Durga Festival

Legend About the Festival

Legend goes that on this day in Satyug, Lord Rama killed the demon king, Ravana. Another legend has it that on this day Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura, the demon. In most of the northern states, Ramlila can be witnessed during the festival, in which incidents from Rama life are performed by the artists. On the last day i.e. Vijayadashmi, large effigies of Ravana, Meghnadh and Kumbhakarna are set on fire. The festival is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and zeal.

Getting There

By Air : The closest airport is located in Jodhpur, 308 km from Jaisalmer.

By Rail : From Jodhpur there are many trains available for Jaisalmer. Palace on wheels is another option though expensive.

By Road : Jaisalmer has good road network and is 897 km from Delhi, 638 km from Jaipur; 285 km from Jodhpur and 330 km from Bikaner.

Venue & Time

Durga Puja is an important Hindu festival and is celebrated in various parts of the country in the month of September-October. The nine-day festival is also called the Dussehra and Navaratri in other parts of India. Kolkata and Mysore are some of the popular destinations to witness the zeal and fervour that the devotees display. The festival falls in the month of October every year.

Did You Know?

The Durga Puja Festival is famous in India by various names like : Akalbodhan, Vijaya Dashami, Dashain and Dussehra.
Durga Puja is the largest Hindu festival in West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand and other parts of east India. It is also celebrated in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
During Durga Puja ten thousand pandals are set up in Kolkata alone.
It was during 18th century that worship of goddess Durga became popular in Bengal.

Durga Puja in Kolkata

Durga Puja is the biggest festival of the Bengalis and is celebrated with full zest and fervour in Bengal. It is no longer a religious festival, it is now a great social festival. Visitors can see that during the festival, Bengalis socialize in a great way. They can be seen preparing for this great event a month or two in advance and can be seen busy for welcoming relatives, friends, purchasing clothes, gifts, preparing sweets and giving new look to their homes. Puja pandals are the main attractions during the festival and can be seen at every street corner.The exquisite pandals made in a grand manner depict the architectural splendors, leaving the viewers awe-struck. The light work in the pandals are also superb. The idols of Goddess Durga, Kartick, Ganesh, Saraswati, Lakshmi and Mahisasur in the pandals are marvelous and attract visitors in large numbers. The festival starts with the Mahalaya. With the inauguration on Mahashasthi, the main puja is observed for three days i.e.-Mahasaptmi, Mahaastami, Mahanavami followed by mantras, shlokas and aarti. In the last day, in dashami farewell is offered to the Goddess and images are carried in processions and finally is immersed in nearby river or lake.

Durga Puja in Kullu

Kullu Dussehra is celebrated every year in October in the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh. This seven- day festival begins in a grand style on Vijaydashmi. Colorful processions of village dieties from all parts of the valley are brought to Kullu to pay homage to Lord Ragunath. On the first day the idol of Lord Raghunath is placed in the elegant chariot along with the village dieties in decorated palanquins. The chariot is then pulled from Dhalpur Maidan by the huge crowds, with the help of ropes to another spot where it stays for next six days. Pulling the ropes is considered sacred by the local people. On the last day the chariot of Lord Raghunath is taken to the banks of river Beas, where a pile of wood and grass is set to fire which symbolises the burning of Lanka. After that the chariot is taken back to its original place. The weak long festival ends with the sacrifice of a buffalo and a lamb. During the seven days one can see the public busy in shopping, singing, dancing and enjoying the festival.

Durga Puja in Mysore

Mysore Dussehra is a 10-day-long festival and is celebrated in the honour of Goddess Chamudeswari who killed Mahishasur. Being the family diety of the royal house of Mysore, her idol is taken in procession. Decorated elephant procession carrying the idol of goddess Chamundi pulls in tourists in large numbers to Mysore. The festival is followed by several cultural programmes in the Durbar hall of the Maharaja's Palace. One can also see the floating festival in the temple tank at the foot of Chamundi hill and Rath Yatra around the Chamudeswari temple. A torch light parade is the major attraction of this 10-day festival.