primary celebrations begin on the sixth day ([[Shashthi (day)|Shasthi]]), on which the goddess is welcomed with rituals. The festival ends on the tenth day ([[Vijayadashami|Vijaya Dashami]]), when devotees embark on a procession carrying the worshipped clay sculpture-idols to a river, or other water bodies, and immerse them, symbolic of her return to the divine cosmos and her marital home with [[Shiva]] in [[Mount Kailash|Kailash]]. Regional and community variations in celebration of the festival and rituals observed exist.
+Durga Puja is an old tradition with medieval textual references and detailed manuals from at least the 14th century; elite and community forms expanded under early modern and colonial patronage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Durga Puja |url=http://online.assam.gov.in/web/durga-puja |website=Assam Online Portal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817122357/http://online.assam.gov.in/web/durga-puja |archive-date=17 August 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}}
-Durga Puja is an old tradition of Hinduism,<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web |title=Durga Puja {{!}} Traditions & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Durga-Puja |access-date=25 October 2020 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030161639/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Durga-Puja |url-status=live}}</ref> though its exact origins are unclear. Surviving manuscripts from the 14th-century provide guidelines for Durga Puja, while historical records suggest that royalty and wealthy families were sponsoring major Durga Puja festivities since at least the 16th-century.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|pp=172–174}} The prominence of Durga Puja increased during the [[British Raj]] in the provinces of Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Assam.<ref>{{cite web |title=Durga Puja |url=http://online.assam.gov.in/web/durga-puja |website=Assam Online Portal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817122357/http://online.assam.gov.in/web/durga-puja |archive-date=17 August 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}} However, in modern times, the importance of Durga Puja is more as a social and cultural festival than a religious one, wherever it is observed. {{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
-Over the years, Durga Puja has morphed into an inseparable part of [[Culture of India|Indian culture]] with a diverse group of people celebrating this festival in their unique way while on tradition.{{sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}}
 ==Names==
 In West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand and Tripura, Durga Puja is also called ''[[Akalbodhan]]'' (literally, "untimely awakening of Durga"), ''Sharadiya pujo or puja'' ("autumnal worship"), ''Sharodotsab'' ("festival of autumn"), ''Maha pujo'' ("grand puja"), ''Maayer pujo'' ("worship of the Mother"),{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} ''Durga pujo'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Durga Puja Festival |url=http://www.durga-puja.org/durga-puja.html |website=Durga-puja.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027051736/http://www.durga-puja.org/durga-puja.html |archive-date=27 October 2012 |access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref> or merely ''Puja(In Odisha, Bihar)'' or ''Pujo''. In Bangladesh, Durga Puja has historically been celebrated as ''Bhagabati puja''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2022 |title=Durga Puja in Bangladesh |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/durga-puja-bangladesh-507562 |access-date=25 September 2023 |work=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref> Maa Durga is known as the Goddess of Power (feminine) which represents triumph of Goodness over evil.
-Durga Puja is also referred to by the names of related Shakta Hindu festivals such as [[Navaratri]], celebrated on the same days elsewhere in India;{{sfn| Bradley|2012|p=214}} such as in Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Maharashtra,{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/navratri-puja.html Navratri Puja], Durga-puja.org}} [[Kullu Dussehra]], celebrated in [[Kullu Valley]], Himachal Pradesh;{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/kullu-dussehra.html Kullu Dussehra], Durga-puja.org}} Mysore Dussehra celebrated in [[Mysore]], Karnataka;{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/mysore-dussehra.html Mysore Dussehra], Durga-puja.org}} [[Golu (festival)|Bommai Golu]], celebrated in [[Tamil Nadu]]; [[Golu (festival)|Bommala Koluvu]], celebrated in Andhra Pradesh;{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/bommai-kolu.html "Bommai-kolu"], Durga-puja.org}} and [[Bathukamma]], celebrated in [[Telangana]].
+Durga Puja is also referred to by the names of related Shakta Hindu festivals such as [[Navaratri]], celebrated on the same days elsewhere in India;{{sfn| Bradley|2012|p=214}} such as in [[Odisha]], [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Gujarat]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab]], [[Kerala]], and [[Maharashtra]],{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/navratri-puja.html Navratri Puja], Durga-puja.org}} [[Kullu Dussehra]], celebrated in [[Kullu Valley]], [[Himachal Pradesh]];{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/kullu-dussehra.html Kullu Dussehra], Durga-puja.org}} [[Mysore Dasara|Mysore Dasara]] celebrated in [[Mysore]], [[Karnataka]];{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/mysore-dussehra.html Mysore Dussehra], Durga-puja.org}} [[Golu (festival)|Bommai Golu]], celebrated in [[Tamil Nadu]]; [[Golu (festival)|Bommala Koluvu]], celebrated in [[Andhra Pradesh]];{{efn-ua|[http://www.durga-puja.org/bommai-kolu.html "Bommai-kolu"], Durga-puja.org}} and [[Bathukamma]], celebrated in [[Telangana]].
 ==History and origins==
@@ Line 53: / Line 49: @@
 [[File:Dadhimati Mata Temple, Rajasthan.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Dadhimati Mata Temple]] of [[Rajasthan]] preserves a Durga-related inscription from chapter 10 of ''Devi Mahatmya''. The temple inscription has been dated by modern methods to 608 CE.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=191-195}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Lawrence A. Babb|author2=John E. Cort|author3=Michael W. Meister|title=Desert Temples: Sacred Centers of Rajasthan in Historical, Art-historical, and Social Context|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54fXAAAAMAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-81-316-0106-8|pages=8, 65–68, 86–89|access-date=17 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218010429/https://books.google.com/books?id=54fXAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
-[[File:Mahisasimardini Durga, Ambari, Guwahati.jpg|thumb|13th-14th century Durga statue from Ambari, [[Guwahati]], Assam.]]
+[[File:Mahisasimardini Durga, Ambari, Guwahati.jpg|thumb|13th–14th century Durga statue from Ambari, [[Guwahati]], Assam.]]
-The name Durga, and related terms, appear in Vedic literature, such as in the ''[[Rigveda]]'' hymns 4.28, 5.34, 8.27, 8.47, 8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the ''[[Atharvaveda]]''<ref name="Williams1899">[[Monier Monier-Williams]] (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 487</ref><ref>[[Maurice Bloomfield]] (1906), [https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/486/mode/1up A Vedic concordance], Series editor: Charles Lanman, Harvard University Press, page 486;</ref>{{efn-ua|group=note| Example Sanskrit original: "अहन्निन्द्रो अदहदग्निरिन्दो पुरा दस्यून्मध्यंदिनादभीके ।
+The name Durga, and related terms, appear in [[Vedic literature]], such as in the ''[[Rigveda]]'' hymns 4.28, 5.34, 8.27, 8.47, 8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the ''[[Atharvaveda]]''<ref name="Williams1899">[[Monier Monier-Williams]] (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 487</ref><ref>[[Maurice Bloomfield]] (1906), [https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/486/mode/1up A Vedic concordance], Series editor: Charles Lanman, Harvard University Press, page 486;</ref>{{efn-ua|group=note| Example Sanskrit original: "अहन्निन्द्रो अदहदग्निरिन्दो पुरा दस्यून्मध्यंदिनादभीके ।
 '''दुर्गे''' दुरोणे क्रत्वा न यातां पुरू सहस्रा शर्वा नि बर्हीत्॥३॥&nbsp;– Rigveda 4.28.8, [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_४.२८ Wikisource] It appears in ''Khila'' (appendix, supplementary) text to Rigveda 10.127, 4th Adhyaya, per J. Scheftelowitz.<ref>{{cite book |last=Scheftelowitz |first=J. |year=1906 |title=Indische Forschungen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jhIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA112 |publisher=Verlag von M & H Marcus |pages=112 line 13a |access-date=17 February 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217115252/https://books.google.com/books?id=_jhIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA112 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} A deity named ''Durgi'' appears in section 10.1.7 of the ''Taittiriya [[Aranyaka]]''.<ref name="Williams1899" /> While the Vedic literature uses the word ''Durga'', the description therein lacks legendary details about her or about Durga Puja that is found in later Hindu literature.{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=95-96}}
-A key text associated with Durga Puja is ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'', which is recited during the festival. Durga was likely well established by the time this Hindu text was composed, the date of which scholars estimate as between 400 and 600 CE.{{sfn| Brown|1998|p=77 note 28}}{{sfn|Coburn|1991|pp=13}}{{sfn|Coburn|2002|pp=1-7}} The ''Devi Mahatmya'' scripture describes the nature of evil forces symbolised by Mahishasura as shape-shifting, deceptive, and adapting in nature, in form and in strategy to create difficulties and thus achieve their evil ends. Durga calmly understands and counters the evil in order to achieve her solemn goals.{{sfn|Daniélou|1991|p=288}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=215-219}}{{efn-ua|group=note|In the Shakta tradition of Hinduism, many of the stories about obstacles and battles have been considered as metaphors for the divine and demonic within each human being, with liberation being the state of self-understanding whereby a virtuous nature and society emerging victorious over the vicious.{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=20-21, 217-219}}}}Durga, in her various forms, appears as an independent deity in the Indian texts.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|p=162}}
+A key text associated with Durga Puja is ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'', which is recited during the festival. Durga was likely a well-established deity by the time this Hindu text was composed, which scholars estimate to date between 400 and 600 CE.{{sfn| Brown|1998|p=77 note 28}}{{sfn|Coburn|1991|pp=13}}{{sfn|Coburn|2002|pp=1-7}} The ''Devi Mahatmya'' scripture describes the nature of evil forces symbolised by [[Mahishasura]] as shape-shifting, deceptive, and adapting in nature, in form and in strategy to create difficulties and thus achieve their evil ends. Durga calmly understands and counters the evil in order to achieve her solemn goals.{{sfn|Daniélou|1991|p=288}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=215-219}}{{efn-ua|group=note|In the Shakta tradition of Hinduism, many of the stories about obstacles and battles have been considered as metaphors for the divine and demonic within each human being, with liberation being the state of self-understanding whereby a virtuous nature and society emerging victorious over the vicious.{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=20-21, 217-219}}}}Durga, in her various forms, appears as an independent deity in the Indian texts.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|p=162}}
-In the ''Mahabharata'', both [[Yudhisthira]] and [[Arjuna]] invoke hymns to ''Durga''.{{sfn|McDermott|2001|pp=162-163}} She appears in ''[[Harivamsa]]'' in the form of [[Vishnu]]'s eulogy and in [[Pradyumna]]'s prayer. The prominent mention of Durga in such epics may have led to her worship.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|pp=162-164}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=106-108}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1997|pp=16-22, 30-35}}
+In the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', both [[Yudhisthira]] and [[Arjuna]] invoke hymns to ''Durga''.{{sfn|McDermott|2001|pp=162-163}} She appears in ''[[Harivamsa]]'' in the form of [[Vishnu]]'s eulogy and in [[Pradyumna]]'s prayer. The prominent mention of Durga in such epics may have led to her worship.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|pp=162-164}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=106-108}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1997|pp=16-22, 30-35}}
 [[File:Akalbodhan Venus Club 2010 Arnab Dutta.JPG|thumb|200px|right|A display of sculpture-idols depicting Rama and Narada praying with Durga]]
 [[File:Goddess idol at Gosani Jatra, Puri (6).jpg|thumb|Maa Durga Rudra Roop at Gosani Jatra Puri]]
-Some versions of the ''[[Purana]]s'' mention Durga Puja to be a spring festival, while the ''[[Devi-Bhagavata Purana]]'' and two other Shakta ''Puranas'' mentions it to be an [[autumn]] festival. The ''[[Ramayana]]'' manuscripts are also inconsistent. Versions of ''Ramayana'' found in the north, west, and south of the Indian subcontinent describe [[Rama]] to be remembering [[Surya]] (the Hindu sun god) before his battle against [[Ravana]], but the Bengali manuscripts of ''Ramayana'', such as the ''[[Krittivasi Ramayan]]a,'' a 15th-century manuscript by Krttivasa, mention Rama to be worshipping Durga.{{sfn|Brown|1990|pp=280 note 50, 274 notes 103, 107, 109-110}} As per the legend, Rama worshipped Durga in the autumn to have her blessings before defeating Ravana. While he was preparing for the worship of the goddess, Durga hid one of the 108 flowers of lotus, very essential for her worship. Having found only 107 of 108 [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotuses]] at the time of the worship, Rama decided to offer one of his eyes in place of that lotus. When he was about to offer his eye, Durga appeared and told him that she had only hidden the flower in order to test his devotion and she was satisfied with it. She blessed Rama and he continued with her worship. Since the gods are believed to be sleeping during autumn, the awakening rite of the Durga puja is also known as ''akāla bodhana''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Simmons |first1=Caleb |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkNmDwAAQBAJ |title=Nine Nights of the Goddess: The Navarātri Festival in South Asia |last2=Sen |first2=Moumita |last3=Rodrigues |first3=Hillary |date=2018-08-01 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-1-4384-7069-6 |pages=200 |language=en}}</ref>
+Some versions of the ''[[Purana]]s'' mention Durga Puja to be a spring festival, while the ''[[Devi-Bhagavata Purana]]'' and two other Shakta ''Puranas'' mentions it to be an [[autumn]] festival. The ''[[Ramayana]]'' manuscripts are also inconsistent. Versions of ''Ramayana'' found in the north, west, and south of the Indian subcontinent describe [[Rama]] to be remembering [[Surya]] (the Hindu sun god) before his battle against [[Ravana]], but the Bengali manuscripts of ''Ramayana'', such as the ''[[Krittivasi Ramayan]]a,'' a 15th-century manuscript by [[Krittivasa]], mention Rama to be worshipping Durga.{{sfn|Brown|1990|pp=280 note 50, 274 notes 103, 107, 109-110}} As per the legend, Rama worshipped Durga in the autumn to have her blessings before defeating Ravana. While he was preparing for the worship of the goddess, Durga hid one of the 108 flowers of lotus, very essential for her worship. Having found only 107 of 108 [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotuses]] at the time of the worship, Rama decided to offer one of his eyes in place of that lotus. When he was about to offer his eye, Durga appeared and told him that she had only hidden the flower in order to test his devotion and she was satisfied with it. She blessed Rama and he continued with her worship. Since the gods are believed to be sleeping during autumn, the awakening rite of the Durga puja is also known as ''akāla bodhana''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Simmons |first1=Caleb |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkNmDwAAQBAJ |title=Nine Nights of the Goddess: The Navarātri Festival in South Asia |last2=Sen |first2=Moumita |last3=Rodrigues |first3=Hillary |date=1 August 2018 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-1-4384-7069-6 |pages=200 |language=en}}</ref>
-Surviving manuscripts from the 14th-century provide guidelines for Durga Puja, while historical records suggest the royalty and wealthy families to be sponsoring major Durga Puja public festivities, since at least the 16th-century.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|pp=172-174}} The 11th or 12th-century [[Jainism|Jain]] text ''Yasatilaka'' by [[Somadeva]] mentions an annual festival dedicated to a warrior goddess, celebrated by the king and his armed forces, and the description mirrors attributes of Durga Puja.{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=106-108}}<ref name="britannica.com" />
+Surviving manuscripts from the 14th-century provide guidelines for Durga Puja, while historical records suggest the royalty and wealthy families to be sponsoring major Durga Puja public festivities, since at least the 16th-century.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|pp=172-174}} The 11th or 12th-century [[Jainism|Jain]] text ''Yasatilaka'' by [[Somadeva]] mentions an annual festival dedicated to a warrior goddess, celebrated by the king and his armed forces, and the description mirrors attributes of Durga Puja.{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=106-108}}<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web |title=Durga Puja {{!}} Traditions & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Durga-Puja |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030161639/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Durga-Puja |archive-date=30 October 2020 |access-date=25 October 2020 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>
-According to some scholars, the worship of the fierce warrior goddess Durga, and her darker and more violent manifestation [[Kali]], became popular in the Bengal region during and after the medieval era, marked by [[Muslims|Muslim]] invasions and conquests.{{sfn|Bandyopadhyay|1993|p=118}}
+According to some scholars, the worship of the fierce warrior goddess Durga, and her darker and more violent manifestation [[Kali]], became popular in the [[Bengal region]] during and after the medieval era, marked by [[Muslims|Muslim]] invasions and conquests.{{sfn|Bandyopadhyay|1993|p=118}}
