Durga Puja - Durga, Devi Mahatmyam, Durga Puja in Orissa, Asian Paints Sharad Shamman, Kumortuli, Mahisasura Mardini, Durga Puja 2007 (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 29. Chapters: Durga, Devi Mahatmyam, Durga Puja in Orissa, Asian Paints Sharad Shamman, Kumortuli, Mahisasura Mardini, Durga Puja 2007, Birendra Krishna Bhadra, Durga Puja 2008, Dhunachi, Kala Ratri. Excerpt: Durga puja (pronounced; Bengali:, Odia:, 'Worship of Durga'), also referred to as Durgotsava (Bengali: , 'Festival of Durga'), is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the ten days observed as Mahalaya, prothoma,""dwitiya,""tritiya,""chaturthi,""panchami," Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Bijoya Dashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding to the festival is called Devi Paksha (Bengali:, 'Fortnight of the Goddess'). Devi Paksha is preceded by Mahalaya (Bengali: ), the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Pokkho (Bengali: , 'Fortnight of the Forefathers'), and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja (Bengali: , 'Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori Full Moon Night'). Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tripura where it is a five-day annual holiday. In West Bengal and Tripura which has majority of Bengali Hindus it is the biggest festival of the year. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State, but it is also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society. Apart from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and in Bangladesh where 10% population are Hindu. Nowadays, many diaspora Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in countries such as the...