Garia Sarbojanin Durgotsab (68th year)

Organised by: Garia Mitali Sangha

Overview: The people of primitive age experienced the need of food for theirsurvival and they invented cultivation of crops. In that process a sense ofreligion came into their mind. They started worshipping the Earth as the Mothergoddess, the producer of crops and the food-grains. In the following ages Shewas named ‘Dharitri’, who is also named as ‘Shakambhari’, ‘Durga’, ‘Annapurna’ or ‘Annada’, ‘Basundhara’ etc. She is alsonamed as ‘Aditi’, the mother of Sun because the Sun rises daily from the wombof the Mother Earth. She is then called ‘Usha’, the Goddess of light and thedestroyer of darkness. Devi Durga is, thus, the Mother of the whole universe,who produces nourishment, destroys the darkness of the world and the demons,diminishes the distress and the deceases of all living creators of the wholeworld. From that concept the innumerable forms of images of the Mother Goddess,Durga, as written in our early religious book as in the Vedas, the Puranas andas envisioned by the saints and the sages and given shapes by the artists andthe sculptors for years together, we, like the previous years, picked-up9(nine) of such idols and named them ‘NAVA-DURGA’ this year too.

Main theme this time:

Oh! The ancient Mother Goddess Dharitri,

You be with us this time –

As the Creator of the Universe,

Destroyer of the demons

And the Savior of the whole world!

The Idols (from the left)

1. Devi Dharitri (Creator of theUniverse)

Sheis the goddess of The Rigvedic age. It is said, when the Earch faces famine dueto draught, She saves the lives of all the beings in the world by producingcrops and corns from Her body. She is primarily associated with fertility andmotherhood. She was worshipped in the Vedic age as ‘Dhariti’ but in the PuranasShe called ‘Shakambhari’. She is also known and called as ‘Aditi’, the motherof the Sun as the Sun or ‘Aditya’ rises up daily from the body of the Earth.From that idea or saying we modeled this idol-roots and crops sprouting out ofher body.

(Ref.: ‘Mahisasurmardini Durga’ by Swami Pragyananda, P-113, 123,‘Murtirahasya’, Sri Sri Chandi, verse 12-23).

2. Devi Usha (Destroyer of darkness).

After‘Devi Dharitri’ She is also considered to be the Mother of the Universe of theRigvedic age. She is the pre-dawn ray of the Sun really personifying dawn, aunique creation with a poetic beauty. She removes the tiredness of the like ofdarkness and death and gives life to all the beings of the world by spreading thelight of new life. She as the ‘Mahasakti’ is the combination of ‘Saraswati’,‘Aditi’ and ‘Ambika’ etc. From that idea or saying we modeled this idol with alittle variation for practical purpose.

(Ref.: ‘Hinduder Devdevi: Udvab O Kramobikash’, Hangsa NarayanBhattacharyya, First Part, P-528, 529; ‘Prithibir Matrisadhana’ Nigurananda,P-171; ‘Mahisasurmardini Durga’ by Swami Pragyananda, P-96).

3. Devi Panchatapa Parvati (theMahashakti).

Thisidol was discovered from the ‘Gadarmas’ of the District ‘Bidisha’ inMadhyapradesh. She, as ‘Parvati’ is standing in trance there under thescorching Sun and lighting four fire-places around Her to have ‘Mahadev’ as Herhusband. She is thus called ‘Panchatapa Parvati’. From that idea we modeledthis idol. Here Mahashakti is in trans to be combined with the Mahashaktiman,Lord Shiva.

(Ref.: ‘Pratimasilpe Hindu Devdevi’, Kalyan Kumar Dasgupta, P-117,‘Hhinduder Devdevi: Udvab O Kromobikash’, Hangsa Narayan Bhattacharyya, FirstPart, P-253).

4. Devi Uma (the Mother of Universe)

WhenParvati intended to start hard penance to have Mahadeva as Her husband, Menoka,Her mother, forbade Her uttering ‘Uma’ as ‘U’ means ‘Oh daughter’ and ‘Ma’means ‘don’t go for penance’ and that is why She was named ‘Uma’ (‘KalikaPurana’) and again it is said ‘U’ means ‘Shiva’ and ‘Ma’ means ‘Sri’. She isthe ‘Sri’ of Lord Shiva, so She is Uma. She is described as the Shakti of‘Pashupatinath’, being encircled by the beasts. From that description we havemodeled our idol.

(Ref.: ‘Hhinduder Devdevi: Udvab O Kromobikash’, Hangsa NarayanBhattacharyya, P-188, 189; ’Prithibir Matrisadhana’, Nigurananda, P-160).

5. Devi Mahisasuramardini, the mainidol (costomary)

6. Devi Chandabega (the Killer of theDemon).

Inthe wall of ‘Bhramar Mandir’ near ‘Chota Sadri’ at Rajasthan there is aninscription where this Devi is shown as riding on a chariot drawn by lion andkilling a demon. From that inscription we, with a little variation forpractical necessity, have modeled our idol. We known that Sri Sri Durga has twotypes of postures, one where She is in a fighting mood against the demons andthe devils, ills and evils and the other where She is calm and pleasingoffering ‘abhya’ to all other.

(Ref.: Hhinduder Devdevi: Udvab O Kromobikash’, Hangsa NarayanBhattacharyya, P-349-50)

7. Devi Swaha (Diminishing sin, evilsetc.).

Thisidol was discovered from a big pond called ‘Danteswar’ at Baroda. It is now preserved at the ‘Museumand Picture Gallery’ at Baroda.In the ‘Adya Storta’ She is named as one of innumerable names Mahashakti. It issaid again that She is the ‘mantra’ used to offer sacrifice in the fire. ‘Agni’or fire is present in all the gods. From the description of that idol we havemodeled our idol.

(Ref.: ‘Pratimasilpe Hindu Devdevi’, Kalyan Kumar Dasgupta, P-210;‘Hinduder Devdevi: Udvab O Kromobikash’ Hangsa Narayan Bhattacharyya, P-74,94;).

8.Devi Sri Naini/Nagini (Goddess of fertility).

Thisidol was found in ‘Satna’ of Madhya Pradesh. It is now preserved in the ‘Indian Museum’.We have modeled our idol on the basis of that idol. She resembles our ‘DeviManasa’, the goddess of snakes. Snakes are considered to be the fertilizingagent and the force of the Earth and that is why snakes are there with ourGoddess Durga and Kali. So She is also the Goddess Earth in other form.

(Ref.: ‘Pratimasilpe Hindu Devdevi’, Kalyan Kumar Dasgupta, P-249,‘Prithibir matrisadhana’, Nigurananda, P-223.)

9. Devi Satakshi (Savior of theUniverse).

‘Durgam’the mighty demon out-powered the Gods and forcibly stopped offerings of Gheeand milk in the ‘Yagna’. The gods were refrained from talking ghee, drinkingmilk and thus became weak. Taking that advantage Durgam drived away the godsfrom the ‘Swarga’. As a result of non-performance of ‘Yagna’ there was no rainalso and also and draught resulted. Many of the living creatures started dying.Then the gods and the people including the saints started prayer to theMahasakti to apprear to save them. She appeared in a new form with full of eyeson Her body. The gods named Her ‘Satakshi’. She dropped water from those eyesand the earth was dampened. The people then started cultivation and producedcrops and corns to survive. She is said to be the spiritual guide of‘Harishchandra’ the king.

(Ref.: ‘Sri Sri Durga Tatwe o Kahinite, Swami Achyutnanda, P-63, 64).

These are the idols we call ‘Naba-Durga’ this year.