-The significance of Durga and other goddesses in Hindu culture is stated to have increased after [[Islam]]ic armies conquered regions of the [[Indian subcontinent]].{{sfn|Monaghan|2009|pages=151–153}} According to yet other scholars, the marginalization of Bengali Hindus during the medieval era led to a reassertion of Hindu identity and an emphasis on Durga Puja as a social festival, publicly celebrating the warrior goddess.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|p=330 notes 98-103}}From the medieval era up to present-day, Durga Puja has been celebrated as a socio-cultural event, while maintaining the roots of religious worship.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bhattacharya |first=Tithi |author-link=Tithi Bhattacharya |date=November 2007 |title=Tracking the Goddess: Religion, Community, and Identity in the Durga Puja Ceremonies of Nineteenth-Century Calcutta |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=66 |number=4 |pages=919–962 |doi=10.1017/S0021911807001258 |jstor=20203237 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
+The significance of Durga and other goddesses in Hindu culture is stated to have increased after [[Islam]]ic armies conquered regions of the [[Indian subcontinent]].{{sfn|Monaghan|2009|pages=151–153}} According to yet other scholars, the marginalisation of Bengali Hindus during the medieval era led to a reassertion of Hindu identity and an emphasis on Durga Puja as a social festival, publicly celebrating the warrior goddess.{{sfn| McDermott|2001|p=330 notes 98-103}}From the medieval era up to present-day, Durga Puja has been celebrated as a socio-cultural event, while maintaining the roots of religious worship.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bhattacharya |first=Tithi |author-link=Tithi Bhattacharya |date=November 2007 |title=Tracking the Goddess: Religion, Community, and Identity in the Durga Puja Ceremonies of Nineteenth-Century Calcutta |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=66 |number=4 |pages=919–962 |doi=10.1017/S0021911807001258 |jstor=20203237 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
 ==Rituals and practices==
@@ Line 75: / Line 71: @@
 === Texts ===
-The puja rituals involve ''[[mantra]]s'' (words manifesting spiritual transformation), ''[[shloka]]s'' (holy verses), chants and ''[[Arti (Hinduism)|arati]]'', and offerings. The worship begins with a reading of the Sanskrit ''[[Devi Mahatmya|Devī Mahātmya]]'' from the sixth-century [[Markandeya Purana|Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.]]{{sfn|Ghosa|1871|pp=40–55}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholas |first=Ralph W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wo3XAAAAMAAJ |title=Rites of Spring: Gā̄jan in Village Bengal |date=2008 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-81-8028-035-1 |pages=8 |language=en}}</ref> The ''shlokas'' and ''mantras'' praise the divinity of the goddess; according to the ''shlokas'', Durga is [[Omnipresence|omnipresent]] as the embodiment of power, nourishment, memory, forbearance, faith, forgiveness, intellect, wealth, emotions, desires, beauty, satisfaction, righteousness, fulfillment and peace.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=50, 150-151}}{{efn-ua|group=note|Various versions of Devi mantra exist.{{sfn|Brown|1990|pp=143-147}} Examples include: [a] "We know the Great Goddess. We make a meditation of the goddess Durga. May that Goddess guide us on the right path." (Durga Gayatri Mantra, recited at many stages of Durga Puja);{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=153-155, 63, 90, 177 etc}} [b] Hrim! O blessed goddess Durga, come here, stay here, stay here, take up residence here, accept my worship. (Durga Avahana Mantra);{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|p=113}} etc.}}
+The puja rituals involve ''[[mantra]]s'' (words manifesting spiritual transformation), ''[[shloka]]s'' (holy verses), chants and ''[[Arti (Hinduism)|arati]]'', and offerings. The worship begins with a reading of the Sanskrit ''[[Devi Mahatmya|Devī Mahātmya]]'' from the sixth-century [[Markandeya Purana|Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.]]{{sfn|Ghosa|1871|pp=40–55}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholas |first=Ralph W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wo3XAAAAMAAJ |title=Rites of Spring: Gā̄jan in Village Bengal |date=2008 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-81-8028-035-1 |pages=8 |language=en}}</ref> The ''shlokas'' and ''mantras'' praise the divinity of the goddess; according to the ''shlokas'', Durga is [[Omnipresence|omnipresent]] as the embodiment of power, nourishment, memory, forbearance, faith, forgiveness, intellect, wealth, emotions, desires, beauty, satisfaction, righteousness, fulfilment and peace.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=50, 150-151}}{{efn-ua|group=note|Various versions of Devi mantra exist.{{sfn|Brown|1990|pp=143-147}} Examples include: [a] "We know the Great Goddess. We make a meditation of the goddess Durga. May that Goddess guide us on the right path." (Durga Gayatri Mantra, recited at many stages of Durga Puja);{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=153-155, 63, 90, 177 etc}} [b] Hrim! O blessed goddess Durga, come here, stay here, stay here, take up residence here, accept my worship. (Durga Avahana Mantra);{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|p=113}} etc.}}
+== Scriptural References ==
+Source:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sengupta |first=Minakshi |date=September 24, 2025 |title=Maa Durga as Mahishasura Mardini – The Eternal Triumph of Good over Evil |url=https://www.storywire.co.in/2025/09/maa-durga-as-mahishasura-mardini-the-eternal-triumph-of-good-over-evil.html |website=Storywire |language=English}}</ref>
+* '''Markandeya Purana (Devi Mahatmya / Chandi Path):''' The primary text narrating the battle of Durga with Mahishasura.
+* '''Devi Bhagavata Purana:''' Expands on the cosmic significance of Maa Durga and her victory.
+* '''Skanda Purana:''' Mentions Durga's various forms and their purpose in destroying evil.
+* '''Varaha Purana:''' Contains references to the goddess as Mahishasura Mardini.
+* '''Tantra Texts (e.g., Devi Mahatmyam in Shakta Tantra):''' Emphasize her as Shakti, the supreme power.
 === Relation to harvest ===
-{{Quote box|width=30%|quote='''Durga Puja as a harvest festival'''<poem>[[Om]] you are rice [wheat...], Om you are life, you are the life of the gods, you are our life, your are our internal life, you are long life, you give life, Om the Sun with his rays (....)</poem>|source=&nbsp;— Hymn to start the Durga Puja,<br />Translator: David Kinsley{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=111-112}}|bgcolor=#FFE0BB|align=left}}Durga Puja is, in part, a post-monsoon harvest festival observed on the same days in the [[Shaktism]] tradition of Hinduism as those in its other traditions.{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=55-59}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|p=111, Quote: "Durga Puja is celebrated from the first through the ninth days of the bright half of the lunar month of Asvin, which coincides with the autumn harvest in North India, and in certain respects it is clear that Durga Puja is a harvest festival in which Durga is propitiated as the power of plant fertility".}} The practice of including a bundle of nine different plants, called ''navapatrika'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rodrigues |first=Hillary |year=2018 |title=Durga |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-encyclopedia-of-hinduism/*-COM_1030180 |journal=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online}}</ref>{{Efn-ua|These nine plants specifically are: kadali (plantain), mana (broad-leaved plant), kacvi (black-stemmed plant), haridra (turmeric), jayanti (barley), sriphala (wood-apple branch with two fruit), dadimah (pomegranate), asoka (red-flowering shade tree), dhanya (rice paddy) |text=group}} as a symbolism of Durga, is a testament practice to its agricultural importance.{{sfn| Kinsley|1988|pp=111-112}} The typically selected plants include not only representative important crops, but also non-crops. This probably signifies the Hindu belief that the goddess is "not merely the power inherent in the growth of crops but the power inherent in all vegetation".{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=111-112}}
+{{Quote box|width=30%|quote='''Durga Puja as a harvest festival'''<poem>[[Om]] you are rice [wheat...], Om you are life, you are the life of the gods, you are our life, your are our internal life, you are long life, you give life, Om the Sun with his rays (....)</poem>|source=&nbsp;— Hymn to start the Durga Puja,<br />Translator: David Kinsley{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=111-112}}|bgcolor=#FFE0BB|align=left}}Durga Puja is, in part, a post-monsoon harvest festival observed on the same days in the [[Shaktism]] tradition of Hinduism as those in its other traditions.{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=55-59}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|p=111, Quote: "Durga Puja is celebrated from the first through the ninth days of the bright half of the lunar month of Asvin, which coincides with the autumn harvest in North India, and in certain respects it is clear that Durga Puja is a harvest festival in which Durga is propitiated as the power of plant fertility".}} The practice of including a bundle of nine different plants, called ''navapatrika'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rodrigues |first=Hillary |year=2018 |title=Durga |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-encyclopedia-of-hinduism/*-COM_1030180 |journal=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online}}</ref>{{Efn-ua|These nine plants specifically are: kadali (plantain), mana (broad-leaved plant), kacvi (black-stemmed plant), haridra (turmeric), jayanti (barley), sriphala (wood-apple branch with two fruit), dadimah (pomegranate), asoka (red-flowering shade tree), dhanya (rice paddy) |text=group}} as a symbolism of Durga, is a testament practice to its agricultural importance.{{sfn| Kinsley|1988|pp=111-112}} Many people think Nabapatrika is just a banana tree wrapped like a bride, often called '''“Kolabou”'''. In reality, it is a sacred combination of '''nine plants''', each representing a form of divine energy and cosmic force.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sengupta |first=Minakshi |date=September 27, 2025 |title=Nabapatrika: The Sacred Symbol of Nature in Durga Puja |url=https://www.storywire.co.in/2025/09/Nabapatrika-The-Sacred-Symbol-of-Nature-in-Durga-Puja.html |website=Storywire}}</ref> The typically selected plants include not only representative important crops, but also non-crops. This probably signifies the Hindu belief that the goddess is "not merely the power inherent in the growth of crops but the power inherent in all vegetation".{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=111-112}}
 The festival is a social and public event in the eastern and northeastern states of India, where it dominates religious and socio-cultural life, with temporary ''pandal''s built at community squares, roadside shrines, and temples. The festival is also observed by some Shakta Hindus as a private home-based festival.{{sfn|McLean|1998|p=137}}
@@ Line 85: / Line 89: @@
 === Day One ===
-Durga Puja is a ten-day event. The festival begins with [[Mahalaya]], a day on which Hindus perform ''tarpaṇa'' by offering water and food to their dead ancestors. The day also marks the arrival of Durga from her marital home in Kailash.{{sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}}{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}}
+Durga Puja is a ten-day event. The festival begins with [[Mahalaya]], a day on which Hindus perform ''[[tarpaṇa]]'' by offering water and food to their dead ancestors. The day also marks the arrival of Durga from her marital home in Kailash.{{sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}}{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}}
-The festival starts at twilight with prayers to Saraswati.{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=57-59, 63, 66}} She is believed to be another aspect of goddess Durga. This is also the day when the eyes are painted of the deities on the representative clay sculpture-idols, bringing them to a lifelike appearance.{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=57-59, 63, 66}}{{sfn|Charles Russell Coulter|Patricia Turner|2013|pp=148, 158-159, 256-257, 301}} The day also marks prayers to Ganesha and visit to ''pandal''s and temples.{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=58-60}}
+The festival starts at twilight with prayers to [[Saraswati]].{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=57-59, 63, 66}} She is believed to be another aspect of goddess Durga. This is also the day when the eyes are painted of the deities on the representative clay sculpture-idols, bringing them to a lifelike appearance.{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=57-59, 63, 66}}{{sfn|Charles Russell Coulter|Patricia Turner|2013|pp=148, 158-159, 256-257, 301}} The day also marks prayers to [[Ganesha]] and visit to ''pandal''s and temples.{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=58-60}}
 === Day Two to Five ===
-Day two to five mark the remembrance of the goddess and her manifestations, such as ''[[Kumari (goddess)|Kumari]]'' (goddess of fertility), ''Mai'' (mother), ''Ajima'' (grandmother), ''Lakshmi'' (goddess of wealth) and in some regions as the ''[[Matrikas|Saptamatrikas]]'' (seven mothers) or ''Navadurga'' (nine aspects of Durga).{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=69-70, 83-84, 95-97, 115-117, 184}}{{sfn|Amazzone|2011|pp=82-83}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=209-210}} On the sixth day major festivities and social celebrations start.{{Sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}}{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}} The first nine days overlap with Navaratri festivities in other traditions of Hinduism.{{sfn| Ellwood|Alles|2007|p=126}}{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|pp=308-309}}The specific practices vary by region.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-24, 31-39}}
+Day two to five mark the remembrance of the goddess and her manifestations, such as ''[[Kumari (goddess)|Kumari]]'' (goddess of fertility), ''Mai'' (mother), ''Ajima'' (grandmother), ''[[Lakshmi]]'' (goddess of wealth) and in some regions as the ''[[Matrikas|Saptamatrikas]]'' (seven mothers) or ''[[Navadurga]]'' (nine aspects of Durga).{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|pp=69-70, 83-84, 95-97, 115-117, 184}}{{sfn|Amazzone|2011|pp=82-83}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=209-210}} On the sixth day major festivities and social celebrations start.{{Sfn|Bradley|2012|p=214}}{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica |2015}} The first nine days overlap with Navaratri festivities in other traditions of Hinduism.{{sfn| Ellwood|Alles|2007|p=126}}{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|pp=308-309}}The specific practices vary by region.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-24, 31-39}}
 === Day Six to Nine ===
@@ Line 101: / Line 105: @@
 On the seventh day (''[[Saptami]]''), eighth (''[[Ashtami]]'') and ninth (''[[Navami]]'') days, the goddess along with [[Lakshmi]], [[Saraswati]], [[Ganesha]], and [[Kartikeya]] are revered and these days mark the main days of worship with recitation of scriptures, puja, legends of Durga in ''Devi Mahatmya'', social visits to elaborately decorated and illuminated ''[[pandal]]s'' (temporary structures meant for hosting the puja), among others.{{sfn| Kinsley |1989|pp=19-25}}{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=106-115}}{{sfn|Ghosa|1871|pp=40–55}}
 * ''Navapatrika snan'': Bathing of the ''navapatrika'' with holy water done on the seventh day of the festival.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=46-54, 132-136}}
-* ''Sandhi puja'' and ''Ashtami pushpanjali'': The eighth day begins with elaborate ''[[pushpanjali]]'' rituals. The cusp of the ending of the eighth day and beginning of the ninth day is considered to be the moment when per scriptures Durga engaged in a fierce battle against [[Mahishasura]] and was attacked by the demons [[Chanda and Munda]]. Goddess [[Chamunda]] emerged from the third eye of Durga and killed Chanda and Munda at the cusp of ''Ashtami'' and ''Navami'', the eighth and ninth days respectively. This moment is marked by the ''sandhi puja'', involving the offering of 108 lotuses and lighting of 108 lamps. It is a forty-eight minutes long ritual commemorating the climax of battle. The rituals are performed in the last 24 minutes of ''Ashtami'' and the first 24 minutes of ''Navami''. In some regions, devotees sacrifice an animal such as a buffalo or goat, but in many regions, there is not an actual animal sacrifice and a symbolic sacrifice substitutes it. The surrogate effigy is smeared in red vermilion to symbolize the blood spilled.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=277-278}} The goddess is then offered food (''bhog''). Some places also engage in devotional service.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=210-213}}
+* ''Sandhi puja'' and ''Ashtami pushpanjali'': The eighth day begins with elaborate ''[[pushpanjali]]'' rituals. The cusp of the ending of the eighth day and beginning of the ninth day is considered to be the moment when per scriptures Durga engaged in a fierce battle against [[Mahishasura]] and was attacked by the demons [[Chanda and Munda]]. Goddess [[Chamunda]] emerged from the third eye of Durga and killed Chanda and Munda at the cusp of ''Ashtami'' and ''Navami'', the eighth and ninth days respectively. This moment is marked by the ''sandhi puja'', involving the offering of 108 lotuses and lighting of 108 lamps. It is a forty-eight minutes long ritual commemorating the climax of battle. The rituals are performed in the last 24 minutes of ''Ashtami'' and the first 24 minutes of ''Navami''. In some regions, devotees sacrifice an animal such as a buffalo or goat, but in many regions, there is not an actual animal sacrifice and a symbolic sacrifice substitutes it. The surrogate effigy is smeared in red vermilion to symbolise the blood spilled.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=277-278}} The goddess is then offered food (''bhog''). Some places also engage in devotional service.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=210-213}}
 {{multiple image|perrow=2/2|total_width=250 |caption_align=center
@@ Line 121: / Line 125: @@
 === Day Ten ===
 * {{transliteration|hi|Sindoor khela}} and immersion: The tenth and last day, called Vijaya Dashami is marked by {{transliteration|hi|sindoor khela}}, where women smear {{transliteration|hi|[[sindoor]]}} or vermillion on the sculpture-idols and also smear each other with it. This ritual signifies the wishing of a blissful marital life for married women. Historically the ritual has been restricted to married women. The tenth day is the day when Durga emerged victorious against Mahishasura and it ends with a procession where the clay sculpture-idols are ceremoniously taken to a river or coast for immersion rites.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=244-245}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=168-169}} Following the immersion, Durga is believed to return to her mythological marital home of Kailasa to Shiva and the cosmos in general. People distribute sweets and gifts, visit their friends and family members on the tenth day.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=66-67, 236-241, 246-247}} Some communities such as those near Varanasi mark the day after Vijaya Dashami, called [[Ekadashi]], by visiting a Durga temple.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=67-68}}
