Mahalaya

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An old Bengali proverb says that if the 'kash'

has started flowering, you know the rains are over

and autumn has begun. The hour of the goddesses is at

hand and Bengal awaits them expectantly - Durga,

Lakshmi and Kali.<br><br>Once a year, in the autumnal

month of Ashwin, Devi Durga comes home to her parents,

together with her four children, Ganesh, Laxmi, Kartik and

Saraswati, and enjoys all the love and attention lavished on

her. Unfortunately, this visit lasts only three days,

and on the fourth day she starts on her journey back

to her husband, Shiva's abode in the mountain

kingdom of Kailash.<br><br>From the day of Mahalaya

starts Devipaksha. People take a holy dip in the river

Ganga at dawn and pray for the departed souls - the act

is called 'Tarpan'. Since the early 1930s, homes in

Bengal reverberate with the immortal verses from Chandi

Kabya or Chandi Paath in the recorded voice of late

Birendra Krishna Bhadra termed as Mahisasura Mardini,

narrating the birth of Goddess Durga and her eventual fight

with Mahisasura.<br><br>Chandipaath narrates that She

is the primeval source of power, all qualities

reside in her. She is one and yet known by many names.

She is Narayani, Brahmani, Maheshwari, Shivaduti and

She is the fierceful Chamunda, decked with a garland

of skulls. The Goddess Chandika is eternal. She has

no birth, no definite physical form. She assumes a

manifestation of majestic might only to restore the process of

Creation from the terrible Asuras or evil incarnates.

Mahisasura, the terrible king of the Asuras had defeated the

gods and driven them out of Heaven. The Gods dejected

and humiliated went to Brahma, the god of creation

Vishnu, the God of preservation and Mahadeva, the God of

destruction, to report their defeat. These three Gods

projected their energy and evoked a new form of energy.

This energy then crystallised into the heavenly form

of a Goddess. She was Mahamaya, the Mother of the

Universe. The emergence of the goddess was an auspicious

moment. The Goddess then emerged in full battle array to

combat Mahisasura. The Himalayas gifted Her the lion to

act as her carrier, Vishnu gave her the Chakra ,

Mahadeva gave her the trident, Yama gave her the Danda

(noose), Brahma gave her the rosary and the container of

sacred water. Armed with weapons of all kinds, the

Mother Goddess defeated the Asuras, thus ending the rule

of evil forces.<br><br><br>Durga - goddess of

deliverance - comes to earth on the seventh day after the

autumn new moon. She is depicted by the 'kumors' or

potters as a resplendent golden figure standing on a

lion's back, each of her ten arms bearing a particular

weapon, as she triumphs over the demon

Mahisasura.<br><br>The occasion of Mahalaya, thus, always goes on

reminding mankind of the divine scheme of things that the

Evil may have had its say, but it is ultimately the

Good that has the last laugh.