Durga Puja is here everyone. Maa Durga will be staying with us for 10 days before returning to her abode in the mountains of Kailash. All of us have at least heard of Durga Puja. We all know that celebrations beyond boundations take place during this event. But very few of us know the stories and legends associated with the eternal goddess.

Goddess Durga represents a united front of all Divine forces against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. The demon-king Mahishashur had attained great power. He was ready to attack the realm of the Gods.

In order to counter him, the gods in the heavens decided to create an all-powerful being. A stream of divine light flowed out of the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. That light turned into a beautiful, magnificent woman with ten hands. That was the creation of Goddess Durga.

All the Gods furnished her with their special weapons. This image of Durga Puja and Goddess Durga fighting against Mahishashur is symbolic of the final confrontation of the spiritual urge of man with his baser passions.

Both of the Indian epics, namely Ramayana and Mahabharata, pay homage to Goddess Durga. This shows us her importance in the Indian pantheon of the divines.

Another lesser known tale is of Kautsa. He was the young son of Devdutt. He insisted on his guru Varatantu to accept ‘gurudakshina’. After much persistence, the guru said that he would accept 14 crore gold coins. One crore each for the 14 sciences he had taught him. It was Indra who made gold coins rain on ‘shanu’ and ‘apati’ trees. This happened on the day of Dusshera. The custom of looting ‘apati’ leaves is still alive to this day.

Durga Puja is a celebration for entire India. It has so many legends and stories associated with it that it would be impossible to narrate them all in one go. Tell us about your favourite legends connected to Durga Puja.