-[[File:Smearing vermillion on Durga Puja Festival.jpg|thumb|Women at Nowgong Bengali Association Durga Puja joyfully smear each other with Vermillion as part of the exuberant Durga Puja festival celebrations in Nagaon, Assam, India.]]
+[[File:Smearing vermillion on Durga Puja Festival.jpg|thumb|Women at Nowgong Bengali Association Durga Puja joyfully smear each other with Vermillion as part of the exuberant Durga Puja festival celebrations in [[Nagaon]], [[Assam]], [[India]].]]
-* {{transliteration|hi|Dhunuchi naach}} and {{transliteration|hi|dhuno pora}}: Dhunuchi naach involves a dance ritual performed with {{transliteration|hi|[[dhunachi|dhunuchi]]}} (incense burner). Drummers called {{transliteration|hi|[[dhaki]]s}}, carrying large leather-strung {{transliteration|hi|[[Dhak (instrument)|Dhak]]s}}, ''[[Dhol]]s'' and other traditional drums depending on the region, to create music, to which people dance either during or not during {{transliteration|hi|[[aarati]]}}. Some places, especially home pujas, also observe dhuno pora, a ritual involving married women carrying {{transliteration|hi|dhunuchis}} burning with incense and dried coconuts, on a cloth on their head and hands,
+* ''[[Dhunuchi Nritya|Dhunuchi naach]]'' and {{transliteration|hi|dhuno pora}}: Dhunuchi naach involves a dance ritual performed with {{transliteration|hi|[[dhunachi|dhunuchi]]}} (incense burner). Drummers called {{transliteration|hi|[[dhaki]]s}}, carrying large leather-strung ''[[Dhak (instrument)|Dhaks]]'', ''[[Dhol]]s'' and other traditional drums depending on the region, to create music, to which people dance either during or not during ''[[Arti (Hinduism)|arati]]''. Some places, especially home pujas, also observe ''dhuno pora'', a ritual involving married women carrying ''[[Dhunachi|dhunuchis]]'' burning with incense and dried coconuts, on a cloth on their head and hands,
 ===Decorations, sculptures, and stages===
@@ Line 137: / Line 141: @@
 Clay, or alluvial soil, collected from different regions form the base. This choice is a tradition wherein Durga, perceived as the creative energy and material, is believed to be present everywhere and in everything in the universe.{{sfn|Chitgopekar|2009|pp=95–98}} In certain traditions in Kolkata, a custom is to include soil samples in the clay mixture for Durga from areas believed to be ''nishiddho pallis'' (forbidden territories; territories inhabited by the "social outcasts" such as brothels).{{sfn|Khanna|2015|p=96}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fahy |first=John |date=2 September 2018 |title=Samsara |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/19428200.2018.1602407 |journal=Anthropology Now |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=93–105 |doi=10.1080/19428200.2018.1602407 |s2cid=218662621 |issn=1942-8200 |access-date=5 August 2021 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925182759/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19428200.2018.1602407 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahsanat |first=Moazzam Areeba |year=2014 |title=Identity catapult in a globalizing world: A critique |url=https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:jpg&volume=3&issue=1&article=002 |journal=Journal of Politics and Governance |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=16–22 |access-date=5 August 2021 |archive-date=5 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805082013/https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:jpg&volume=3&issue=1&article=002 |url-status=live}}</ref>
-The clay base is combined with straw, kneaded, and then molded into a cast made from hay and bamboo. This is layered to a fine final shape, cleaned, painted, and polished. A layer of a fiber called [[jute]], mixed in with clay, is also attached to the top to prevent the statue from cracking in the months ahead. The heads of the statues are more complex and are usually made separately.{{sfn|Chitgopekar|2009|pp=95–98}} The limbs of the statues are mostly shaped from bundles of straws.{{sfn|Chitgopekar|2009|pp=95–98}} Then, starting about August, the local artisans hand-paint the sculpture-idols which are later dressed in clothing, are decorated and bejewelled, and displayed at the puja altars.{{sfn|Chitgopekar|2009|pp=95–98}}{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|p=57}}
+The clay base is combined with straw, kneaded, and then moulded into a cast made from hay and bamboo. This is layered to a fine final shape, cleaned, painted, and polished. A layer of a fibre called [[jute]], mixed in with clay, is also attached to the top to prevent the statue from cracking in the months ahead. The heads of the statues are more complex and are usually made separately.{{sfn|Chitgopekar|2009|pp=95–98}} The limbs of the statues are mostly shaped from bundles of straws.{{sfn|Chitgopekar|2009|pp=95–98}} Then, starting about August, the local artisans hand-paint the sculpture-idols which are later dressed in clothing, are decorated and bejewelled, and displayed at the puja altars.{{sfn|Chitgopekar|2009|pp=95–98}}{{sfn|Amazzone|2012|p=57}}
-The procedure for and proportions of the sculpture-idols are described in arts-related Sanskrit texts of Hinduism, such as the ''Vishvakarma Sashtra''.{{sfn|Rao|1988|pp=47–49, 209}}
+The procedure for and proportions of the sculpture-idols are described in arts-related [[Sanskrit literature|Sanskrit texts of Hinduism]], such as the ''Vishvakarma Sashtra''.{{sfn|Rao|1988|pp=47–49, 209}}
 ====Environmental impact====
 [[File:A view of immersion of Goddess Durga on the last day of Durga Puja festival at Yamuna River in Delhi on October 17, 2010.jpg|thumb|221x221px|right|A Durga sculpture-idol in the river, post-immersion.]]
-The sculpture-idols for the puja are traditionally made of biodegradable materials such as straw, clay, soil, and wood.{{sfn|Chapple|2000|pp=490, 484–489}} In today's times, brighter colored statues have increased in popularity and have diversified the use of non-biodegradable, cheaper or more colorful substitute synthetic raw materials. Environmental activists have raised concerns about the paint used to produce the statue, stating that the heavy metals in these paints pollute rivers when the statues are immersed at the end of the Durga festival.{{sfn|Chapple|2000|pp=490, 484–489}}
+The sculpture-idols for the puja are traditionally made of biodegradable materials such as straw, clay, soil, and wood.{{sfn|Chapple|2000|pp=490, 484–489}} In today's times, brighter coloured statues have increased in popularity and have diversified the use of non-biodegradable, cheaper or more colourful substitute synthetic raw materials. Environmental activists have raised concerns about the paint used to produce the statue, stating that the heavy metals in these paints pollute rivers when the statues are immersed at the end of the Durga festival.{{sfn|Chapple|2000|pp=490, 484–489}}
-Brighter colors that are also biodegradable and eco-friendly, as well as the traditional natural colors, are typically more expensive compared to the non biodegradable paints.{{sfn|Godfrey|Torres|2016|pp=98–99}} The Indian state of West Bengal has banned the use of hazardous paints, and various state government have started distributing lead-free paints to artisans at no cost to prevent pollution.<ref>Ipsita Pati (18 October 2012), [http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Paint-with-toxic-chemicals-banned-during-Puja/article12562452.ece Paint with toxic chemicals banned during Puja] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704162909/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Paint-with-toxic-chemicals-banned-during-Puja/article12562452.ece |date=4 July 2020 }}, ''The Hindu''</ref>
+Brighter colours that are also biodegradable and eco-friendly, as well as the traditional natural colours, are typically more expensive compared to the non biodegradable paints.{{sfn|Godfrey|Torres|2016|pp=98–99}} The Indian state of West Bengal has banned the use of hazardous paints, and various state government have started distributing lead-free paints to artisans at no cost to prevent pollution.<ref>Ipsita Pati (18 October 2012), [http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Paint-with-toxic-chemicals-banned-during-Puja/article12562452.ece Paint with toxic chemicals banned during Puja] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704162909/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Paint-with-toxic-chemicals-banned-during-Puja/article12562452.ece |date=4 July 2020 }}, ''The Hindu''</ref>
 ===Animal sacrifice, symbolic sacrifice===
 {{Further|Shaktism|Animal sacrifice in Hinduism}}
 [[File:Immolation Sacrifice, Mouh Boli, Durga Puja.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Sacrifice of a buffalo during Durga Puja, in [[Assam]].]]
-Shakta Hindu communities mark the slaying of Mahishasura and the victory of Durga with a symbolic or actual sacrifice. Most communities prefer symbolic sacrifice, where a statue of the ''asura'' is made of flour or equivalent, is immolated and smeared with vermilion, symbolic of the blood that had spilled during the battle.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=277-278}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=204-205}} Other substitutes include a vegetable or a sweet dish considered equivalent to the animal.{{sfn| McDermott|2011|pp=204–205}} In certain instances, devotees consider animal sacrifice distasteful, and practice alternate means of expressing devotion while respecting the views of others in their tradition.{{sfn|Katznelson|Jones|2010|p=343}}
+Shakta Hindu communities mark the slaying of Mahishasura and the victory of Durga with a symbolic or actual sacrifice. Most communities prefer symbolic sacrifice, where a statue of the ''[[asura]]'' is made of flour or equivalent, is immolated and smeared with vermilion, symbolic of the blood that had spilled during the battle.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=277-278}}{{sfn|McDaniel|2004|pp=204-205}} Other substitutes include a vegetable or a sweet dish considered equivalent to the animal.{{sfn| McDermott|2011|pp=204–205}} In certain instances, devotees consider animal sacrifice distasteful, and practice alternate means of expressing devotion while respecting the views of others in their tradition.{{sfn|Katznelson|Jones|2010|p=343}}
-In communities performing actual sacrifice, an animal is sacrificed, mainly at temples.{{sfn|Ghosa|1871|pp=60–65}} In Nepal, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam, animal sacrifices are performed at Shakta temples to commemorate the legend of Durga slaying Mahishasura.{{sfn| Phillips|Kerrigan|Gould|2011|pp=98-101}} This involves slaying of a fowl, pig, goat, or male water-buffalo. Large scale animal sacrifices are rare among Hindus outside the regions of Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Nepal. In these regions, festivals are primarily when significant animal sacrifices are  observed.{{sfn|Fuller|2004|pp=83–84}}
+In communities performing actual sacrifice, an animal is sacrificed, mainly at temples.{{sfn|Ghosa|1871|pp=60–65}} In [[Nepal]], West Bengal, Odisha and Assam, animal sacrifices are performed at Shakta temples to commemorate the legend of Durga slaying Mahishasura.{{sfn| Phillips|Kerrigan|Gould|2011|pp=98-101}} This involves slaying of a fowl, pig, goat, or male water-buffalo. Large scale animal sacrifices are rare among Hindus outside the regions of Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Nepal. In these regions, festivals are primarily when significant animal sacrifices are observed.{{sfn|Fuller|2004|pp=83–84}}
-The [[Rajput]]s of [[Rajasthan]] worship their weapons and horses in the related festival of Navaratri, and some historically observed the sacrifice of a goat, a practice that continues in some places.{{sfn|Harlan|2003|p=22}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|Erndl|2000|p=77}} The sacrifice ritual, supervised he the priest, requires slaying of the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite of passage into manhood and readiness as a warrior.{{sfn|Harlan|1992|pp=61, 88}} The ''Kuldevi'' (clan deity) among these Rajput communities is a warrior goddess, with local legends tracing reverence for her during Rajput-Muslim wars.{{sfn|Harlan|1992|pp=107–108}}{{better source needed|reason=The source does not have anything on animal sacrifice, Navratri or Durga puja. Perhaps the content can go in the article on Shaktiism|date=September 2019}}
+The [[Rajput]]s of [[Rajasthan]] worship their weapons and horses in the related festival of ''Navaratri'', and some historically observed the sacrifice of a goat, a practice that continues in some places.{{sfn|Harlan|2003|p=22}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|Erndl|2000|p=77}} The sacrifice ritual, supervised he the priest, requires slaying of the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite of passage into manhood and readiness as a warrior.{{sfn|Harlan|1992|pp=61, 88}} The ''[[Kuldevi]]'' (clan deity) among these Rajput communities is a warrior goddess, with local legends tracing reverence for her during [[Rajput-Mughal wars|Rajput-Muslim wars]].{{sfn|Harlan|1992|pp=107–108}}{{better source needed|reason=The source does not have anything on animal sacrifice, Navratri or Durga puja. Perhaps the content can go in the article on Shaktiism|date=September 2019}}
 ===Pandals and theme-based pujas===
@@ Line 163: / Line 167: @@
 |footer=Two theme-based ''pandals'' in Kolkata.
 }}
-Months before the start of Durga Puja, youth members of the community collect funds and donations, engage priests and artisans, buy votive materials and help build ''pandal''s centered around a theme, which has rose to prominence in recent years. Such themes have included sex work,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/durga-puja-2018-pandal-dedicated-to-sex-workers-theme-graffiti-5396302/ |title=A Kolkata Durga Puja pandal pays tribute to sex workers |last=Das |first=Shreya |date=16 October 2018 |work=The Indian Express |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115021/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/durga-puja-2018-pandal-dedicated-to-sex-workers-theme-graffiti-5396302/ |url-status=live}}</ref> celebration of humanity,<ref name = "politics"/> marginalization of [[queer|queer persons]] and [[transgender|transgender persons]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/durga-puja-speaks-for-homosexuals-transgenders/article24957226.ece |title=Durga Puja speaks for homosexuals, transgenders |last=Das |first=Soumya |date=15 September 2018 |work=The Hindu |access-date=1 October 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212093549/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/durga-puja-speaks-for-homosexuals-transgenders/article24957226.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> folk culture,<ref name="theme1">{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/things-to-do/durga-puja-themes-venues-in-south-kolkata/as54675631.cms |title=Durga Puja theme & venues in South Kolkata |last=Dhar |first=Sujoy |date=12 October 2018 |work=Times Travel |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=18 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018235828/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/things-to-do/durga-puja-themes-venues-in-south-kolkata/as54675631.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> celebration of cinema,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/durga-puja-in-delhi-to-bring-alive-100-yr-journey-of-bengali-cinema/articleshow/71175198.cms |title=Durga Puja in Delhi to bring alive 100-year journey of Bengali cinema |date=18 September 2019 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=18 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018235832/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/durga-puja-in-delhi-to-bring-alive-100-yr-journey-of-bengali-cinema/articleshow/71175198.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> womanhood,<ref name="theme1"/>  pro-environment themes,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/green-themes-abound-in-durga-puja-marquees-118101400113_1.html |title=Green themes abound in Durga Puja marquees |date=14 October 2018 |work=Business Standard |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115020/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/green-themes-abound-in-durga-puja-marquees-118101400113_1.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while others have chosen metaphorical themes such as celebration of ''maati'' (literally, soil or ash) and "finding one's own light".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/msociety/2019/sep/20/durga-puja-special-watch-out-for-this-12-landmark-pujas-in-kolkata-18293.html |title=Durga Puja special: Watch out for this 12 landmark Pujas in Kolkata |last=Roy |first=Ujjainee |date=20 September 2019 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115022/https://www.indulgexpress.com/msociety/2019/sep/20/durga-puja-special-watch-out-for-this-12-landmark-pujas-in-kolkata-18293.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Pandals have also been replicated on existing temples, structures, and monuments<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/photos-from-facebook-to-lego-15-interesting-durga-puja-pandal-themes-weve-seen-over-the-years-716320.html |title=Photos: From Facebook to Lego: 15 interesting Durga Puja pandal themes we've seen over the years |date=25 September 2014 |work=News18 |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120217/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/photos-from-facebook-to-lego-15-interesting-durga-puja-pandal-themes-weve-seen-over-the-years-716320.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/your-guide-to-pandal-hopping-in-noida/articleshow/66255980.cms |title=Your guide to pandal hopping in Noida |last=Dhaor |first=Ashni |date=17 October 2018 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=22 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022154402/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/your-guide-to-pandal-hopping-in-noida/articleshow/66255980.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> and yet others have been made of elements such as metal scraps,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/durga-puja-pandal-made-from-scrap-spare-parts-glitters-in-kolkata-116101100057_1.html |title=Durga Puja: Pandal made from scrap, spare parts glitters in Kolkata |date=11 October 2018 |work=Business Standard |access-date=20 September 2018 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120216/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/durga-puja-pandal-made-from-scrap-spare-parts-glitters-in-kolkata-116101100057_1.html |url-status=live}}</ref> nails,<ref>{{Cite news |title=In Kolkata, a Durga Puja Pandal Crafted Out of Nails and Threads to Make it 'Visible' to the Blind |last=Bose |first=Rakhi |date=16 October 2018 |work=News18 |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/in-kolkata-a-durga-puja-pandal-crafted-out-of-nails-and-threads-to-make-it-visible-to-the-blind-1910425.html |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920122512/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/in-kolkata-a-durga-puja-pandal-crafted-out-of-nails-and-threads-to-make-it-visible-to-the-blind-1910425.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and turmeric<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/photo-gallery-in-west-bengal-a-durga-puja-pandal-made-out-of-turmeric-2674767 |title=In West Bengal, a Durga Puja pandal made out of turmeric |last=Mehta |first=Puja |date=12 October 2018 |work=DNA |access-date=20 September 2018 |archive-date=7 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107071958/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/photo-gallery-in-west-bengal-a-durga-puja-pandal-made-out-of-turmeric-2674767 |url-status=live}}</ref> among others. Durga Puja pandals have also been centered around themes to acknowledge political events such as the [[2019 Balakot airstrike]] and to protest against the [[National Register of Citizens of India]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/balakot-airstrikes-become-theme-for-durga-puja-pandal-1599368-2019-09-15 |title=Terrorists vs Abhinandan Varthaman: Balakot airstrikes becomes theme for Durga Puja pandal |date=15 September 2019 |work=India Today |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120935/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/balakot-airstrikes-become-theme-for-durga-puja-pandal-1599368-2019-09-15 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/novel-nrc-protest-at-puja-pandals/cid/1705686 |title=Novel NRC protest at puja pandals |last=Bhattacharjee |first=Satananda |date=18 September 2019 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120935/https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/novel-nrc-protest-at-puja-pandals/cid/1705686 |url-status=live}}</ref>
