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"Lilboox Durga"

Edited and Illustrated by

Somdip Datta © 2015

- LoveYaLikeASister by Kimberly Geswein

The Boon

The devas of the heaven,

and the asuras of the

netherworld,

were nearly always at war.

determined to

bring victory

to the asuras,

prayed to

Brahma -

the creator.

Mahish-asura

He meditated on

the name of the God.

He observed penance,

in scorching heat,

and biting cold.

He stood firm in

wind and hail,

and finally

the creator

could not

ignore him

any more.

What do you want my child?

I wish tobeimmortal

That is a boon I nevergive. But you shall find victory in war.

no God or man can kill you!

Mahish-asura immediately

went to war. His army routed

the devas of the heaven,

and the kings of the earth.

the lord of the sky,

who strikes with the

thunderbolt, led the army

of the devas,

riding his

white elephant

known as

Airavat.

Indra -

Even he was

defeated.

The Birth

to the

creator

I can't recallmy boon.But the trinity willfind a way.

The exiled devas appealed

The trinity got together.

the Protector

the Creator

the Destroyer

Brahma

Shiva

Vishnu

The trinity

focused their

energies,

and a new

creation came

forth in a

blinding light.

was born.

She was

beautiful

and fearsome

at the

same time.

The gods found their

hope.

They armed Durga

with their own

weapons.

She had three eyes

and ten hands.

Durga

Vishnu gave

her the

discus

Kaal (time)

fashioned her

sword and

armour

Indra (Sky)

gave his

thunderbolt

Varun (Water)

gave his

conchshell

Vayu (wind)

gave his bow

Surya (Sun)

gave his

quiver

and arrows

Yama (Death)

gave his

iron staff

Shiva gave

his trident

Agni (Fire)

gave his

fire dart

and Himalaya

gave her the Lion

- as her ride.

The Battle

Her army scattered the asuras,

while she unleashed terror

with her weapons.

Her lion tore apart

whatever came

in its way.

When Mahish-asura saw Durga

approching his citadel,

he was struck by her beauty.

He proposed to her,

but Durga spurned him and

challenged him to war.

Mahish-asura resorted to

magic. He changed into an

elephant and

charged,

but Durga

stopped it

short

The asura then took the form

of a lion, but it was no match

for Durga. Then he resumed

his favorite form -

the buffalo. He charged ...

The people of

heaven and earth

were overjoyed.

They resolved to

worship Durga

every year,

in the spring,

with great

ceremony.

The lion pounced and tore its

belly. As Mahish-asura emerged

from it, Durga struck him with

her trident and he collapsed to

his death.

Rama andDurga

Many years later..

Rama of Ayodhyacrossed the sea and reached

the city of Lanka. He came to

rescue his wife

who had been abducted by

the rakshasa

king

Sita

Ravana

Aided by the army of monkeys,

he devastated the rakshasas,

and killed most of the

generals of Ravana.

However, Ravana himself was

undefeated.

His ten heads would

regenerate as soon as killed.

Frustrated, Rama

appealed to Durga.

Though it was autumn,

not spring,

he performed the

ceremony without

the smallest

detail

overlooked.

When he was one

short of the

108 blue lotus

needed for the

ritual,

he offered

his own

blue eye

instead.

Durga was pleased. With her

blessing Rama killed Ravana

and Sita was rescued.

Thereafter,

the annual celebration of

Durga was permanently moved

to the autumn.

AboutDurga Puja

Durga Puja is celebrated as

a community event. A large

structure is setup at a

community site. Clay images

of Durga and her four children

are worshipped for five days,

with many rituals, as well as

cultural events.

The next pages will help you

identify the images at a

Durga Puja.

Mahish-asura

Lion

Portrait

of Shiva

in the back

Buffalo

Durga

Ganesha

(God of

Well-being)

Laxmi

(Goddess of Wealth)

his Mouse

and her Owl

on her Right

Banana plant (his wife)

Saraswati

(Goddess of

Wisdom) her Swan

Veena

Kartik

(God of War)

and his peacock

on her Left

Durga Puja follows a

lunar calendar. The

new moon (phase 1 ) in

the month of Ashwin

is known as

on this day many pay

respect to

their ancestors at the

river, early at dawn.

The festival is

then five days

away.

mahalaya

Durga Puja starts on

the 6th phase of the

moon with

On this day Rama had

started the Puja,

without waiting

for spring

bodhan

Durga Puja continues

through phase 7th to

9th. People celebrate

with new clothes,

food, music, dance

and much more.

Durga Puja ends on

the 10th phase with

The images of Durga

and the other Gods

are cast into a pond

or river.

visarjan

The 10th phase is also

known as

or

when the story of

Rama is played by

actors. At the end of

the act, an image of

Ravana, stuffed with

fireworks, is set to

fire. This was the day

when Rama had killed

Ravana.

dussera

ramaleela

The 15th phase is the

Full Moon after which

the moon starts

waning (shrinking).

In another 15 phases

the moon is gone again.

This is the night of

the Festival of light,

to celebrate the return

of Rama to Ayoddha.

diwali

The End

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