Maha Saptami Today, Know The History & Legends Associated With Durga Puja In Odisha

Picture Courtesy: Sweta Mishra

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: The actual Durga Puja revelry has begun in Odisha. The five days of festivities observed as Shashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, and Vijayadashami, started on October 1 and will culminate on October 5, which is also when we will be celebrating Dussehra.

According to Markandeya Purana, the right time for invoking the Goddess is the spring season in the lunar month Chaitra. However, it is not much celebrated in Odisha and its neighbouring states. Instead Sharadiya Durga Puja is celebrated in Sharata Rutu (autumn season) in lunar month Aswina. Lord Rama was responsible for shifting goddess worship to autumn since he invoked Her before invasion of Lanka, according to the Krutibasa Ramayana.

Markandeya Purana further says that the King of Chaitra/Chedi dynasty Raja Suratha started rituals of Durga Puja during 300 BC. The Chaitra dynasty belongs to Kalinga (modern Odisha).

The present form of worshipping earthen idols of the Goddess was started during the reign of Ganga King Chodaganga Dev in the 11th century at Puri. Co-worship of Mahishamarddini Durga with Madhava (Lord Jagannath) is prevalent since the 11th century, the Eastern Ganga dynasty period, in Puri. It is also said that in the year 1512 CE, Shri Chaitanya started worship of Durga as community worship in Binod Bihari temple at Cuttack.  The area is now known as Balu Bazaar.

The Silver City of Cuttack is famous for its extravagance and the magnitude of stunning filigree work and ‘chandi medha’ or the silver tableau used for decorating Goddess Durga and her temporary abode. As many as 28 Puja committees have put up chandi medha while 15 have used gold ornaments to decorate Goddess Durga. At Sheikh Bazaar, the design of the ‘medha’ (tableau) has been changed this year by adding over 60 kg of additional silver to the background with the already-existing 2.5 quintal. The jewellery of the idols will be around 40-50 kg, the PIT reported.

The festival is also celebrated in a grand way at the Kataka Chandi temple.

To ease traffic congestion, Commissionerate Police has imposed one-way traffic system in the city while 300 CCTV cameras have been installed at crowded places and important junctions to keep an eye on the troublemakers. A total of 55 platoons of police force, six police officers of ADCP rank, 40 officers of DSP rank, around 55 inspectors, nearly 300 SIs and ASIs, 84 havildars, over 600 constables and traffic constables, 700 home guards and more than 700 police volunteers have been deployed for smooth passage of the festival, Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi informed on Saturday.

Besides, security personnel on rooftops, 20 PCR vans, three special mobile vans, 40 bike PCRs and quick action teams have been deployed and 31 police aid posts set for the puja, he added.