Food fills the air, there are smiles on people’s faces and idols of a beautiful goddess are all around, Durga Puja has arrived. This is a time of great festivity in India and in other countries as well because it is a celebration of the goddess Durga , the slayer of the Buffalo demon. There are many rituals that correspond with the festival; many types of foods are served, the myth of Durga causes the people to come together and it all originated from Bengali.
The Durga Puja festival is a celebration of the goddess Durga who helped the Gods eliminate many demons like Madhu, Kaitabha and Mahishasura, the most famous demon (Jones, 139). The festival mostly commemorates the victory over Mahishasura also known as the Buffalo demon (Jones, 140). Hindu mythology states that Mahishasura was once granted a blessing from the destroyer God Shiva where neither male nor god would be able to kill him. The only way for life to be taken away from him was if a woman were to kill him. The demon took advantage of the blessing, creating chaos in the world and defeating the gods becoming the Lord of the heavens (Mythology of Durga Puja, par 1). The gods having their home taken away had no choice but to create a woman who would be able to defeat Mahishasura (Mythology of Durga Puja, par 2). With Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva combining their energies as well as other gods, they formed the ultimate power Durga (Mythology of Durga Puja, pars 2-3). To aid the goddess in battle against the demon, the gods gave her various weapons and gifts including new clothing, a garland of immortal lotuses and more (Mythology of Durga Puja, par 4). She was now prepared to engage in combat. Armed by the weapons and gifts of the gods she starts into battle (Mythology of Durga...
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...er religions; they are unique and bring a warm feeling to the heart.
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One statement in the beginning of the book was especially poignant to any one who studies Indian culture, It is easy for us to feel a vicarious rage, a misery on behalf of these people, but Indians, dead and alive would only receive such feelings with pity or contempt; it is too easy to feel sympathy for a people who culture was wrecked..
Narayanan, Vasudha. “The Hindu Tradition.” A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Ed. Willard G. Oxtoby and Alan F. Segal. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2007.
One day while channel surfing I discovered a documentary on Holi. At the time I was too young to understand the full beauty of Holi but the bright colors peaked my interest and has stayed in the back of my mind since. It seemed that the festival was like color personified. Holi, also known as Holika, is a colorful festival celebrated in Northern India during the end of February or early March and lasts a day. During this time people dance and sing as they cover one another with colorful powders and colored water. During Holi, all are equals as everyone celebrates the triumph of good over equal just like in the “Legend of Holika and Prahalad”. Holi is a festival that is not only appealing to the eye but to the heart as well as it ties people together through legend and love.
Ganguly, Poushali. "History of Native American Indians." Buzzle. Buzzle.com, 29 Dec. 2007. Web. 07 May 2014.
Out of more than six hundred Nepalese objects in the Rubin Museum’s collection, this sculpture Durga Killing the Buffalo Demon is located in the forth floor of Rubin Museum that the “NEPALESE SEASONS: RAIN AND RITUAL” exhibition. Durga Killing the Buffalo Demon is made by gilt copper alloy in the 13th century in Nepal, which is about 11.125 inches height, 12.875 inches width and 7.375 inches depths. This magnificent sculpture of Durga is a jewel of Nepalese art. She is believed to be a Hindu goddess. She has numerous personalities and she can destroy the oak. Moreover, she has the ability to control the world in order.
As we compare the traditional women versus modern women, we perceive differences and similarities. Prachi fights for a belief system that controls her meanwhile Ruhi struggles with self-identity and depends on the beauty pageant to empower her as an Indian woman. Prachi defends Hinduism but at the same time, is Hinduism that restrains her from becoming “modern.” Ruhi on the other hand considers herself a very modern girl and she values freedom therefor the pageant is a road to liberation for her. Both girls struggle in distinct ways but their goal is similar, to shape their countries future.
Many foreigners cannot know what makes Hinduism so strange. Hinduism lacks an uniting belief system and many people do not know faithfully what makes up the Hindu religious belief. After one goes in-depth concerning Hinduism, one must be familiar with the fundamental details about this difficult religion. Do you realize that almost 80 percent of the India people find themselves being Hindus? Hinduism is in addition known as the Sanatana-Dharma, which means everlasting religion. Hinduism is the third leading religion following Christianity and Islam and has no one initiator, teacher, or spiritualist and it is not an unconvinced religion. All through this article, I will look further in-depth on what makes up the Hindu religion what the traditional and group influences that have prepared Hinduism fundamental to Hinduism, and I will provide details the yearning for freedom from early existence.
Traditions control how one talks and interacts with others in one’s environment. In Bengali society, a strict code of conduct is upheld, with dishonor and isolation as a penalty for straying. Family honor is a central part to Bengali culture, and can determine both the financial and social standing of a family. Usha’s family poses no different, each member wearing the traditional dress of their home country, and Usha’s parents diligently imposing those values on their daughter. Those traditions, the very thing her [Usha] life revolved around, were holding her back from her new life as an American. Her mother in particular held those traditions above her. For example, when Aparna makes Usha wear the traditional attire called “shalwar kameez” to Pranab Kaku and Deborah’s Thanksgiving event. Usha feels isolated from Deborah’s family [Americans] due to this saying, “I was furious with my mother for making a scene before we left the house and forcing me to wear a shalwar kameez. I knew they [Deborah’s siblings] assumed, from my clothing, that I had more in common with the other Bengalis than with them” (Lahiri ...
“The general subject of [Jamison’s] book is the conceptual position of women in early Indic culture, but it is not designed as an inclusive overview of women in ancient India and all the institutions and attitudes affecting them. Rather it focuses on a single, apparently marginal female role-the activities of the wife in solemn ritual… and isolates a set of conceptual functions the wife fills in ritual practice” (Jamison 4).
In Nepal the life power is typified in the awesome vitality and force of the female, delineated as goddess Durga in her numerous structures. All goddess who exuded from goddess Durga are known as devis, each with various viewpoints and forces. In most mother goddess sanctuaries the divinity is spoken to just as a consecrated Kalash, cut water container or different gave goddess holding deadly weapons. Amid these nine days individuals pay their tribute to the goddess. On the off chance that she is legitimately worshiped and satisfied favorable circumstances are en route and if enraged through disregard then hardships are around the bend. Mother goddess is the wellspring of life and
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Diwali is the most important festival celebrated in India. Diwali or Deepawali means an array of lights. It is a festival of lights symbolizing victory of good over evil and the glory of light. Diwali is celebrated as the day that Lord Rama returned to Ayoda after defeating Ravana. Diwali also signifies Harvest Festival.