+Months before the start of Durga Puja, youth members of the community collect funds and donations, engage priests and artisans, buy votive materials and help build ''pandal''s centered around a theme, which has rose to prominence in recent years. Such themes have included sex work,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/durga-puja-2018-pandal-dedicated-to-sex-workers-theme-graffiti-5396302/ |title=A Kolkata Durga Puja pandal pays tribute to sex workers |last=Das |first=Shreya |date=16 October 2018 |work=The Indian Express |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115021/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/durga-puja-2018-pandal-dedicated-to-sex-workers-theme-graffiti-5396302/ |url-status=live}}</ref> celebration of humanity,<ref name = "politics"/> marginalisation of [[queer|queer persons]] and [[transgender|transgender persons]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/durga-puja-speaks-for-homosexuals-transgenders/article24957226.ece |title=Durga Puja speaks for homosexuals, transgenders |last=Das |first=Soumya |date=15 September 2018 |work=The Hindu |access-date=1 October 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212093549/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/durga-puja-speaks-for-homosexuals-transgenders/article24957226.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> folk culture,<ref name="theme1">{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/things-to-do/durga-puja-themes-venues-in-south-kolkata/as54675631.cms |title=Durga Puja theme & venues in South Kolkata |last=Dhar |first=Sujoy |date=12 October 2018 |work=Times Travel |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=18 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018235828/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/things-to-do/durga-puja-themes-venues-in-south-kolkata/as54675631.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> celebration of cinema,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/durga-puja-in-delhi-to-bring-alive-100-yr-journey-of-bengali-cinema/articleshow/71175198.cms |title=Durga Puja in Delhi to bring alive 100-year journey of Bengali cinema |date=18 September 2019 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=18 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018235832/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/durga-puja-in-delhi-to-bring-alive-100-yr-journey-of-bengali-cinema/articleshow/71175198.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> womanhood,<ref name="theme1"/>  pro-environment themes,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/green-themes-abound-in-durga-puja-marquees-118101400113_1.html |title=Green themes abound in Durga Puja marquees |date=14 October 2018 |work=Business Standard |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115020/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/green-themes-abound-in-durga-puja-marquees-118101400113_1.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while others have chosen metaphorical themes such as celebration of ''maati'' (literally, soil or ash) and "finding one's own light".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/msociety/2019/sep/20/durga-puja-special-watch-out-for-this-12-landmark-pujas-in-kolkata-18293.html |title=Durga Puja special: Watch out for this 12 landmark Pujas in Kolkata |last=Roy |first=Ujjainee |date=20 September 2019 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115022/https://www.indulgexpress.com/msociety/2019/sep/20/durga-puja-special-watch-out-for-this-12-landmark-pujas-in-kolkata-18293.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Pandals have also been replicated on existing temples, structures, and monuments<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/photos-from-facebook-to-lego-15-interesting-durga-puja-pandal-themes-weve-seen-over-the-years-716320.html |title=Photos: From Facebook to Lego: 15 interesting Durga Puja pandal themes we've seen over the years |date=25 September 2014 |work=News18 |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120217/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/photos-from-facebook-to-lego-15-interesting-durga-puja-pandal-themes-weve-seen-over-the-years-716320.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/your-guide-to-pandal-hopping-in-noida/articleshow/66255980.cms |title=Your guide to pandal hopping in Noida |last=Dhaor |first=Ashni |date=17 October 2018 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=22 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022154402/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/your-guide-to-pandal-hopping-in-noida/articleshow/66255980.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> and yet others have been made of elements such as metal scraps,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/durga-puja-pandal-made-from-scrap-spare-parts-glitters-in-kolkata-116101100057_1.html |title=Durga Puja: Pandal made from scrap, spare parts glitters in Kolkata |date=11 October 2018 |work=Business Standard |access-date=20 September 2018 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120216/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/durga-puja-pandal-made-from-scrap-spare-parts-glitters-in-kolkata-116101100057_1.html |url-status=live}}</ref> nails,<ref>{{Cite news |title=In Kolkata, a Durga Puja Pandal Crafted Out of Nails and Threads to Make it 'Visible' to the Blind |last=Bose |first=Rakhi |date=16 October 2018 |work=News18 |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/in-kolkata-a-durga-puja-pandal-crafted-out-of-nails-and-threads-to-make-it-visible-to-the-blind-1910425.html |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920122512/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/in-kolkata-a-durga-puja-pandal-crafted-out-of-nails-and-threads-to-make-it-visible-to-the-blind-1910425.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and turmeric<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/photo-gallery-in-west-bengal-a-durga-puja-pandal-made-out-of-turmeric-2674767 |title=In West Bengal, a Durga Puja pandal made out of turmeric |last=Mehta |first=Puja |date=12 October 2018 |work=DNA |access-date=20 September 2018 |archive-date=7 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107071958/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/photo-gallery-in-west-bengal-a-durga-puja-pandal-made-out-of-turmeric-2674767 |url-status=live}}</ref> among others. Durga Puja pandals have also been centered around themes to acknowledge political events such as the [[2019 Balakot airstrike]] and to protest against the [[National Register of Citizens of India]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/balakot-airstrikes-become-theme-for-durga-puja-pandal-1599368-2019-09-15 |title=Terrorists vs Abhinandan Varthaman: Balakot airstrikes becomes theme for Durga Puja pandal |date=15 September 2019 |work=India Today |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120935/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/balakot-airstrikes-become-theme-for-durga-puja-pandal-1599368-2019-09-15 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/novel-nrc-protest-at-puja-pandals/cid/1705686 |title=Novel NRC protest at puja pandals |last=Bhattacharjee |first=Satananda |date=18 September 2019 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120935/https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/novel-nrc-protest-at-puja-pandals/cid/1705686 |url-status=live}}</ref>
-The budget required for such theme-based pujas is significantly higher than traditional pujas. For such theme-based pujas, the preparations and the building of ''pandals'' are a significant arts-related economic activity, often attracting major sponsors.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=1-2, 10-11, 24-26, 351-352}} Such commercialized pujas attract crowds of visitors. The growth of competitiveness in theme-based ''pandals'' has escalated costs and scale of Durga Puja in eastern states of India. Some segments of the society criticize the billboards, the economic competition, and seek return to basics.<ref>{{cite news |title=Puja on the billboards |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090913/jsp/calcutta/story_11453289.jsp |work=[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]] |location=Kolkata |date=13 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010115428/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090913/jsp/calcutta/story_11453289.jsp |archive-date=10 October 2010}}</ref> The competition takes many forms, such as the height of statue. In 2015, an 88-foot statue of Durga in Kolkata's Deshapriya Park attracted numerous devotees, with some estimates placing visitors at one million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Have you ever seen a Durga Idol this tall |url=http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/have-you-ever-seen-a-durga-idol-this-tall/20151008.htm |work=Rediff |date=8 October 2015 |access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102004220/http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/have-you-ever-seen-a-durga-idol-this-tall/20151008.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Near stampede shuts down Deshapriya Park Durga Puja |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Near-stampede-shuts-down-Deshapriya-Park-Durga-puja/articleshow/49446378.cms |work=The Times of India |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-date=26 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026081353/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Near-stampede-shuts-down-Deshapriya-Park-Durga-puja/articleshow/49446378.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>
+The budget required for such theme-based pujas is significantly higher than traditional pujas. For such theme-based pujas, the preparations and the building of ''pandals'' are a significant arts-related economic activity, often attracting major sponsors.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=1-2, 10-11, 24-26, 351-352}} Such commercialised pujas attract crowds of visitors. The growth of competitiveness in theme-based ''pandals'' has escalated costs and scale of Durga Puja in eastern states of India. Some segments of the society criticise the billboards, the economic competition, and seek return to basics.<ref>{{cite news |title=Puja on the billboards |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090913/jsp/calcutta/story_11453289.jsp |work=[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]] |location=Kolkata |date=13 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010115428/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090913/jsp/calcutta/story_11453289.jsp |archive-date=10 October 2010}}</ref> The competition takes many forms, such as the height of statue. In 2015, an 88-foot statue of Durga in Kolkata's [[Deshapriya Park]] attracted numerous devotees, with some estimates placing visitors at one million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Have you ever seen a Durga Idol this tall |url=http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/have-you-ever-seen-a-durga-idol-this-tall/20151008.htm |work=Rediff |date=8 October 2015 |access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102004220/http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/have-you-ever-seen-a-durga-idol-this-tall/20151008.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Near stampede shuts down Deshapriya Park Durga Puja |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Near-stampede-shuts-down-Deshapriya-Park-Durga-puja/articleshow/49446378.cms |work=The Times of India |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=3 November 2015 |archive-date=26 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026081353/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Near-stampede-shuts-down-Deshapriya-Park-Durga-puja/articleshow/49446378.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>
 ==Regional celebrations and observances==
-[[File:Durga puja in Dhakeshwari temple.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Durga puja in [[Dhakeshwari Temple]], [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh.]]
+[[File:Durga puja in Dhakeshwari temple.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Durga Puja in [[Dhakeshwari Temple]], [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh.]]
-There exists variation in Durga Puja worship practices and rituals, as is the case with other Hindu festivals, in the Indian subcontinent.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|p=17}} Hinduism accepts flexibility and leaves the set of practices to the choice of the individuals concerned. Different localized rituals may be observed regionally, with these variations accepted across temples, ''pandals'', and within families.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-18}}
+There exists variation in Durga Puja worship practices and rituals, as is the case with other Hindu festivals, in the [[Indian subcontinent]].{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|p=17}} Hinduism accepts flexibility and leaves the set of practices to the choice of the individuals concerned. Different localised rituals may be observed regionally, with these variations accepted across temples, ''pandals'', and within families.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-18}}
-The festival is most commonly associated with Bengali Hindus, and with the community having variability and differences in practices. There may exist differences of practice between the puja of theme-based ''Pandals'', family pujas (with puja of erstwhile aristocrat families known as ''bonedi'' puja), and community pujas (known as ''barowari'' pujas) of neighbourhoods or apartments.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-18}}
+The festival is most commonly associated with Bengali Hindus, and with the community having variability and differences in practices. There may exist differences of practice between the puja of theme-based ''Pandals'', family pujas (with puja of erstwhile aristocrat families known as ''bonedi'' puja), and community pujas (known as ''[[barowari]]'' pujas) of neighbourhoods or apartments.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-18}}
-The rituals of the puja also varies from being Vedic, Puranic, or Tantric, or a combination of these.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-18}} The Bengali Durga Puja rituals typically combine all three. The non-Bengali Durga Puja rituals tend to be essentially Vedic (''[[srauta]]'') in nature but they too incorporate esoteric elements making the puja an example of a culmination of Vedic-Tantric practices.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|p=18}}
+The rituals of the puja also varies from being [[Vedic Hinduism|Vedic]], [[Puranic Hinduism|Puranic]], or [[Tantric hinduism|Tantric]], or a combination of these.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-18}} The Bengali Durga Puja rituals typically combine all three. The non-Bengali Durga Puja rituals tend to be essentially Vedic (''[[srauta]]'') in nature but they too incorporate esoteric elements making the puja an example of a culmination of Vedic-Tantric practices.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|p=18}}
 Historical evidence suggests that the Durga Puja has evolved over time, becoming more elaborate, social, and creative. The festival had earlier been a domestic puja, a form of practice that still remains popular. But it had also come to be celebrated in the ''sarvajanin'' (public) form, where communities get together, pool their resources and efforts to set up ''pandals'' and illuminations, and celebrate the event as a "mega-show to share".{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=18-19}} The origins of this variation are unclear, with some sources suggesting a family in Kolkata reviving such celebration in 1411 CE. While other set of sources suggest that a Bengali landlord, named Kamsanarayan, held a mega-show puja in late 16th-century Bengal.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=18-19}} Yet, this festival of Bengal is likely much older with the discovery of 11th and 12th-century Durga Puja manual manuscripts such as ''Durgotsavaviveka'', ''Durgotsava Prayoga'', ''Vasantaviveka'' and ''Kalaviveka''.{{sfn|McDermott|2011|pp=12-14}} The rituals associated with the Durga Puja migrated to other regions from Bengal, such as in [[Varanasi]], a city that has historically attracted sponsorship from Hindus from various parts of the Indian subcontinent including Bengal.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=20-27}} In contemporary India, Durga Puja is celebrated in various styles and forms.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=17-21}}
-In Kolkata, Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated magnificently.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kolkata's biggest religious festival Durga Puja reframed as international art experience |url=https://theworld.org/media/2022-09-29/kolkata-s-biggest-religious-festival-durga-puja-reframed-international-art |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=The World from PRX |date=29 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="hindustantimes">{{cite news |title=Durga Puja 2022: City of Joy Kolkata gears up for biggest festival |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/photos/news/durga-puja-2022-city-of-joy-kolkata-gears-up-for-biggest-festival-101662375005823-1.html |access-date=9 October 2022 |work=Hindustan Times |date=5 September 2022 |location=Kolkata |language=en}}</ref> Kolkata alone hosted more than 3,000 [[Barowari]] [[Puja (Hinduism)|pujas]] in Kolkata in 2022, with more than 200 pujas were organized in the city with a budget of over one crore [[Indian rupee|rupees]].<ref name="thehindu">{{cite news |author1=Shiv Sahay Singh |title=I-T notices to Durga Pujas even as festival seeks UNESCO status |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/i-t-notices-to-durga-pujas-even-as-festival-seeks-unesco-status/article25980616.ece |access-date=9 October 2022 |work=The Hindu |location=Kolkata |language=en}}</ref> Kolkata has been inscribed on the list of [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]] in December 2021.<ref name="unesco">{{cite web |title=UNESCO – Durga Puja in Kolkata |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/durga-puja-in-kolkata-00703 |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=9 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
