MAHALAYA

Description

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Context:

The Hindu community believes that Mahalaya marks the last day of ‘Krishnapaksha’, which is a dark fortnight of the month of Ashwin. The day that follows marks the beginning of ‘Sharad’ that signals the 10-day Durga Puja/Navratri festival. This year, Mahalaya falls on September 25.

Details:

Mahalaya marks the beginning of ‘Devi Paksha’ and the end of the ‘Pitri Paksha’, the latter of which is a period of mourning and dedicated to the ancestors on the paternal side of the family.
The reason Hindus consider Pitri Paksha to be inauspicious is because ‘shradhh’ or death rites are performed during this period, which is a 16-day lunar event, during which people pay homage to ancestors by offering food and water.
The Bengali community, which celebrates the annual Durga Puja with a lot of enthusiasm and cultural zest, believes that on the day of Mahalaya, Goddess Durga begins her descent to Earth after vanquishing the evil demon ‘Mahishasura’.
The auspicious day, essentially, is a reminder of this victory, of courage and of the universal fact that in the end, good always prevails over bad.
In West Bengal, Mahalaya is depicted in a show-tell manner, with songs, enactments and dances on certain regional television channels.
Roughly a week after Mahalaya, the Durga Puja festivities begin.
People believe that on this day, Goddess Durga officially begins her journey from Mount Kailash — where she resides with her husband Lord Shiva — to her maternal home on Earth with her four children, Lord Ganesh, Lord Kartik, Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati for the four-day long Durga Puja festitivities.