‘Kumari Puja’ is not happening today
Today is Maha Ashtami, the biggest festival of the Bengali Hindu religion. In Mahaashtami, worship of Goddess Durga on Maha Ashtami is being held on Wednesday morning (today). However, in the situation caused by the coronavirus, the leaders of the Dhaka Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Udjapan Committee (DMSPC) have said that the main attraction of Maha Ashtami is not being performed at the Ramakrishna Mission and Math in the capital like last time.
At the end of MahaAshtami, the five-day Durga festival will end on Thursday with Maha Nabami and on Friday with Vijaya Dashami. Meanwhile, the Maha Saptami Puja of Goddess Durga was held on Tuesday morning with the entry of new papers and playing drums and brass.
According to the scriptures, Goddess Durga is worshiped in Maha Saptami with sixteen upachars i.e. sixteen elements. In the morning the eyes of Trinayani Devi are given. At the same time the goddess is worshiped with seats, clothes, offerings, bathing, garlands and sandalwood. At the end of the worship, the devotees placed wreaths at the feet of the goddess in the hope of gaining her favor. On Maha Saptami yesterday, people flocked to the puja-mandaps of the capital in the morning. The organizers think that the number of visitors will increase in Maha Ashtami today. On the day of Maha Saptami, clothes are distributed among the needy at the National Dhakeswari Temple.
According to the calendar, the puja of Goddess Durga will start at 6:45 am today. Sandhipuja will be held between 8:14 am and 9:02 am on this day. This puja is held at the juncture of the eighth and ninth dates. Besides, Kumari Puja is held on Maha Ashtami. There is a clear mention of Kumari Puja in Devi Purana. Kumari Puja is held every year at several places including Ramakrishna Math and Mission. Due to corona infection, Kumari Puja is not being done this year like last year. However, Kumari Puja will be held at Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Matulalay Sri Sri Sachiangan Dham in Jaipur village of Bahubal upazila of Sylhet.
Shailendra Nath Majumder, president of the DMSPC told the media that although the Corona situation was under control, he had been asked to refrain from cultural events and other events as a precaution. This time Kumari Puja is not being done in Ramakrishna Mission and Math.