Durga Puja

The prince in Ayodhya, Rama, was banished to the forest by his father. Ravana, the king of Lanka, abducted his wife Sita in the absence of Rama and his brother Lakshmana and a fierce battle ensued between Rama and Ravana. Rama became helpless when Ravana could not be defeted and hence decided to seek the blessings of Goddess Durga, Lord Shiva's wife, in order to defeat Ravana who is devout follower of Shiva. Rama started worshiping of Durga which transformed to the form of Durga puja. The actual time of Durga Puja is in spring which is called Basanti puja but as Rama was in hurry so he started the Puja in the middle of autumn which is called Akal Bodhon (untimely worship). This puja is the biggest festival in West Bengal, India. In the other part of India, it is also named as Dashera or Navaratri. This is the story behind the Durga puja.