Devi's homecoming

Mahalaya

In Bengal today, Mahalaya signifies the onset of Durga Puja season. Pitripaksha is the 16 lunar days or tithi that begin with purnima (night of the full moon) in the month of Bhadra (September– October), culminating in amavasya (night of the new moon). Mahalaya is the day of amavasya. It is the time when tarpana (water-oblations) and shraadha (ceremonies for the departed) are undertaken for pitris (ancestors). Specifically, tarpana is supposed to be done on the tithi on which the ancestor died. For example, if an ancestor passed away on Saptami (the seventh lunar day), the tarpana too should be conducted on Saptami. But that is rarely observed now and Mahalaya has become the general day for tarpana, regardless of the day of death. Once upon a time, people would go to Gaya (in Bihar) to perform the ceremony. Today, the nearest river that is described as 'Ganga' or a tributary of the Ganga, suffices.

Generations have grown up with the belief that Mahalaya signifies the onset of Durga Puja. In large part, this is due to the influence, rather the voice, of a gentleman named Birendra Krishna Bhadra (1905–91). He used to work for All India Radio. In 1931, All India Radio (Calcutta) broadcast a radio programme known as 'Mahishasura Mardini' at 4 a.m. on the day of Mahalaya. This had a combination of songs, vocal renditions of the story and chants of Sanskrit shlokas. The shlokas were primarily from the 'Devi Mahatmya' section of the Markandeya Purana, known in Bengal as 'Chandi'. The script was written by Bani Kumar and the music director was the famous singer, Pankaj Kumar Mullick. More than the script and the songs, it was Birendra Krishna Bhadra's voice that became a roaring success. Originally a live performance, a prerecorded version was broadcast from 1966. So successful was this, that an attempt in 1976 to replace Birendra Krishna Bhadra's voice with that of the popular actor Uttam Kumar backfired, and the Bhadra version was brought back. Birendra Krishna Bhadra died in relative penury and, as an employee of All India Radio, was not entitled to royalties. But in 2006, Saregama India, which owns the copyright, made his descendants a royalty payment.

The world has moved on from radio to television and Internetbased programmes. Regardless, there will be some version of that original broadcast, spanning roughly one-and-a-half hours. Historically, Mahalaya has nothing to do with Durga Puja. At some indeterminate point in history, the two traditions merged and Mahalaya came to be regarded as the beginning of Durga Puja. Pitri paksha, which is krishna paksha, is generally regarded as inauspicious for any rites connected with devas and devis.

Mahalaya signifies the beginning of shukla paksha. This particular paksha is known as devipaksha, the fortnight that concerns the worship of Devi. The word 'alaya' means abode or residence, but in Bengali, Mahalaya is interpreted as the great journey, the journey of Devi from the Himalayas to her father's house, in Bengal. Therefore, in addition to performing rites for ancestors, it is customary to recite or read 'Chandi' or 'Devi Bhagavatam' on the day of Mahalaya.

Three types of Pujas

Devi paksha brings us to the month of Ashvina, which is when Durga Puja is celebrated. There is an exception to this rule, which occurs rarely. If there are two amavasyas in a month, that is regarded as 'mala masa', a tainted month. No auspicious activities can be performed, and that month is skipped. This is what happened in 2020. Otherwise, the shukla paksha following Mahalaya is the period for Durga Puja, beginning specifically on Shashti (the sixth lunar tithi) and continuing through till Dashami (the tenth lunar tithi). At least, that's the impression.

Strictly speaking, the festivities end with Lakshmi Puja on the purnima that follows. Lakshmi Puja in Bengal is, therefore, celebrated at a different time from the Lakshmi Puja celebrated in other parts of the country. This particular Lakshmi Puja is known as Kojagari Lakshmi Puja. 'Kojagari' translates to 'Who is awake?' Lakshmi travels around, checking which householders are awake, and enters those houses, avoiding houses of those that are asleep.

Broadly, the Durga Puja period is thus shukla paksha in the month of Ashvina, after Mahalaya, and from Pratipada (the first lunar tithi) to purnima. This is generally true and is more or less standardized for Bengalis in West Bengal and for Bengalis residing elsewhere in India. But there are exceptions, and that has a bit to do with how Pujas developed in Bengal. There are three types of Pujas— (1) Banedi bari; (2) Math o mandir; and (3) Baroari. Today, we often identify Durga Puja with the third type, but it wasn't always so.

'Banedi bari' means a noble or aristocratic family—let's say, the zamindars. One uses the word 'banedi bari' because zamindar has a legal nuance and zamindari no longer exists. Every banedi bari was historically a zamindar family. Some of these are in Bangladesh now, like Tahirpur (associated primarily with the name of Raja Kansa Narayan, late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth century). In West Bengal, the earliest example of such Puja is undoubtedly that of Sabarna Roy Choudhury, started around 1610 CE. There is one

that began in 1683 CE by King Rudra Roy of Krishnanagar, ancestor of the famous king, Krishna Chandra Roy. One shouldn't, of course, forget the Puja started in Shobhabajar by Nabakrishna Deb in 1757 CE, a Puja that Robert Clive was invited to.

The Banedi bari Pujas predated the British, but when some zamindars obtained wealth as a result of British rule, such Pujas received a fillip. These Banedi bari Pujas often had their own specific rites and iconography, distinct from what has become the standard in the third type. Such Pujas still retain a whiff of nostalgia, but have gone into a relative decline. Wealth is no longer what it used to be and descendants have migrated elsewhere, sometimes outside the country. The poignancy is often depicted in films and television serials.

Let's move on to the second category—Math o mandir. What's the difference between math and mandir? A math is a place where monks reside. People may go to the math because it is a sacred place, but not to worship any specific deity. A mandir is a temple, with a permanent deity instated. Regardless of whether it is time for Durga Puja or not, people go to the temple to worship the deity. Math o mandir Pujas also have their own rites and iconography. For example, Durga Puja is celebrated in Kolkata's famous Kalighat temple. But no special image of Durga is fashioned. Instead, following the rituals of Kalika Purana, the image of Kali is worshipped as Chamunda Durga. The district of Bankura is famous for temples, and in Bishnupur in Bankura, there is the Mrinmayi temple that goes back to 997 CE. The image in the temple is that of a 10-armed Durga, the family deity of the former king. It is this image that is worshipped during Durga Puja, but the proceedings begin on the Navami (ninth lunar day) that precedes Mahalaya, that is, during krishna paksha.

(Excerpted with permission from Bibek Debroy and Anuradha Goyal's Navratri; published by Rupa Publications)