The Gods incarnated Goddess Durga on the auspicious day of Mahalaya to annihilate the demon Mahishasura. In Hinduism, this day has special significance. It is also a day to remember and honor your ancestors. Mahalaya marks the beginning of the holy and auspicious Devi Paksha and the end of the Pitri Paksha, a mourning period.
Why is Mahalaya celebrated?
According to religious belief, Goddess Durga begins her journey from Mount Kailash, where she lives with her husband Lord Shiva, to her maternal home on earth on this day.
Goddess Durga undertakes the journey with her children, Ganesha, Kartik, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. She travels on a vehicle of Her choice. It could be a boat or a palanquin, a horse or an elephant.
Each vehicle is significant in its own way. The elephant represents peace and prosperity. The horse represents destruction, and the palanquin symbolizes plague. The boat brings floods, but it also brings fertility and a high crop yield.
For the entire nine days, She showers Her blessings on the devotees for their well-being. Mahalaya also marks the beginning of Navratri.
On Mahalaya, sculptors give the final touch to the idol of the Goddess by making Her eyes and filling color in them. This ritual is known as Chakkhudaan. Following Chakkhudaan, the Goddess is invoked with a prayer to wake up and open her eyes.
The ancestors are remembered and offered Tarpan on Mahalaya morning to make their souls happy. Tarpan must be offered on an empty stomach after a holy dip in the Ganga or other rivers or water bodies.
When devotees remember and pay tribute to their ancestors on the Mahalaya, it is believed that the ancestors are liberated from their grief. As their bad karma has been removed, your entire family can look forward to a prosperous future and better health.
Then in the evening, Goddess Durga descends from Mount Kailash.
Mahalaya Mahishasura Mardini – Birendra Krishna Bhadra
Mahishasura Mardini is a popular Bengali radio program that is being broadcast on West Bengal radio since 1931. The voice behind the show is Birendra Krishna Bhadra, who is remembered for making Mahalaya unforgettable for Bengalis.
The one-and-a-half-hour composition combines a narration, Chandipaath(recitation from the scriptural verses of Durga Saptashati), and rendition of Bengali devotional songs.
Birendra Krishna Bhadra recited the Chandipath in his sonorous voice. He chants the holy verses and describes the creation of Goddess Durga to kill the demon Mahishasur.
The music was composed by the legendary music director Pankaj Mullick. All the top singers of that time contributed their voices to the composition.
The musical masterpiece composed in 1931 is almost synonymous with Mahalaya for Bengalis. In the early hours of the morning, radio stations still play a recorded version, which is very popular in Bengal.
Originally, it was a live performance broadcast by All India Radio, but it was later replaced by a recorded version. According to reports, the version heard on the radio today was created in 1966.
For Bengalis, Mahalaya signals the start of the festival season. Listening to the composition in the voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra on the radio at the crack of dawn has been one of Bengalis’ Durga Puja rituals for the past 90 years.
The program has been translated into Hindi and is being broadcast simultaneously for a pan-Indian audience. Every year at daybreak, All India Radio broadcasts this program. Despite this, its popularity has not waned despite the passage of 90 years.
Mahalaya Bengali Movie
The popularity of the program can be deduced from the following event. In 1976, the voice of noted Bengali actor Uttam Kumar was employed for the program and renamed Durga Durgatiharini. But it failed to impress the listeners and did not get a favorable response from the audience. Later, it was reverted to the original version of Birendra Krishna Bhadra.
This episode was adapted in the 2019 Bengali movie Mahalaya. Subhashish Mukhopadhyay played the role of Birendra Krishna Bhadra. The movie is streaming on Zee5.
These days modern versions of Mahisasurmardini are played on Bengali television. Famous Bengali actresses are roped in to play the role of Goddess Durga.
In the evening, live performances of Mahisasur Mardini are organized in social clubs in West Bengal and among Bengali communities living outside. The day of Mahalaya has a permanent place in the heart of Bengali as well as Indian culture.
