In his teachings, Sage Medhas first narrated the tale of Mahishasuramardini, the slayer of the buffalo demon, followed by the story of Chanda and Munda’s destruction. He proclaimed that Devi Chandi, consort of the Supreme Brahman, is the great cosmic power whose worship alone rescues humanity from suffering and peril.
At the sage’s advice, Raja Surath and the merchant Samadhi sculpted clay images of the Goddess and worshipped her in the season of spring. Thus began the tradition of Basanti Puja. Centuries later, when Sri Rama worshipped Durga in autumn before his battle with Ravana, this worship took root as the more popular form—what we now know as Sharadiya Durga Puja.
Surath and Samadhi worshipped the Goddess with austerities for three long years—sometimes fasting, sometimes partaking in little food, and offering animal sacrifice with single-minded devotion. At last, pleased with their penance, the Goddess blessed them: Surath regained his lost kingdom, having prayed for earthly power, while Samadhi, who wished not to return to his family but instead longed for liberation, was granted the path of yoga.
Their story became the model of refuge in times of crisis. Just as they turned to the Goddess, so too did Sri Vishnu advise Rama to invoke Durga before confronting Ravana. Following the counsel of Ravana’s brother Vibhishana, Rama sought to worship her with 108 blue lotuses. Hanuman gathered them from Devi Daha, but at the time of worship, only 107 were found. Determined not to fail, Rama resolved to offer his own lotus-like blue eye in place of the missing flower. At that moment, the Goddess appeared, moved by his devotion, and blessed him with victory. To this day, it is believed that anyone who remembers and praises the Goddess with single-hearted devotion during times of trial is delivered from adversity by her grace.
From a geographical and ritual perspective, the scriptures note that the most sacred time for divine worship is from late December until late June, the period of Uttarayan when the gods are said to be awake and active. Days grow longer, nights shorter, and the Chaitra month was once prescribed for Durga’s worship. By contrast, Dakshinayan—autumn—was considered the gods’ time of rest. Here, nights grow longer, days shorter, and asuras were believed to grow stronger. Thus, Rama’s invocation of Durga in autumn was outside the conventional order, and the practice became known as Akal Bodhan, or the untimely invocation.
Other traditions add that it was Indra himself who first performed Akal Bodhan to summon Durga against Mahishasura. Some say Brahma, too, invoked her prematurely before Rama’s worship, for the same cause. Perhaps that is why, even today, during Akal Bodhan the eight fierce forms of the Goddess—Ugrachanda, Prachanda, Chandogra, Chandanayika, Chanda, Chandavati, Chandarupa, and Atichandika—are especially worshipped.
Image Courtesy : Sayan Biswas (Please do not use without permission)
