Kumari Puja today

The Hindu devotees are observing  Mahashtami and Kumari Puja today (Sunday) as a part of Durga Puja, the biggest annual religious festival of the community.

Kumari Puaj is the rite of making offerings to a young girl who represents the goddess Durga.

A seven-year-old girl will be selected to represent Durga at Ramkrishna Mission and placed in the goddess` seat, sources said.

Hindu scripture allows girls aged between one year and 16 years to be a model of the goddess Durga during the rite.

The Kumari will be given a bath, adorned with new clothes, and decorated with flower garlands, ornaments and cosmetics before being presented before devotees.

Thousands of Hindu devotees will throng puja mandaps throughout the country to celebrate Kumari Puja. The celebrations mark the triumph of good over evil.

The worshipped girl symbolises the power that regulates creation, stability and destruction on earth.

The goddess is bathed symbolically and dressed for the final battle. It is believed that on this day, Durga killed the demon.

 

Dhaka/Mukul