Writer : Jotsna Jari
💖 Mahalaya ( Matripaksha) :
The last day of offering tribute to our departed forefathers, i. e pitripaksha and the beginning of the devipaksha is called mahalaya.
Mahalaya is at the crossroads between the opposite side and the goddess side .
It is celebrated in the states of Karnataka, Odisha, Tripura, and West Bengal.
It is believed in the Hindu Mythology that Goddess Durga was created on this day by Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswar to defeat the demon king Mahishasura.
“Mahishasura Mardhini” means one who killed the Asura Mahishasura and refers to Goddess Durga. The demon was in the form of a buffalo and hence the name “Mahish Asura”. She was created by the Gods to eradicate evil and many Asuras were killed by her.
Therefore, devotees mark this day as the arrival of Goddess Durga to Earth from Kailash Parvat with her divine powers.
On the day of Mahalaya, the sculptors only make Goddess Durga’s eyes and fill colours in them. They also perform a special puja before this.

All over Bengal, Mahalaya begins with the recitation of the Chandipath.
Significance of Mahalaya :
It is said that on Mahalaya Amavasya morning, first ancestors are given farewell and then in the evening Maa Durga comes to earth and stays here to bless people.
During this time, in the Indian subcontinent, new crops would have just begun to bear yield. So their first produce is offered to the ancestors as a mark of respect and thankfulness, by way of pinda.
The rituals and rites on Mahalaya day are performed early morning on riverbanks or on seashore.

Many people remember their ancestors on this day and offer Tarpan or Shraddha to make their souls happy.
The main offering made on Mahalaya Paksha to ancestors is food.
The offerings generally consists of til (sesame seeds), water and pinda (cooked rice balls). Other food is also offered according to local custom. The pindas offered are later given to crows.

There is a belief that the souls of ancestors attain peace and moksha after the ritual.
The Hindus do not see any dichotomy between the visible and the the invisible worlds, between the living and the dead. Hinduism brings the invisible worlds into continual contact with the visible. The dead are not regarded as dead by merely as living elsewhere.
Mahalaya holds a religious and spiritual significance.
it also reminds us of the power of truth, of courage and of the universal fact that in the end, good will always triumph over evil.
How To Perform Mahalaya :-
Men performing the ceremony sit facing south and women sit facing east. Darbha grass is spread on the ground with the tips facing south. The devotee kneels on the ground with the left knee touching the ground. Cooked rice made into balls with ghee and gingelly seeds and holy water are offered to the ancestors who are invoked. Those wearing the sacred thread perform the ceremony by reversing the sacred thread from the left shoulder to the right. Relations who congregate for sraddha are known as sapinda (sharers of the pinda) or samanodaka (sharers of water).
The ritual of Mahalaya is mentioned in the Hindu scriptures like Agni Purana, Kurma Purana, Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana, Grihya Sutras, Smritis of Manu and Yajnavalkya.
Mahalaya 2022 Date And Time
Mahalaya is observed on the Amavasya day in the Hindu month of Ashwin or Ashwayuja (September-October). Mahalaya 2022 date is September 25, Sunday. Time is 2:54 AM on September 25 to 3:24 AM on September 26.
💙 Mahishasuramarddini :-
Mahishasura Mardhini Shlokas(stotra) cover 3 aspects of the Devi – As Durga, Lakshmi & Saraswathi.
The author of these verses is not clearly known but according to some sources it is said to be Kavi Ramakrishna (Tenali Ram of Krishnadeva Raya fame – Vijayanagar Empire), while others attribute it to Adi Shankara.

Mahishasuramarddini is a widely popular early Bengali special dawn radio programme that has been broadcasting since 1931 on All India Radio (AIR) in Indian state West Bengal.

All India Radio , Govt of India
It is a one-and-a-half-hour audio monitage of Chaṇḍipāaṭh (chanting from Chaṇḍi) recitation from the scriptural verses of Śrī Śrī Chaṇḍi or Durga Saptashati , Bengali devotional songs, classical music and a dash of acoustic melodrama.
The program has been translated into Hindi set to similar orchestration and is broadcast at the same time for a pan-Indian audience. This programme is aired every year at day-break on Mahalaya.
The programme, which started off as a live-performance, has been broadcast in its pre-recorded format since 1966. However, its great popularity remains undiminished even today
over 90 years later.
🔺 Birendra Krishna Bhadra who will always be remembered for making Mahalaya memorable to one and all, is the voice behind the “Mahisasura Mardini.” He recites the holy verses and tells the story of the descent of Durga to earth.

In 1931, Mahalaya was first broadcast over the radio in Akashvani, Calcutta.
The programme was organised by Pankaj Kumar Mallik, Premankur Aatorthi, Birendra Krishna Bhadra, Nripendra Krishna Mukhopadhyay and Raichand Boral.

💓


















