Bengaluru Sreehatta Sammelani · Puja Stories

Why do we celebrate Durga Puja?

Ask ten people what Durga Puja means and you may get ten answers. Worship. Homecoming. New clothes. Dhak. Anjali. Bhog. Meeting people you have not seen for a year. For us, all of those answers can be true at once.

The story at the heart of the Puja

One of the central stories associated with Durga is her battle with Mahishasura, the powerful buffalo demon. The Devi Mahatmya, a foundational text of the Goddess tradition, tells of Durga confronting forces that the gods themselves could not defeat. Her victory is celebrated as the triumph of Shakti, divine feminine power, over destructive forces.

That is the epic story. But Durga Puja in Bengali life also has a more intimate emotion.

Maa is coming home

Durga is welcomed not only as a goddess but as a daughter returning to her maternal home with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesha. Suddenly a cosmic story becomes a family story. There is excitement before she arrives, joy while she is here and sadness when it is time for her to leave.

This idea of homecoming is one reason Pujo can become especially emotional when you live away from the place where you grew up. A community Puja becomes a temporary home. People cook, worship, volunteer, perform, argue, laugh and eat together. Then Dashami arrives much too quickly.

Why Mahalaya feels different

Mahalaya marks the beginning of Devi Paksha in the popular Bengali Puja tradition. Long before the pandal becomes crowded, the mood changes. For generations, families have associated the early morning with Chandipath and the invocation of the Goddess. It is the moment when the wait for Pujo stops feeling abstract.

And why Bijoya is not simply the end

On Bijoya Dashami, Durga's departure is marked with farewell rituals. Yet Bijoya is also about people: pronam to elders, embraces, sweets and reconnecting. The familiar promise is that she will return next year.