+In Kolkata, Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated magnificently.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kolkata's biggest religious festival Durga Puja reframed as international art experience |url=https://theworld.org/media/2022-09-29/kolkata-s-biggest-religious-festival-durga-puja-reframed-international-art |access-date=16 December 2022 |website=The World from PRX |date=29 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="hindustantimes">{{cite news |title=Durga Puja 2022: City of Joy Kolkata gears up for biggest festival |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/photos/news/durga-puja-2022-city-of-joy-kolkata-gears-up-for-biggest-festival-101662375005823-1.html |access-date=9 October 2022 |work=Hindustan Times |date=5 September 2022 |location=Kolkata |language=en}}</ref> Kolkata alone hosted more than 3,000 [[Barowari]] [[Puja (Hinduism)|pujas]] in Kolkata in 2022, with more than 200 pujas were organised in the city with a budget of over one crore [[Indian rupee|rupees]].<ref name="thehindu">{{cite news |author1=Shiv Sahay Singh |title=I-T notices to Durga Pujas even as festival seeks UNESCO status |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/i-t-notices-to-durga-pujas-even-as-festival-seeks-unesco-status/article25980616.ece |access-date=9 October 2022 |work=The Hindu |location=Kolkata |language=en}}</ref> Kolkata has been inscribed on the list of [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]] in December 2021.<ref name="unesco">{{cite web |title=UNESCO – Durga Puja in Kolkata |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/durga-puja-in-kolkata-00703 |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=9 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
 In [[Bishnupur, Bankura|Bishnupur, West Bengal]], Durga Puja holds a unique and significant place. The district boasts the ''Rajbari Durga Puja'', also known as the ''[[Mrinmoyee Temple|Mrinmoyee Maa]] er pujo'', which dates back to 994 AD. This makes it the oldest Durga Puja in the entire Bengal region, encompassing present-day Bangladesh, Odisha, and Tripura.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chandra |first=Manoranjan |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.265671 |title=Mallabhum Bishnupur |date=2002}}</ref>
-[[File:Grand decoration in the pandel of Sobuj Sangha, Basirhat.jpg|thumb|A Durga Puja installation in [[Basirhat|Basirhat, West Bengal]]]]
+{| style="margin:auto; text-align:center; border:none;"
+| [[File:Grand decoration in the pandel of Sobuj Sangha, Basirhat.jpg|350x250px|thumb|none|Durga Puja installation in [[Basirhat|Basirhat, West Bengal]]]]
+| [[File:Durga Idol at Vivekananda Sangha, Basirhat, West Bengal.jpg|350x250px|thumb|none|Durga idol displayed to the public in Vivekananda Sangha, [[Basirhat|Basirhat, West Bengal]]]]
+|}
-In [[Basirhat|Basirhat, West Bengal]], the scale and intensity of Durga Puja celebrations are among the largest in [[North 24 Parganas]] district. In terms of the number of Durga Puja pandals, the city ranks fourth in West Bengal, following Kolkata, [[Siliguri]], and [[Durgapur]].<ref>{{cite web |title=বসিরহাট শহর ও মহকুমা এলাকায় থিম দুর্গাপুজোতে মাইলফলক |url=https://bengali.news18.com/news/north-24-parganas/theme-durga-puja-in-basirhat-subdivision-area-creates-milestone-l18-1329297.html |website=News18 বাংলা |publisher=Network18 |language=bn |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Durga Puja 2024: পরিদর্শনকারীরা QR কোড স্ক্যান ও GPS-র মাধ্যমে দেখতে পারবেন দুর্গাপুজো |url=https://bengali.news18.com/news/south-bengal/visitors-can-see-the-durga-puja-2024-by-scanning-qr-code-and-through-gps-l18-rdp-local18-1887044.html |work=News18 বাংলা |language=bn |date=June 10, 2024 |access-date=June 13, 2025}}</ref> For more than 150 years, the Durga idol has been immersed on boats in this city. On the day of Vijayadashami, people usually come in Basirhat to see the immersion festival. The idols and installations have changed in the modern era, but the immersion continues to be done in the [[Ichamati River]] by boat according to the ancient tradition. A fair is held on both banks of the river centering on the immersion. The special attraction of this fair is wooden furniture and various wooden items.<ref>{{cite web |title=Immersion by Boat in Ichamati at Basirhat: Crowds of Hundreds of Thousands on Both Riverbanks |url=https://zeenews.india.com/bengali/videos/durga-puja-2023-in-basirhat-ichamati-the-boat-is-abandoned-the-two-banks-of-the-river-are-crowded-with-millions-of-people_492704.html |website=Zee News Bengali |publisher=Zee Media Corporation |date=2023-10-24 |access-date=2025-02-23 |language=Bengali}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=bn:ইছামতী নদীতে দুর্গা প্রতিমা বিসর্জন |url=https://banglalive.com/photo-story-on-durga-idol-immesion-in-basirhat/ |website=BanglaLive |author=শুভদীপ ঘোষ |date=2024-10-12 |access-date=2025-02-23 |language=bn}}</ref>
+In [[Basirhat|Basirhat, West Bengal]], the scale and intensity of Durga Puja celebrations are among the largest in [[North 24 Parganas]] district. In terms of the number of Durga Puja pandals, the city ranks fourth in West Bengal, following Kolkata, [[Asansol]], [[Durgapur]], and [[Siliguri]].<ref>{{cite web |title=বসিরহাট শহর ও মহকুমা এলাকায় থিম দুর্গাপুজোতে মাইলফলক |url=https://bengali.news18.com/news/north-24-parganas/theme-durga-puja-in-basirhat-subdivision-area-creates-milestone-l18-1329297.html |website=News18 বাংলা |date=17 October 2023 |publisher=Network18 |language=bn |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Durga Puja 2024: পরিদর্শনকারীরা QR কোড স্ক্যান ও GPS-র মাধ্যমে দেখতে পারবেন দুর্গাপুজো |url=https://bengali.news18.com/news/south-bengal/visitors-can-see-the-durga-puja-2024-by-scanning-qr-code-and-through-gps-l18-rdp-local18-1887044.html |work=News18 বাংলা |language=bn |date=10 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2025}}</ref> For more than 150 years, the Durga idol has been immersed on boats in this city. On the day of [[Vijayadashami]], people usually come in Basirhat to see the immersion festival. The idols and installations have changed in the modern era, but the immersion continues to be done in the [[Ichamati River]] by boat according to the ancient tradition. A fair is held on both banks of the river centering on the immersion. The special attraction of this fair is wooden furniture and various wooden items.<ref>{{cite web |title=Immersion by Boat in Ichamati at Basirhat: Crowds of Hundreds of Thousands on Both Riverbanks |url=https://zeenews.india.com/bengali/videos/durga-puja-2023-in-basirhat-ichamati-the-boat-is-abandoned-the-two-banks-of-the-river-are-crowded-with-millions-of-people_492704.html |website=Zee News Bengali |publisher=Zee Media Corporation |date=24 October 2023 |access-date=23 February 2025 |language=Bengali}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=bn:ইছামতী নদীতে দুর্গা প্রতিমা বিসর্জন |url=https://banglalive.com/photo-story-on-durga-idol-immesion-in-basirhat/ |website=BanglaLive |author=শুভদীপ ঘোষ |date=12 October 2024 |access-date=23 February 2025 |language=bn}}</ref>
-Siliguri, West Bengal also hosts more than 100 durga pujas, 82 of which are registered by the Siliguri Metropolitan Police. Siliguri's Durga Puja is the second largest in West Bengal after Kolkata.<ref name="SiliguriPujaMap2024">{{cite web
+Siliguri, West Bengal also hosts more than 100 durga pujas, 82 of which are registered by the [[Siliguri Metropolitan Police]]. Siliguri's Durga Puja is the third largest in West Bengal after Kolkata and Asansol-Durgapur.<ref name="SiliguriPujaMap2024">{{cite web
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-Durga Puja is a widely celebrated festival in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh (eastern parts), Assam, and Odisha.{{sfn|McDermott|2011|p=11}} It is celebrated over a five-day period. Streets are decked up with festive lights, loudspeakers play festive songs as well as recitation of hymns and chants by priests, and ''pandal''s are erected by communities. The roads become overcrowded with revellers, devotees, and ''pandal''-hoppers visiting the pandals on puja days. It often creates chaotic traffic conditions. Shops, eateries, and restaurants stay open all night; fairs are also set up and cultural programmes are held.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-28}} People form organizing committees, which plan and oversee the ''pandal'' during the festivities. Today, Durga Puja has turned into a consumerist social carnival, a major public spectacle and a major arts event riding on the wave of commercialisation, corporate sponsorship, and craze for award-winning. For private domestic pujas, families dedicate an area of their homes, known as ''thakur dalan'', for Durga Puja where the sculpture-idols for worship is placed and decorated with home-dyed fabric, ''sola'' ornamentations, and gold and silver foil decorations. Elaborate rituals like ''arati'' are performed and ''prasad'' is distributed after being offered to the deities. As a tradition, married daughters visit their parents and celebrate the Durga Puja with them, a symbolism alluding to Durga who is popularly believed to return to her natal home during the puja.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-29}}
+Durga Puja is a widely celebrated festival in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh (eastern parts), Assam, and Odisha.{{sfn|McDermott|2011|p=11}} It is celebrated over a five-day period. Streets are decked up with festive lights, loudspeakers play festive songs as well as recitation of hymns and chants by priests, and ''pandal''s are erected by communities. The roads become overcrowded with revellers, devotees, and ''pandal''-hoppers visiting the pandals on puja days. It often creates chaotic traffic conditions. Shops, eateries, and restaurants stay open all night; fairs are also set up and cultural programmes are held.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-28}} People form organising committees, which plan and oversee the ''pandal'' during the festivities. Today, Durga Puja has turned into a consumerist social carnival, a major public spectacle and a major arts event riding on the wave of commercialisation, corporate sponsorship, and craze for award-winning. For private domestic pujas, families dedicate an area of their homes, known as ''thakur dalan'', for Durga Puja where the sculpture-idols for worship is placed and decorated with home-dyed fabric, ''[[Aeschynomene aspera|sola]]'' ornamentations, and gold and silver foil decorations. Elaborate rituals like ''arati'' are performed and ''[[Prasada|prasad]]'' is distributed after being offered to the deities. As a tradition, married daughters visit their parents and celebrate the Durga Puja with them, a symbolism alluding to Durga who is popularly believed to return to her natal home during the puja.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-29}}
 [[File:Durga Idol in Temple - Sovabazar Royal Palace - Kolkata 2012-10-20 0991.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Durga Puja at the [[Shobhabazar Rajbari]], in Kolkata, example of a ''bonedi'' puja.]]
 [[File:Durga Puja in Bihar.jpg|thumb|200px|Durga Puja in [[Begusarai]], Bihar]]
-Durga Puja is also a gift-giving and shopping season for communities celebrating it, with people buying gifts for not only family members but also for close relatives and friends. New clothes are the traditional gift, and people wear them to go out together during Durga Puja. During puja holidays, people may also go to places of tourist attractions while others return home to spend Durga Puja with their family.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-29}} It's a common trend amongst youngsters and even those who are older to go ''pandal''-hopping and enjoy the celebrations.{{sfn|McDermott|2011|pp=138-143}}
+Durga Puja is also a gift-giving and shopping season for communities celebrating it, with people buying gifts for not only family members but also for close relatives and friends. New clothes are the traditional gift, and people wear them to go out together during Durga Puja. During puja holidays, people may also go to places of tourist attractions while others return home to spend Durga Puja with their family.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-29}} It's a common trend amongst youngsters and even those who are older to go ''pandal-hopping'' and enjoy the celebrations.{{sfn|McDermott|2011|pp=138-143}}
-The organising committees of each puja ''pandal'' hires a ''purohita'' (priest) who performs the puja rituals on behalf of the community.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-30}} For the priests, Durga Puja is a time of activity wherein he pursues the timely completion of Vedic-Puranic-Tantric ritual sequences to make various offerings and perform fire oblations, in full public view, while the socio-cultural festivities occur in parallel.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-30, 39-48, 58-64, 106-114}} The complex puja rituals include periods of accurate and melodic scripture recitation. The puja involves crowds of people visiting the ''pandals'', with smaller groups visiting family pujas, to witness the celebrations.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-32}} On the last day, the sculpture-idols are carried out in immersion processions across Bengal, following which they are ritually immersed into rivers or other waterbodies. The immersion ceremony continues till a couple of days after the last day of puja.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-32, 64-75}}
+The organising committees of each puja ''pandal'' hires a ''[[purohita]]'' (priest) who performs the puja rituals on behalf of the community.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-30}} For the priests, Durga Puja is a time of activity wherein he pursues the timely completion of Vedic-Puranic-Tantric ritual sequences to make various offerings and perform fire oblations, in full public view, while the socio-cultural festivities occur in parallel.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-30, 39-48, 58-64, 106-114}} The complex puja rituals include periods of accurate and melodic scripture recitation. The puja involves crowds of people visiting the ''pandals'', with smaller groups visiting family pujas, to witness the celebrations.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-32}} On the last day, the sculpture-idols are carried out in immersion processions across Bengal, following which they are ritually immersed into rivers or other waterbodies. The immersion ceremony continues till a couple of days after the last day of puja.{{sfn|Rodrigues|2003|pp=27-32, 64-75}}
 [[File:Sovabazar Royal Durga Idol Immersion Procession - Raja Naba Krishna Street - Kolkata 2014-10-03 9180.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Immersion procession for Durga Puja, with the sculpture-idols being carried by people on bamboo poles.]]
-According to some scholars, the ritual of immersing the Durga sculpture-idol into the river attracted the attention of colonial era travelers to the Bengal region from Europe, such as [[Garcin de Tassy]] and Emma Roberts. In 1831, Tassy reported that similar rituals were annually observed by the Muslim community in Bengal. Shia [[Bengali Muslims]] observed [[Muharram]] over ten days, taking out processions in memory of the martyrdom of Imam [[Husayn ibn Ali]], and then cast a memorial Imam's cenotaph into a river on the tenth day. Tassy further stated that the [[Bengali culture|Bengali rituals]] of Muharram included the same offerings at the annual observation of Muharram that the Hindu rituals included during Durga Puja.{{sfn|Alexander|Chatterji|Jalais|2016|pp=190 note 76}} According to yet other scholars, the ritual of immersion in water by Hindus for Durga Puja in Bengal and Ganesh Chaturthi in the western states of India, may have grown because members of the Hindu community attempted to create a competing procession and immersion ritual to that of Muharram, allowed by the colonial British Indian government in the 19th and early 20th-centuries.{{sfn|Jones|Marion|2014|pp=97–98}}
+According to some scholars, the ritual of immersing the Durga sculpture-idol into the river attracted the attention of colonial era travellers to the Bengal region from Europe, such as [[Garcin de Tassy]] and [[Emma Roberts (author)|Emma Roberts]]. In 1831, Tassy reported that similar rituals were annually observed by the [[Bengali Muslims|Muslim community in Bengal]]. [[Shia Islam|Shia]] [[Bengali Muslims]] observed [[Muharram]] over ten days, taking out processions in memory of the martyrdom of [[Imam]] [[Husayn ibn Ali]], and then cast a memorial Imam's cenotaph into a river on the tenth day. Tassy further stated that the [[Bengali culture|Bengali rituals]] of Muharram included the same offerings at the annual observation of Muharram that the Hindu rituals included during Durga Puja.{{sfn|Alexander|Chatterji|Jalais|2016|pp=190 note 76}} According to yet other scholars, the ritual of immersion in water by Hindus for Durga Puja in Bengal and [[Ganesh Chaturthi]] in the western states of India, may have grown because members of the Hindu community attempted to create a competing procession and immersion ritual to that of Muharram, allowed by the colonial [[British Indian Government|British Indian government]] in the 19th and early 20th-centuries.{{sfn|Jones|Marion|2014|pp=97–98}}
 [[File:Durga Puja, Matri Mandir, Safdarjung Enclave, Delhi, 2014.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Durga Puja in New Delhi, 2014.]]
-In Maharashtra, the city of [[Nashik]] and other places such as CIDCO, Rajeevnagar, Panchavati, and Mahatmanagar host Durga Puja celebrations.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} While in Delhi, the first community Durga Puja was organized near [[Kashmiri Gate (Delhi)|Kashmiri Gate]] by a group of expatriate Bengalis, in 1910, a year before Delhi was declared the capital of [[British India]]. This group came to be the [[Delhi Durga Puja Samiti]], popularly known as the Kashmere Gate Durga Puja.<ref>{{cite news |title=Roots run deep |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/08/06/stories/2009080650790100.htm |location=Chennai, India |date=6 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105194225/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/08/06/stories/2009080650790100.htm |archive-date=5 November 2013 |url-status=dead |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=1 October 2011}}</ref> The Durga Puja at [[Timarpur]], Delhi was started in the year 1914.<ref>{{cite news |author=Sidhartha Roy |date=6 July 2011 |title=Making Delhi their own, religiously |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/Delhi100/Making-Delhi-their-own-religiously/newdelhi/SP-Article10-717800.aspx |work=Hindustan Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513065908/http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/Delhi100/Making-Delhi-their-own-religiously/newdelhi/SP-Article10-717800.aspx |archive-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> In 2011, over 800 Durga Pujas were held in Delhi, with a few hundred more in [[Gurgaon]] and [[Noida]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bamboo barricading in Yamuna to check water pollution |url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/8770-bamboo-barricading-in-yamuna-to-check-water-pollution.html |work=The Daily Pioneer |date=4 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007171906/http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/8770-bamboo-barricading-in-yamuna-to-check-water-pollution.html |archive-date=7 October 2011}}</ref>
