Durgapuja.mp4 at Vivek Khand Gomti Nagar Lucknow (India).
Durga Puja (Bengali: দুর্গা পূজা, pronounced Bengali pronunciation:
[d̪urɡa pudʒa] in Bengali; (listen:About this sound Durga Puja
(help·info)), 'Worship of Durga'), also referred to as Durgotsava
(Bengali: দুর্গোত্সব pronounced Bengali pronunciation: [d̪urɡot̪ʃɔb],
listen: About this sound Durgotsava (help·info)), 'Festival of Durga')
or Sharadotsav is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that
celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six
days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha
Navami and Vijayadashami. 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:দেবী পক্ষ,
'Fortnight of the Goddess'). Devi Paksha is preceded by Mahalaya
(Bengali: মহালয়া), the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri
Paksha, 'Fortnight of the Forefathers'), and is ended on Kojagori
Lokkhi Puja ('Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori Full Moon Night').
Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil
buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomises the
victory of Good over Evil.
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Orissa, Tripura and West Bengal, where it is a five-day
annual holiday.[3] In West Bengal and Tripura, which has a majority of
Bengali Hindus, it is the biggest festival of the year. Not only is it
the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the state, 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,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and
Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and
in Bangladesh all over the places of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet,
Rajshahi, Rangpur, Bogra and other major places and all the villages of
Bangladesh where the 20% population is Hindu
