Durga Puja, Bengal’s grandest festival today, has a history as layered as the rituals themselves. One popular account credits Raja Kangsanarayan of Taherpur with organizing the first grand royal Durga Puja in the late 16th century. Appointed as Diwan of Bengal and Bihar under Emperor Akbar, Kangsanarayan later retired to Rajshahi and turned to religion and philanthropy. There, he invited Brahmin scholars to perform a great yajna. Among them, the noted scholar Ramesh Shastri declared that the only sacrifice permissible in that era was the worship of Goddess Durga. With his guidance, Kangsanarayan arranged a lavish Durga Puja, said to have cost over 8.5 lakh rupees—a spectacle that left a lasting impression and inspired other zamindars and rajas to follow suit.

But was this truly the “first” Durga Puja? Scholars now suggest otherwise. References in earlier texts and traditions reveal that Durga was already worshipped in Bengal, though perhaps on a smaller scale. What Kangsanarayan achieved was to elevate the puja into a public, grand, and socially significant celebration—thus reshaping its place in cultural memory.

Evidence points to much deeper roots. The 16th-century scholar Raghunandan codified Durga Puja rituals in his Durga Puja Tattva, drawing from Purāṇas, Smriti texts, and local customs. His work reflects practices already well established in Bengal. Even earlier, the Mrinmoyee temple puja in Bishnupur, started by King Jagatmalla in 997 CE, demonstrates a unique tradition of Durga worship with distinct idol forms and arrangements, still followed today.

There are also stories of Nityananda Prabhu, disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, performing Durga Puja at Khardah—long before Kangsanarayan’s era. These examples show that Durga Puja is not a modern invention, but an evolving practice, shaped by rulers, saints, and scholars across centuries.

Thus, while Kangsanarayan’s magnificent puja popularized the festival and gave it royal grandeur, Bengal’s devotion to Durga reaches back to ancient roots. Over time, ritual transformed into tradition, and tradition blossomed into the dazzling cultural phenomenon we know today—Durga Puja, the heartbeat of Bengal.

Image Courtesy : Sayan Biswas (Please do not use without permission)