+In Maharashtra, the city of [[Nashik]] and other places such as [[CIDCO]], Rajeevnagar, Panchavati, and Mahatmanagar host Durga Puja celebrations.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} While in [[Delhi]], the first community Durga Puja was organised near [[Kashmiri Gate (Delhi)|Kashmiri Gate]] by a group of expatriate Bengalis, in 1910, a year before Delhi was declared the capital of [[British India]]. This group came to be the [[Delhi Durga Puja Samiti]], popularly known as the Kashmere Gate Durga Puja.<ref>{{cite news |title=Roots run deep |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/08/06/stories/2009080650790100.htm |location=Chennai, India |date=6 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105194225/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/08/06/stories/2009080650790100.htm |archive-date=5 November 2013 |url-status=dead |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=1 October 2011}}</ref> The Durga Puja at [[Timarpur]], Delhi was started in the year 1914.<ref>{{cite news |author=Sidhartha Roy |date=6 July 2011 |title=Making Delhi their own, religiously |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/Delhi100/Making-Delhi-their-own-religiously/newdelhi/SP-Article10-717800.aspx |work=Hindustan Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513065908/http://www.hindustantimes.com/specials/coverage/Delhi100/Making-Delhi-their-own-religiously/newdelhi/SP-Article10-717800.aspx |archive-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref> In 2011, over 800 Durga Pujas were held in Delhi, with a few hundred more in [[Gurgaon]] and [[Noida]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bamboo barricading in Yamuna to check water pollution |url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/8770-bamboo-barricading-in-yamuna-to-check-water-pollution.html |work=The Daily Pioneer |date=4 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007171906/http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/8770-bamboo-barricading-in-yamuna-to-check-water-pollution.html |archive-date=7 October 2011}}</ref>
 [[File:Chaudhury Bazar Chandi Medha.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Sculpture-idols in Cuttack, Odisha for Durga Puja, bedecked with jewellery.]]
-In Odisha, Durga Puja is the most important festival of the people of the state. Durga Puja is a very important festival for Odias, during the 4 days of the festival, the streets of the city turns into a wonderland throughout the state, people welcome the arrival of their maa by rejoicing themselves, eating tasty food, wearing new clothes, seeing different pandals across the city, family gathering and gift givings. In 2019, ninety-seven pandals in [[Cuttack]] alone, Odisha were reported to bedeck respective sculpture-idols with silver jewelry for Durga Puja celebrations; such club of pandals termed regionally as ''Chandi Medha''. The state capital is famous for the modern themes and creativity In the pandals, while the Western part of the state has a more retro decoration theme to the pandal. In the northern parts of the state particularly [[Balasore]], Durga Puja is celebrated with much fervor and the Odia diaspora abroad especially in Australia, which originates 95% from the district of Balasore celebrates the puja in the same manner which is done back home in Balasore.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/13/three-more-chandi-medha-to-adorn-silver-citys-durga-puja-celebration-2032898.html |title=Three more 'Chandi Medha' to adorn Silver City's Durga Puja celebration |date=13 September 2019 |work=The New Indian Express |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920160509/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/13/three-more-chandi-medha-to-adorn-silver-citys-durga-puja-celebration-2032898.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2019, 160 ''pandals'' were reported to be hosting Durga Puja in Cuttack.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/11/bad-roads-dampen-spirit-of-cuttacks-millennium-city-durga-puja-organisers-2032008.html |title=Bad roads dampen spirit of Cuttack's Millennium City Durga Puja organisers |date=11 September 2019 |work=The New Indian Express |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913212242/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/11/bad-roads-dampen-spirit-of-cuttacks-millennium-city-durga-puja-organisers-2032008.html |archive-date=13 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://odishatv.in/odisha-news/odisha-decks-up-for-navratri-preparations-for-durga-puja-reach-final-stages-486110 |title=Odisha Decks Up For Navratri; Preparations For Durga Puja Reach Final Stages |date=20 October 2020 |publisher=OdishaTV |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101104852/https://odishatv.in/odisha-news/odisha-decks-up-for-navratri-preparations-for-durga-puja-reach-final-stages-486110 |url-status=live}}</ref>
+In Odisha, Durga Puja is one of the most important festivals of the people of the state. During the 4 days of the festival, the streets of the city turns into a wonderland throughout the state, people welcome the arrival of their maa by rejoicing themselves, [[Cuisine of Odisha|eating tasty food]], wearing new clothes, seeing different pandals across the city, family gathering and gift givings. In 2019, ninety-seven pandals in [[Cuttack]] alone, Odisha were reported to bedeck respective sculpture-idols with silver jewellery for Durga Puja celebrations; such club of pandals termed regionally as ''Chandi Medha''. The state capital is famous for the modern themes and creativity In the pandals, while the Western part of the state has a more retro decoration theme to the pandal. In the northern parts of the state particularly [[Balasore]], Durga Puja is celebrated with much fervor and the Odia diaspora abroad especially in [[Australia]], which originates 95% from the [[Balasore district|district of Balasore]] celebrates the puja in the same manner which is done back home in Balasore.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/13/three-more-chandi-medha-to-adorn-silver-citys-durga-puja-celebration-2032898.html |title=Three more 'Chandi Medha' to adorn Silver City's Durga Puja celebration |date=13 September 2019 |work=The New Indian Express |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920160509/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/13/three-more-chandi-medha-to-adorn-silver-citys-durga-puja-celebration-2032898.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2019, 160 ''pandals'' were reported to be hosting Durga Puja in Cuttack.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/11/bad-roads-dampen-spirit-of-cuttacks-millennium-city-durga-puja-organisers-2032008.html |title=Bad roads dampen spirit of Cuttack's Millennium City Durga Puja organisers |date=11 September 2019 |work=The New Indian Express |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913212242/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/sep/11/bad-roads-dampen-spirit-of-cuttacks-millennium-city-durga-puja-organisers-2032008.html |archive-date=13 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://odishatv.in/odisha-news/odisha-decks-up-for-navratri-preparations-for-durga-puja-reach-final-stages-486110 |title=Odisha Decks Up For Navratri; Preparations For Durga Puja Reach Final Stages |date=20 October 2020 |publisher=OdishaTV |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101104852/https://odishatv.in/odisha-news/odisha-decks-up-for-navratri-preparations-for-durga-puja-reach-final-stages-486110 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 While in Tripura there were over 2,500 community Durga Puja celebrations in 2013. Durga Puja has been started at the Durgabari temple, in [[Agartala]] by King Radha Kishore Manikya Bahadur.<ref>{{cite news |title=Durga Puja begins in Tripura with traditional guard of honour to Goddess |url=http://post.jagran.com/durga-puja-begins-in-tripura-with-traditional-guard-of-honour-to-goddess-1381483075 |work=Jagran Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118213128/http://post.jagran.com/durga-puja-begins-in-tripura-with-traditional-guard-of-honour-to-goddess-1381483075 |archive-date=18 November 2018 |access-date=27 September 2017}}</ref>
 ==Significance==
-Beyond being an art festival and a socio-religious event, Durga Puja has also been a political event with regional and national political parties having sponsored Durga Puja celebrations. In 2019, West Bengal Chief Minister, [[Mamata Banerjee]] announced a grant of {{INR}}25,000 to all community-organised Durga Pujas in the state.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.orissapost.com/durga-puja-in-west-bengal-turns-political-battlefield-between-bjp-and-trinamool-congress/ |title=Durga Puja in West Bengal turns political battlefield between BJP and Trinamool Congress |date=16 September 2019 |work=Orissa Post |access-date=18 September 2019 |agency=PPN and Agencies |archive-date=23 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923055846/https://www.orissapost.com/durga-puja-in-west-bengal-turns-political-battlefield-between-bjp-and-trinamool-congress/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
+Beyond being an art festival and a socio-religious event, Durga Puja has also been a political event with regional and national political parties having sponsored Durga Puja celebrations. In 2019, [[West Bengal Chief Minister]], [[Mamata Banerjee]] announced a grant of {{INR}}25,000 to all community-organised Durga Pujas in the state.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.orissapost.com/durga-puja-in-west-bengal-turns-political-battlefield-between-bjp-and-trinamool-congress/ |title=Durga Puja in West Bengal turns political battlefield between BJP and Trinamool Congress |date=16 September 2019 |work=Orissa Post |access-date=18 September 2019 |agency=PPN and Agencies |archive-date=23 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923055846/https://www.orissapost.com/durga-puja-in-west-bengal-turns-political-battlefield-between-bjp-and-trinamool-congress/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
-In 2019, Kolkata's Durga Puja was nominated by the Indian government for the 2020 [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists#Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity|UNESCO Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/kolkata-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list-1502742415.html |title=Kolkata Durga Puja nominated for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list |date=2 April 2019 |work=The Statesman |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920152731/https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/kolkata-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list-1502742415.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kolkata-s-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-list/story-svzMFT6z0lt0m3w2bnnSPP.html |title=Kolkata's Durga Puja nominated for Unesco list |last=Srivastava |first=Vanita |date=1 April 2019 |work=Hindustan Times |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=19 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919210936/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kolkata-s-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-list/story-svzMFT6z0lt0m3w2bnnSPP.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Durga Puja also stands to be politically and economically significant. The committees organising Durga Puja in Kolkata have close links to politicians.<ref name = "politics">{{Cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pandal-politics-why-this-years-durga-puja-in-bengal-is-different/articleshow/70820694.cms |title=Pandal Politics: Why this year's Durga Puja in Bengal is different |last=Duttagupta |first=Ishani |date=25 August 2019 |work=The Economic Times |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824212845/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pandal-politics-why-this-years-durga-puja-in-bengal-is-different/articleshow/70820694.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> Politicians patronize the festival by making donations or helping raise money for funding of community pujas, or by marking their presence at puja events and inaugurations.<ref name = "politics"/> The grant of {{INR}}25,000 to puja organizing committees in West Bengal by a debt-ridden state government was reported to cost a budget a {{INR}}70 crores.<ref name ="debt">{{cite news |url=https://zeenews.india.com/india/debt-ridden-mamata-banerjee-govt-gifts-rs-70-crore-to-west-bengal-durga-puja-organisers-2231136.html |title=Debt-ridden Mamata Banerjee govt 'gifts' Rs 70 crore to West Bengal Durga Puja organisers |date=31 August 2019 |agency=Zee News India |access-date=18 September 2019 |author=Mehta, Pooja |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920112655/https://zeenews.india.com/india/debt-ridden-mamata-banerjee-govt-gifts-rs-70-crore-to-west-bengal-durga-puja-organisers-2231136.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The state government also announced an additional grant of {{INR}}5,000 to puja organizing committees fully managed by women alone, while also announcing a twenty-five percent concession on total electricity bills for puja ''pandal''.<ref name = "debt"/> The government had made a grant of {{INR}}10,000 each to more than 20,000 puja organizing committees in the state in 2018.<ref name = "debt"/>
+In 2019, Kolkata's Durga Puja was nominated by the Indian government for the 2020 [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists#Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity|UNESCO Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/kolkata-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list-1502742415.html |title=Kolkata Durga Puja nominated for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list |date=2 April 2019 |work=The Statesman |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920152731/https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/kolkata-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list-1502742415.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kolkata-s-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-list/story-svzMFT6z0lt0m3w2bnnSPP.html |title=Kolkata's Durga Puja nominated for Unesco list |last=Srivastava |first=Vanita |date=1 April 2019 |work=Hindustan Times |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=19 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919210936/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kolkata-s-durga-puja-nominated-for-unesco-list/story-svzMFT6z0lt0m3w2bnnSPP.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Durga Puja also stands to be politically and economically significant. The committees organising Durga Puja in Kolkata have close links to politicians.<ref name = "politics">{{Cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pandal-politics-why-this-years-durga-puja-in-bengal-is-different/articleshow/70820694.cms |title=Pandal Politics: Why this year's Durga Puja in Bengal is different |last=Duttagupta |first=Ishani |date=25 August 2019 |work=The Economic Times |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824212845/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pandal-politics-why-this-years-durga-puja-in-bengal-is-different/articleshow/70820694.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> Politicians patronise the festival by making donations or helping raise money for funding of community pujas, or by marking their presence at puja events and inaugurations.<ref name = "politics"/> The grant of {{INR}}25,000 to puja organising committees in West Bengal by a debt-ridden state government was reported to cost a budget a {{INR}}70 crores.<ref name ="debt">{{cite news |url=https://zeenews.india.com/india/debt-ridden-mamata-banerjee-govt-gifts-rs-70-crore-to-west-bengal-durga-puja-organisers-2231136.html |title=Debt-ridden Mamata Banerjee govt 'gifts' Rs 70 crore to West Bengal Durga Puja organisers |date=31 August 2019 |agency=Zee News India |access-date=18 September 2019 |author=Mehta, Pooja |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920112655/https://zeenews.india.com/india/debt-ridden-mamata-banerjee-govt-gifts-rs-70-crore-to-west-bengal-durga-puja-organisers-2231136.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The state government also announced an additional grant of {{INR}}5,000 to puja organising committees fully managed by women alone, while also announcing a twenty-five per cent concession on total electricity bills for puja ''pandal''.<ref name = "debt"/> The government had made a grant of {{INR}}10,000 each to more than 20,000 puja organising committees in the state in 2018.<ref name = "debt"/>
