Why Navaratri and Durga Puja Delayed in 2020!
The 11-day Ganesh Festival, celebrated all over
Maharashtra and other parts of the country, ushers in the festive season in India,
it normally falls during August-September every year as per the calculations of
the lunisolar Hindu Calendar. After the immersion on the 14th day of
the bright phase or the waxing moon phase or Shukla Paksha of the lunar
month, full moon or Purnima occurs the next day, and the following fortnight of
the darkening phase or the waning phase or Krishna Paksha is observed as
Pitru Paksha when people pay homage to their ancestors and perform the
main shradh or funeral rituals on the culminating day of the new moon or
Amavasya, that is Mahalaya. Next day, the brightening phase of the moon starts
again which is called Devi Paksha and during this divine fortnight of
the Goddess awakening, Navaratri and Durga Puja are celebrated. Hymns of Goddess
Durga resonate the air on the auspicious day of Mahalaya, and people of India,
energized by the sweet tinge of the Autumn season, immerse themselves in worshiping
their favorite Goddesses along with the festivities that effectively break all
religious and other barriers. However, this year 2020, after Mahalaya on
the 17th of September, Navaratri is not going to start from the next
day and Durga Puja not going to start six days later. You’ll have to wait
exactly a month for Navaratri and 35 days for Durga Puja. Most of us already
know this when both almanacs of the Hindu calendar agreed on this and announced
the delay during Durga Puja celebrations last year, that is 2019.
The basic reason for this delay is the fact that the
month of Ashwin that starts on September 17 happens to be mala maas or
unholy month as two new moons (Amavasya) occur during the 30 days, the
first Amavasya is the Mahalaya day on 17 September and the second one on
16th October. As per the holy scriptures, a month is considered unholy
if two new moons occur and all auspicious rituals except for funeral rites are
avoided. This phenomenon repeats itself approximately every 32.5 months as a result
of the intricate additions/omissions process of leap days and leap months in the
Hindu calendar, and a mala maas can be applicable to any of the 12
months. On earlier occasions, Ashwin had been the unholy month in 1982 and in
2001. Therefore in 2020, the nine-day Navaratri festivities are going to start
from October 17 and the Mahashasthi, the start of the five-day Durga
Puja, would be on the 22nd October;
both festivals falling in the month of Kartik. Vijay Dashami or Dussehra
is to be observed on October 26. The rest of the Indian festival calendar will
not be affected.
The Indian festive season began this year on a subdued
and sober note due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic. The government of
Maharashtra had appealed to all the devotees to avoid the usual festivities and
the idols were set to not exceed four feet in height. The most visited and the
famous Lalbaughchya Raja celebrations in Mumbai were cancelled well in
advance with the organizers announcing medical camps instead during the days. Excellent
arrangements were made on the immersion day with the state government providing
artificial ponds and water tankers at every nook and corner of Mumbai and the state,
most of the idols being eco-friendly. Indeed, idol makers bore the brunt of the
scaled-down festivities.
The scale of festivities during the upcoming Navaratri
and Durga Puja festivals is also caught in the agony of uncertainty with the
pandemic surge refusing to cooperate. This is also yet to be seen if the mala
maas delay would eventually help the organizers and the public participate
in the festivities more freely and wholeheartedly. The idol makers continue to
suffer though, with the usual flurry of activities and orders totally missing so
far.
Goddess Durga is believed to be a demon-killer and a destroyer
of all evil forces on earth. The mother-shakti forms of the Goddess descend on
earth every year with this very objective and the mortals on earth intone and
evoke the Devi’s wrath on the wrong-doers. People of India in 2020, caught up
in the throes of one of the worst years in history, would hope fervently that
the Goddess shower mercy on them and deliver them of the misery, sufferings and
deaths. However, the people must also observe the sacred duties on their part as
the challenging times demand. The wait goes on…
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