Durga Puja or Durgotsava, festivity in honour of the Hindu goddess
Some Hindu communities in Barcelona will be celebrating Durga Puja from 9 to 13 October this year, the big festival in honour of Durga, goddess and mother of the entire universe.
Durga Puja or Durgotsava is the Hindu festival held after the autumn equinox and during the lunar month of Ashwin,, that is, roughly between September and October, in honour of the goddess Durga.
This is a celebration full of colours, where images of the goddess Durga are created and offerings made, theatre representations given, along with orations, meals and traditional dances. In Hinduism, the belief is that divinity is expressed throughthree aspects (Trimurti): the creator (Brahma), the conserver (Vishnu) and the transformer (Shiva). Durga or Parvati are two of the best-known names taking the female form or partner (Shakti or Devi) of the god Shiva.
Durga Puja or Durgotsava commemorates the fight of the goddess against the forces of evil embodied by the devil (Asura) Mahisha and usually lasts nine days or nights, although the most important days are the final five. The Hindu communities in the east and north east of India identify Durga Puja with Navaratri (nine nights), which is celebrated twice a year. Yet the most important occasion is the one which according to the lunisolar calendar falls after the autumn equinox. Among the various activities held in the different regions of India and the countries where Hinduism is present, notable acts include offerings of flowers and food, recitals of spiritual texts, traditional processions, fasting, theatre performances, typical foods and traditional dances, such as those in north eastern India, where the sticks used in the dance choreography (dandiyas) represent the swords of the goddess.
The festivity is divided into three groups of three days, where each day has a series of special characteristics. The first three days are linked to Parvati (goddess wife of Shiva), the next three are linked to Lakshmi (goddess wife of Vishnu) and the final three with Sarasvati (goddess wife of Brahma). The festivity concludes with the victory of good over evil on the tenth day (vijayadashami) and marks the end of the celebrations in honour of the goddess Durga. The festivity of Durga Puja is known and celebrated all over India and Bangladesh.
The symbolism of Durga Puja
The victory of the goddess Durga represents the victory of maternal, creative and nourishing power in the face of chaos and the fatality of destiny. Even though here divine power takes the female form of a goddess that takes on different warrior attributes, such as the red colour of blood and weapons (sticks symbolising swords), this power is also represented in acts of reclusion and concentration.
Various activities in this festivity simulate the inner struggle of all human beings to dominate their own passions and contradictions. The goal is to achieve unity and restore the state of primordial plenitude that symbolises the final victory on the tenth day (vijayadashami).
The Associació Cultural Hindú are celebrating this year’s Durga Puja in Barcelona at the Aquarella Music Restaurant (Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 572), in the district of L’Eixample, from 9 to 12 October. The celebration is open to visitors in the morning and the afternoon.