-A 2013 report by [[ASSOCHAM]] states West Bengal's Durga Puja to be a {{INR}}25,000 crores worth economy, expected to grow at the [[compound annual growth rate]] of about 35 per-cent.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/bengal-s-durga-puja-loses-sheen-due-to-economic-slowdown-1598557-2019-09-12 |title=Bengal's Durga puja loses sheen due to economic slowdown |last=Kundu |first=Indrajit |date=12 September 2019 |work=India Today |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=14 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914132207/https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/bengal-s-durga-puja-loses-sheen-due-to-economic-slowdown-1598557-2019-09-12 |url-status=live}}</ref> Economic slowdowns in India, such as in 2019, have hence affected corporate sponsorships and puja budgets for public celebrations.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/economic-slowdown-cloud-on-west-bengal-s-durga-puja-sponsorship-takes-hit-119091400612_1.html |title=Economic slowdown cloud on Bengal's Durga Puja; sponsorship takes a hit |last=Rakshit |first=Avishek |date=14 September 2019 |work=Business Standard |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115912/https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/economic-slowdown-cloud-on-west-bengal-s-durga-puja-sponsorship-takes-hit-119091400612_1.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2019, the [[Income Tax Department|Income Tax Department of India]] had allegedly sent notices to various Durga Puja organizing committees in West Bengal, against which the ruling party of the state, [[All India Trinamool Congress]] (AITMC) protested.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/mamata-banerjee-tmc-protest-income-tax-notice-durga-puja-committee-bengal-trinamool-latest-news/1674055/ |title='No tax on Durga Puja committees': TMC on day-long protest as Mamata sets stage for fresh clash with Centre over I-T notices |date=13 August 2019 |work=The Financial Express |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920112655/https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/mamata-banerjee-tmc-protest-income-tax-notice-durga-puja-committee-bengal-trinamool-latest-news/1674055/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="tax1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/it-depts-taxation-of-durga-puja-irks-mamata/article28984237.ece |title=IT dept's taxation of Durga Puja irks Mamata |date=11 August 2019 |work=The Hindu |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=7 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107235845/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/it-depts-taxation-of-durga-puja-irks-mamata/article28984237.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> The Central Board of Direct Taxes denied sending any such notices,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/cbdt-denies-reports-of-issuing-tax-notices-to-durga-puja-committees-in-kolkata/story/372421.html |title=CBDT denies reports of issuing tax notices to Durga Puja committees in Kolkata |date=13 August 2019 |work=Business Today |access-date=18 September 2019 |agency=Press Trust of India |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920112655/https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/cbdt-denies-reports-of-issuing-tax-notices-to-durga-puja-committees-in-kolkata/story/372421.html |url-status=live}}</ref> to which AITMC politician [[Madan Mitra]] is reported to have said that the intention may have been to enquire if [[tax deducted at source]] had been deducted on payments to vendors for organizing community pujas.<ref name = "politics"/>
+A 2013 report by [[ASSOCHAM]] states West Bengal's Durga Puja to be a {{INR}}25,000 crores worth economy, expected to grow at the [[compound annual growth rate]] of about 35 per-cent.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/bengal-s-durga-puja-loses-sheen-due-to-economic-slowdown-1598557-2019-09-12 |title=Bengal's Durga puja loses sheen due to economic slowdown |last=Kundu |first=Indrajit |date=12 September 2019 |work=India Today |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=14 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914132207/https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/bengal-s-durga-puja-loses-sheen-due-to-economic-slowdown-1598557-2019-09-12 |url-status=live}}</ref> Economic slowdowns in India, such as in 2019, have hence affected corporate sponsorships and puja budgets for public celebrations.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/economic-slowdown-cloud-on-west-bengal-s-durga-puja-sponsorship-takes-hit-119091400612_1.html |title=Economic slowdown cloud on Bengal's Durga Puja; sponsorship takes a hit |last=Rakshit |first=Avishek |date=14 September 2019 |work=Business Standard |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920115912/https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/economic-slowdown-cloud-on-west-bengal-s-durga-puja-sponsorship-takes-hit-119091400612_1.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2019, the [[Income Tax Department|Income Tax Department of India]] had allegedly sent notices to various Durga Puja organising committees in West Bengal, against which the ruling party of the state, [[All India Trinamool Congress]] (AITMC) protested.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/mamata-banerjee-tmc-protest-income-tax-notice-durga-puja-committee-bengal-trinamool-latest-news/1674055/ |title='No tax on Durga Puja committees': TMC on day-long protest as Mamata sets stage for fresh clash with Centre over I-T notices |date=13 August 2019 |work=The Financial Express |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920112655/https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/mamata-banerjee-tmc-protest-income-tax-notice-durga-puja-committee-bengal-trinamool-latest-news/1674055/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="tax1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/it-depts-taxation-of-durga-puja-irks-mamata/article28984237.ece |title=IT dept's taxation of Durga Puja irks Mamata |date=11 August 2019 |work=The Hindu |access-date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=7 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107235845/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/it-depts-taxation-of-durga-puja-irks-mamata/article28984237.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> The Central Board of Direct Taxes denied sending any such notices,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/cbdt-denies-reports-of-issuing-tax-notices-to-durga-puja-committees-in-kolkata/story/372421.html |title=CBDT denies reports of issuing tax notices to Durga Puja committees in Kolkata |date=13 August 2019 |work=Business Today |access-date=18 September 2019 |agency=Press Trust of India |archive-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920112655/https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/cbdt-denies-reports-of-issuing-tax-notices-to-durga-puja-committees-in-kolkata/story/372421.html |url-status=live}}</ref> to which AITMC politician [[Madan Mitra]] is reported to have said that the intention may have been to enquire if [[tax deducted at source]] had been deducted on payments to vendors for organising community pujas.<ref name = "politics"/>
 ===Economic significance===
-Durga Puja directly affects the economy. A 2019 study by the [[British Council]] estimated the economic value of creative industries associated with Durga Puja in [[Economy of West Bengal|West Bengal]] at [[Indian rupee|₹]]32,377 crores (2.6% of the state's GDP in that financial year).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chatterjee |first=Shrabana |date=2024-09-30 |title=Kolkata's Durga Puja economy takes a major hit amidst ongoing R.G. Kar protests |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/west-bengal/kolkatas-durga-puja-economy-takes-a-major-hit-amidst-ongoing-rg-kar-protests/article68701722.ece |access-date=2024-12-15 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sarkar |first=Joydeep |date=6 October 2024 |title=Bengal's Economy Has Always Relied on the Durga Puja – Will This Prove Much Too Dear This Time? |url=https://m.thewire.in/article/business/bengal-economy-durga-puja-sales/amp |work=The Wire}}</ref> In 2022, the economy of West Bengal was estimated to get a boost of 50,000 crore rupees.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Javed |first1=Zeeshan |date=7 October 2022 |first2=Subhro |last2=Niyogi |title=Economy gets a Rs 50,000 crore Durga puja boost |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/economy-gets-a-rs-50k-crore-puja-boost/articleshow/94692213.cms |access-date=8 October 2022 |work=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> The annual GDP of West Bengal was expected to be expanded by 20-30 percent that year.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=20-30% Bengal Durga Puja Economy Expansion Expected This Year |url=https://www.businessworld.in/article/20-30-Bengal-Durga-Puja-Economy-Expansion-Expected-This-Year/03-10-2022-449063/ |access-date=9 October 2022 |magazine=Businessworld |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bengal Durga Puja economy in 2022 may expand by 20-30 pc - ET Retail |url=https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/bengal-durga-puja-economy-in-2022-may-expand-by-20-30-pc/94614196 |access-date=9 October 2022 |website=ETRetail.com |language=en}}</ref> The factors responsible for this economic boost are mainly the increase of earning in transport, tourism, industry, business, shopping and other fields. The [[Kolkata Metro Railway]] recorded an earning of ₹6 crore in just five days of Durga Puja in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Durga Puja 2022: Kolkata Metro earns over Rs 6 crore in just 5 days of festivities |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/kolkata/durga-puja-2022-kolkata-metro-earns-over-rs-6-crore-in-just-5-days-of-festivities-article-94710222 |access-date=8 October 2022 |website=TimesNow |date=7 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kolkata Metro earns over Rs 6 crore in just 5 days during Durga Puja |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/kolkata/story/kolkata-metro-earns-over-six-crore-during-durga-puja-2009050-2022-10-06 |access-date=8 October 2022 |website=India Today |date=6 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
+Durga Puja directly affects the economy. A 2019 study by the [[British Council]] estimated the economic value of creative industries associated with Durga Puja in [[Economy of West Bengal|West Bengal]] at [[Indian rupee|₹]]32,377 crores (2.6% of the state's GDP in that financial year).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chatterjee |first=Shrabana |date=30 September 2024 |title=Kolkata's Durga Puja economy takes a major hit amidst ongoing R.G. Kar protests |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/west-bengal/kolkatas-durga-puja-economy-takes-a-major-hit-amidst-ongoing-rg-kar-protests/article68701722.ece |access-date=15 December 2024 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sarkar |first=Joydeep |date=6 October 2024 |title=Bengal's Economy Has Always Relied on the Durga Puja – Will This Prove Much Too Dear This Time? |url=https://m.thewire.in/article/business/bengal-economy-durga-puja-sales/amp |work=The Wire}}</ref> In 2022, the [[economy of West Bengal]] was estimated to get a boost of 50,000 crore rupees.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Javed |first1=Zeeshan |date=7 October 2022 |first2=Subhro |last2=Niyogi |title=Economy gets a Rs 50,000 crore Durga puja boost |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/economy-gets-a-rs-50k-crore-puja-boost/articleshow/94692213.cms |access-date=8 October 2022 |work=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> The annual GDP of West Bengal was expected to be expanded by 20-30 per cent that year.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=20-30% Bengal Durga Puja Economy Expansion Expected This Year |url=https://www.businessworld.in/article/20-30-Bengal-Durga-Puja-Economy-Expansion-Expected-This-Year/03-10-2022-449063/ |access-date=9 October 2022 |magazine=Businessworld |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bengal Durga Puja economy in 2022 may expand by 20-30 pc - ET Retail |url=https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/bengal-durga-puja-economy-in-2022-may-expand-by-20-30-pc/94614196 |access-date=9 October 2022 |website=ETRetail.com |language=en}}</ref> The factors responsible for this economic boost are mainly the increase of earning in transport, tourism, industry, business, shopping and other fields. The [[Kolkata Metro Railway]] recorded an earning of ₹6 crore in just five days of Durga Puja in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Durga Puja 2022: Kolkata Metro earns over Rs 6 crore in just 5 days of festivities |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/kolkata/durga-puja-2022-kolkata-metro-earns-over-rs-6-crore-in-just-5-days-of-festivities-article-94710222 |access-date=8 October 2022 |website=TimesNow |date=7 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kolkata Metro earns over Rs 6 crore in just 5 days during Durga Puja |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/kolkata/story/kolkata-metro-earns-over-six-crore-during-durga-puja-2009050-2022-10-06 |access-date=8 October 2022 |website=India Today |date=6 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
 The famous puja pandals get sponsorship from renowned companies and labels. Usually, the dress and jewelries of the idols, the material used to make the typically very elaborate pandals, decorations, lightings are sponsored.
 ===Social significance===
-Durga Puja plays a great significance in the living of certain peoples. The ''kumor''s, those who make the idols with clay and also makes other clayey products, earns lakhs of rupees by selling a single set of Durga idol of average size. Hence, it makes their annual income because idols used in other festivals are a lot more cheaper. Other professions that receive the majority of their annual income are ''dhaaki'' (plays ''dhaak''), priest and other small homecrafts. It is assumed that these profession based small classes would become smaller in population if Durga Puja was absent.
+Durga Puja plays a great significance in the living of certain peoples. The ''kumor''s, those who make the idols with clay and also makes other clay products, earns lakhs of [[Indian rupee|rupees]] by selling a single set of Durga idol of average size. Hence, it makes their annual income because idols used in other festivals are much cheaper. Other professions that receive the majority of their annual income are ''dhaaki'' (plays ''dhaak''), priest and other small homecrafts. It is assumed that these profession based small classes would become smaller in population if Durga Puja was absent.
 ===Media attention===
@@ Line 258: / Line 265: @@
 [[File:Pratima Visarjan by Gaganendranath Tagore.png|thumb|200px|right|Durga Puja has been a theme in various artistic works such as movies, paintings, and literature. Shown here is ''Pratima Visarjan'' by [[Gaganendranath Tagore]], depicting a Durga Puja immersion procession. This painting inspired the colour scheme of the Indian film, ''[[Kahaani]]''.|alt=A painting by Gaganendranath Tagore depicting Durga Puja immersion.]]
-The day of Mahalaya is marked by the Indian [[Hindus|Hindu]] community of [[West Bengal]] with ''[[Mahisasura Mardini|Mahishasuramardini]]'' — a two-hours long [[All India Radio]] program — that has been popular in the Bengali community since the 1950s. While in earlier days it used to be recorded live, a pre-recorded version has come to be broadcast in recent decades. Bengalis traditionally wake up at four in the morning on Mahalaya to listen to the radio show, primarily involving recitations of chants and hymns from ''Devi Mahatmyam'' (or ''Chandi Path'') by [[Birendra Krishna Bhadra]] and Pankaj Kumar Mullick. The show also features various devotional melodies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mahalaya ushers in the Puja spirit |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/delhi/Mahalaya-ushers-in-the-Puja-spirit/articleshow/5028658.cms |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=19 September 2009 |access-date=19 September 2009 |archive-date=23 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923032645/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/delhi/Mahalaya-ushers-in-the-Puja-spirit/articleshow/5028658.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>
+The day of Mahalaya is marked by the Indian [[Hindus|Hindu]] community of [[West Bengal]] with ''[[Mahisasura Mardini|Mahishasuramardini]]'' — a two-hours long [[All India Radio]] program — that has been popular in the Bengali community since the 1950s. While in earlier days it used to be recorded live, a pre-recorded version has come to be broadcast in recent decades. Bengalis traditionally wake up at four in the morning on Mahalaya to listen to the radio show, primarily involving recitations of chants and hymns from ''Devi Mahatmyam'' (or ''Chandi Path'') by [[Birendra Krishna Bhadra]] and [[Pankaj Kumar Mullick]]. The show also features various devotional melodies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mahalaya ushers in the Puja spirit |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/delhi/Mahalaya-ushers-in-the-Puja-spirit/articleshow/5028658.cms |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=19 September 2009 |access-date=19 September 2009 |archive-date=23 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923032645/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/delhi/Mahalaya-ushers-in-the-Puja-spirit/articleshow/5028658.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>
-Dramas enacting the legend of Durga slaying Mahishasura are telecasted on the television. Radio and television channels also air other festive shows,{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} while Bengali and Odia magazines publish special editions for the puja known as ''Pujabarshiki'' (''Annual Puja Edition'') or ''Sharadiya Sankhya'' (''Autumnal Volume''). These contain works of writers, both established and upcoming, and are more voluminous than the regular issues. Some notable examples of such magazines in Bengali are ''[[Anandamela]]'', ''Shuktara'', ''Desh'', ''Sananda'', ''Nabakallol'', and ''Bartaman''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sharodiya Pujabarshiki |url=http://www.simindia.com/sarodiya.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903104531/http://www.simindia.com/sarodiya.htm |archive-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>
+Dramas enacting the legend of Durga slaying Mahishasura are telecasted on the television. Radio and television channels also air other festive shows,{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} while Bengali and Odia magazines publish special editions for the puja known as ''Pujabarshiki'' (''Annual Puja Edition'') or ''Sharadiya Sankhya'' (''Autumnal Volume''). These contain works of writers, both established and upcoming, and are more voluminous than the regular issues. Some notable examples of such magazines in Bengali are ''[[Anandamela]]'', ''[[Shuktara]]'', ''[[Desh (magazine)|Desh]]'', ''[[Sananda (magazine)|Sananda]]'', ''Nabakallol'', and ''[[Bartaman]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sharodiya Pujabarshiki |url=http://www.simindia.com/sarodiya.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903104531/http://www.simindia.com/sarodiya.htm |archive-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>
 ==Celebrations outside India==
@@ Line 269: / Line 276: @@
 |footer=Left: Durga Puja in Germany, in 2009; Right: Durga Puja in the Netherlands, in 2017.
 }}
-Durga Puja is celebrated commonly by both Bangladesh's Bengali and non-Bengali Hindu community. Some [[Bengali Muslims]] also take part in the festivities.{{sfn|Tripathi|2016|p=5|ps=: "The intertwining of cultural traditions reinforced a society which was tolerant and the faiths borrowed from each other. (...) Many Bangladeshi Muslim women wear saris and bindis, or teeps, the dot on their forehead, usually seen only among Hindu women; they celebrate pujo, a Hindu festival for the goddess Durga, and they have no hesitation ushering in Poyla Baisakh, to celebrate the Bengali new year."}} In Dhaka, the [[Dhakeshwari Temple]] puja attracts visitors and devotees.{{sfn|London|2004|p=38}} In [[Nepal]], the festivities are celebrated as [[Dashain]].{{sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|p=208}}{{sfn|Melton|2011|pp=239–241}}
+Durga Puja is celebrated commonly by both Bangladesh's Bengali and non-Bengali [[Hinduism in Bangladesh|Hindu community]]. Some [[Bengali Muslims]] also take part in the festivities.{{sfn|Tripathi|2016|p=5|ps=: "The intertwining of cultural traditions reinforced a society which was tolerant and the faiths borrowed from each other. (...) Many Bangladeshi Muslim women wear saris and bindis, or teeps, the dot on their forehead, usually seen only among Hindu women; they celebrate pujo, a Hindu festival for the goddess Durga, and they have no hesitation ushering in Poyla Baisakh, to celebrate the Bengali new year."}} In [[Dhaka]], the [[Dhakeshwari Temple]] puja attracts visitors and devotees.{{sfn|London|2004|p=38}} In [[Nepal]], the festivities are celebrated as [[Dashain]].{{sfn| Lochtefeld|2002|p=208}}{{sfn|Melton|2011|pp=239–241}}
-Beyond South Asia, Durga Puja is organized by Bengali communities across the world.
+Beyond South Asia, Durga Puja is organised by Bengali communities across the world.
 === North America ===
-In the United States Durga Puja is celebrated across the country in many cities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dates |first=Hindu Festival |date=2024-09-19 |title=List of Durga Puja 2024 Events in USA, Details of Date and Location |url=https://hindufestivaldates.com/list-of-durga-puja-2024-events-in-usa-details-of-date-and-location/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Hindu Festival Dates |language=en-US}}</ref> The oldest community Durga Puja in the US was held in Columbia University organized by the East Coast Durga Puja Association (ECDPA) in 1970.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ECDPA |url=https://ecdpanewyork.com/about.php |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=ecdpanewyork.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bagchi |first=Amitabha |date=2020-10-06 |title=Durga Puja In The US Cities And Suburbs - A Brief History |url=https://thespace.ink/durga-puja-in-the-us-cities-and-suburbs/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |language=en-US}}</ref> While many community pujas are typically held over a Friday-Sunday period, some pujas in the US e.g. organized by Bharat Sevashram Shangha, Paschimi,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pashchimi |url=https://www.pashchimi.org/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=pashchimi.org}}</ref> Women's Now<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.womennow.tv/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=WomenNow |language=en}}</ref> and others follow the full 5 day schedule.  While most major metropolitan centers have multiple Durga Pujas organized by multiple Bengali organizations, Saikat <ref>{{Cite web |title=Sharod Utsob 2024 |url=https://www.saikat.org/durga-puja-2024 |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Saikat |language=en}}</ref> in San Diego, CA and SABCC<ref>{{Cite web |last=কমিউনিটি |first=SABCC-সান আন্তোনিও বাঙ্গালী কালচারাল |title=SABCC-সান আন্তোনিও বাঙ্গালী কালচারাল কমিউনিটি |url=https://sanantoniobcc.org/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=SABCC-সান আন্তোনিও বাঙ্গালী কালচারাল কমিউনিটি |language=en-US}}</ref> in San Antonio, TX are two of the biggest American cities to have an unified Durga Pujas for the whole metropolitan area.  In addition to the actual puja, most Durga Pujas in North America have a tradition of having elaborate cultural events involving both local artists and invited professional artists from India.
+In the United States Durga Puja is celebrated across the country in many cities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dates |first=Hindu Festival |date=19 September 2024 |title=List of Durga Puja 2024 Events in USA, Details of Date and Location |url=https://hindufestivaldates.com/list-of-durga-puja-2024-events-in-usa-details-of-date-and-location/ |access-date=1 November 2024 |website=Hindu Festival Dates |language=en-US}}</ref> The oldest community Durga Puja in the US was held in Columbia University organised by the East Coast Durga Puja Association (ECDPA) in 1970.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ECDPA |url=https://ecdpanewyork.com/about.php |access-date=7 November 2024 |website=ecdpanewyork.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bagchi |first=Amitabha |date=6 October 2020 |title=Durga Puja In The US Cities And Suburbs - A Brief History |url=https://thespace.ink/durga-puja-in-the-us-cities-and-suburbs/ |access-date=7 November 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref> While many community pujas are typically held over a Friday-Sunday period, some pujas in the US e.g. organised by [[Bharat Sevashram Sangha|Bharat Sevashram Shangha, Paschimi]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pashchimi |url=https://www.pashchimi.org/ |access-date=7 November 2024 |website=pashchimi.org}}</ref> Women's Now<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.womennow.tv/ |access-date=7 November 2024 |website=WomenNow |language=en}}</ref> and others follow the full 5 day schedule.  While most major metropolitan centers have multiple Durga Pujas organised by multiple Bengali organisations, Saikat <ref>{{Cite web |title=Sharod Utsob 2024 |url=https://www.saikat.org/durga-puja-2024 |access-date=7 November 2024 |website=Saikat |language=en}}</ref> in San Diego, CA, SABCC<ref>{{Cite web |last=কমিউনিটি |first=SABCC-সান আন্তোনিও বাঙ্গালী কালচারাল |title=SABCC-সান আন্তোনিও বাঙ্গালী কালচারাল কমিউনিটি |url=https://sanantoniobcc.org/ |access-date=7 November 2024 |website=SABCC-সান আন্তোনিও বাঙ্গালী কালচারাল কমিউনিটি |language=en-US}}</ref> in San Antonio, TX, and the Bengali Association of Greater Chicago (BAGC), are three of the biggest American cities to have an unified Durga Pujas for the whole metropolitan area.  In addition to the actual puja, most Durga Pujas in North America have a tradition of having elaborate cultural events involving both local artists and invited professional artists from India.
-In Canada, Bengali Hindu communities both from Bangladesh and West Bengal, India organise several Durga Pujas.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Durga Puja celebrations in Canada |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/new-to-canada/culture-history-sport/durga-puja-celebrations-in-canada/new_canada_show/48451872.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715185100/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/new-to-canada/culture-history-sport/Durga-Puja-celebrations-in-Canada/new_canada_show/48451872.cms |archive-date=15 July 2022 |access-date=19 October 2021 |work=The Times of India}}</ref> [[Greater Toronto Area]] has the most Durga Puja celebration venues organized by different Bengali cultural groups such as Bangladesh Canada Hindu Cultural Society (BCHCS), Bongo Poribar Sociocultural Association zetc.<ref name=":0" /> City of Toronto has a dedicated Durga Temple named Toronto Durgabari where Durga Puja is organized along with other Hindu celebrations. Most of the puja venues of Toronto area try to arrange the puja in the best way possible to follow the [[Hindu calendar|lunar calendar]] and timings.
+In Canada, Bengali Hindu communities both from Bangladesh and West Bengal, India organise several Durga Pujas.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Durga Puja celebrations in Canada |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/new-to-canada/culture-history-sport/durga-puja-celebrations-in-canada/new_canada_show/48451872.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715185100/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/new-to-canada/culture-history-sport/Durga-Puja-celebrations-in-Canada/new_canada_show/48451872.cms |archive-date=15 July 2022 |access-date=19 October 2021 |work=The Times of India}}</ref> [[Greater Toronto Area]] has the most Durga Puja celebration venues organised by different Bengali cultural groups such as Bangladesh Canada Hindu Cultural Society (BCHCS), Bongo Poribar Sociocultural Association zetc.<ref name=":0" /> City of Toronto has a dedicated Durga Temple named Toronto Durgabari where Durga Puja is organised along with other Hindu celebrations. Most of the puja venues of Toronto area try to arrange the puja in the best way possible to follow the [[Hindu calendar|lunar calendar]] and timings.
 === South America ===
-In Brazil, The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center, São Paulo, organizes an annual Durga Puja.
+In Brazil, The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center, São Paulo, organises an annual Durga Puja.
 === Europe ===
-Celebrations are also organized in Europe. The sculpture-idols are shipped from India and stored in warehouses to be re-used over the years.<ref name="thames">{{cite news |date=2 October 2006 |title=BBC Thames immersion for Hindu sculptures |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/5401122.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030054953/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/5401122.stm |archive-date=30 October 2012 |access-date=4 October 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref> According to BBC News, for community celebrations in London in 2006, these "idols, belonging to a tableau measuring 18ft by 20ft, were made from [[clay]],[[straw]] and vegetable dyes". At the end of the puja, the sculpture-idols were immersed in [[River Thames]] for the first time in 2006, after "the community was allowed to give a traditional send-off to the deities by London's port authorities".<ref name="thames" /> In Germany, the puja is celebrated in Cologne,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indische Kultur Verein e.V |url=http://www.durgapuja.de/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128055144/http://durgapuja.de/ |archive-date=28 January 2021 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=durgapuja.de}}</ref> and other cities. In [[Switzerland]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Durga Puja in Switzerland |url=http://www.swisspuja.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030082106/http://www.swisspuja.org/ |archive-date=30 October 2016 |access-date=29 October 2016 |website=swisspuja.org}}</ref> puja in Baden, Aargau has been celebrated since 2003. In Sweden, the puja is celebrated in cities such as Stockholm and Helsingborg. The oldest and first puja in Sweden was founded in 1988 and is one of the oldest ones in Europe, and goes by the name Stockholm Bangiya Sanatan Samaj.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.bcsofss.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124154745/https://www.bcsofss.com/ |archive-date=24 January 2021 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=Bengali Cultural Society - South Sweden}}</ref> In the [[Netherlands]], the puja is celebrated in places such as Amstelveen, Eindhoven, and Voorschoten.
+Celebrations are also organised in Europe. The sculpture-idols are shipped from India and stored in warehouses to be re-used over the years.<ref name="thames">{{cite news |date=2 October 2006 |title=BBC Thames immersion for Hindu sculptures |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/5401122.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030054953/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/5401122.stm |archive-date=30 October 2012 |access-date=4 October 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref> According to BBC News, for community celebrations in London in 2006, these "idols, belonging to a [[Tableau (sculpture)|tableau]] measuring 18ft by 20ft, were made from [[clay]], [[straw]] and vegetable dyes". At the end of the puja, the sculpture-idols were immersed in [[River Thames]] for the first time in 2006, after "the community was allowed to give a traditional send-off to the deities by London's port authorities".<ref name="thames" /> In Germany, the puja is celebrated in Cologne,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indische Kultur Verein e.V |url=http://www.durgapuja.de/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128055144/http://durgapuja.de/ |archive-date=28 January 2021 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=durgapuja.de}}</ref> and other cities. In [[Switzerland]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Durga Puja in Switzerland |url=http://www.swisspuja.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030082106/http://www.swisspuja.org/ |archive-date=30 October 2016 |access-date=29 October 2016 |website=swisspuja.org}}</ref> puja in Baden, Aargau has been celebrated since 2003. In Sweden, the puja is celebrated in cities such as Stockholm and Helsingborg. The oldest and first puja in Sweden was founded in 1988 and is one of the oldest ones in Europe, and goes by the name Stockholm Bangiya Sanatan Samaj.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.bcsofss.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124154745/https://www.bcsofss.com/ |archive-date=24 January 2021 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=Bengali Cultural Society - South Sweden}}</ref> In the [[Netherlands]], the puja is celebrated in places such as Amstelveen, Eindhoven, and Voorschoten.
 === Africa ===
-In South Africa, Durga Puja has been revived with celebrations in Johannesburg.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 2023 |title=Bengali Association revives tradition of public celebration of Durga Puja in South Africa |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/bengali-association-revives-tradition-of-public-celebration-of-durga-puja-in-south-africa/cid/1975207 |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> In Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa Durga Puja is organized by the Addis Ababa Durga Pooja Committee
+In South Africa, Durga Puja has been revived with celebrations in Johannesburg.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 2023 |title=Bengali Association revives tradition of public celebration of Durga Puja in South Africa |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/bengali-association-revives-tradition-of-public-celebration-of-durga-puja-in-south-africa/cid/1975207 |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> In Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa Durga Puja is organised by the Addis Ababa Durga Pooja Committee
 === Australia ===
-In Sydney, Durga Puja is celebrated in many community centers including at the Ponds Community Hub in Sydney where the Bengali Community Dorpon Cultural and Religious Association organized Durga Puja<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diaspora celebrate Navratri in Sydney by worshipping all forms of Goddess Durga |url=https://www.newindiaabroad.com/english/news/diaspora-celebrate-navratri-in-sydney-by-worshipping-all-forms-of-goddess-durga |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=New India Abroad |language=en}}</ref>
+In Sydney, Durga Puja is celebrated in many community centers including at the Ponds Community Hub in Sydney where the Bengali Community Dorpon Cultural and Religious Association organised Durga Puja<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diaspora celebrate Navratri in Sydney by worshipping all forms of Goddess Durga |url=https://www.newindiaabroad.com/english/news/diaspora-celebrate-navratri-in-sydney-by-worshipping-all-forms-of-goddess-durga |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=New India Abroad |language=en}}</ref>
 === Asia outside the subcontinent ===
-Durga Puja celebrations have also been started in Hong Kong by the Bengali diaspora.<ref>{{cite web |title=Durga Puja |url=http://www.hkyantoyan.com/news-and-views/durga-puja-the-hong-kong-version/attachment/durgapuja |website=HK Yanto Yan |access-date=13 October 2016 |archive-date=13 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013145548/http://www.hkyantoyan.com/news-and-views/durga-puja-the-hong-kong-version/attachment/durgapuja |url-status=live}}</ref>  In China Durga Puja has been organized in Shanghai<ref>{{Cite web |title=shanghai adda |url=https://www.shanghaiadda.org/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=shanghaiadda |language=en}}</ref> and is organized by the Embassy of India in Beijing<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pal |first=Suvam |date=6 October 2022 |title=How a former flight attendant from Kolkata held Durga puja in Beijing in turbulent times |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/lifestyle/how-a-former-flight-attendant-from-kolkata-organised-durga-puja-in-beijing-in-turbulent-times-at-the-embassy-of-india-in-beijing-with-virtual-rituals/cid/1890471 |access-date=October 31, 2024 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>  In Japan, Durga Puja is celebrated in Tokyo with much fanfare.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bengali Community of The Netherlands |url=https://www.hoichoi.nl/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303052054/https://www.hoichoi.nl/ |archive-date=3 March 2021 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=Hoichoi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://anandadhara.nl/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121050801/https://www.anandadhara.nl/ |archive-date=21 November 2018 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=Anandadhara}}</ref>
+Durga Puja celebrations have also been started in Hong Kong by the Bengali diaspora.<ref>{{cite web |title=Durga Puja |url=http://www.hkyantoyan.com/news-and-views/durga-puja-the-hong-kong-version/attachment/durgapuja |website=HK Yanto Yan |access-date=13 October 2016 |archive-date=13 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013145548/http://www.hkyantoyan.com/news-and-views/durga-puja-the-hong-kong-version/attachment/durgapuja |url-status=usurped}}</ref>  In China Durga Puja has been organised in Shanghai<ref>{{Cite web |title=shanghai adda |url=https://www.shanghaiadda.org/ |access-date=1 November 2024 |website=shanghaiadda |language=en}}</ref> and is organised by the Embassy of India in Beijing<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pal |first=Suvam |date=6 October 2022 |title=How a former flight attendant from Kolkata held Durga puja in Beijing in turbulent times |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/lifestyle/how-a-former-flight-attendant-from-kolkata-organised-durga-puja-in-beijing-in-turbulent-times-at-the-embassy-of-india-in-beijing-with-virtual-rituals/cid/1890471 |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>  In Japan, Durga Puja is celebrated in Tokyo with much fanfare.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bengali Community of The Netherlands |url=https://www.hoichoi.nl/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303052054/https://www.hoichoi.nl/ |archive-date=3 March 2021 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=Hoichoi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://anandadhara.nl/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121050801/https://www.anandadhara.nl/ |archive-date=21 November 2018 |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=Anandadhara}}</ref>
 ==Footnotes==
@@ Line 390: / Line 397: @@
 [[Category:September observances]]
 [[Category:October observances]]
+[[Category:National days in Bangladesh]]
 [[Category:Public holidays in Bangladesh]]
+[[Category:Hindu festivals in Bangladesh]]

Durga Puja: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:09, 29 November 2025

Names

History and origins

Rituals and practices

Texts

Scriptural References

Relation to harvest

Day One

Day Two to Five

Day Six to Nine

Day Ten

Decorations, sculptures, and stages

Environmental impact

Animal sacrifice, symbolic sacrifice

Pandals and theme-based pujas

Regional celebrations and observances

Significance

Economic significance

Social significance

Media attention

Celebrations outside India

North America

South America

Europe

Africa

Australia

Asia outside the subcontinent

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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