Maha Saptami 7 Shukla Paksha

The Maha Puja (Grand Ceremony) begins on Maha Saptami. There is a Durga Puja, a Hindu festival, which is held with great pomp and celebrates the 10-armed goddess and her victory over the evil buffalo demon 'Mahishasura'.

India celebrates a 10-day Durga Puja festival with great enthusiasm and spirit. Maha Saptami is the seventh day of this festival, and Saptami means 'seven' in Sanskrit. The Maha Puja of Durga Puja begins on the day of Maha Saptami.

It is said that the battle between Goddess Durga and the demon king Mahishasura began on this day and ended on Vijaya Dashami, the 10th and last day of the Durga Puja festival with the victory of the goddess over the demon.

There is another legend surrounding the celebration of this day. It is believed that Lord Rama prayed to Goddess Durga before his battle with the demon king Ravana, who abducted his wife Sita. This puja was to be performed with 100 blue lotus flowers; however, Lord Rama could only find 99.

To complete the puja, he plucked out his own blue eye and offered it to the goddess in place of the missing lotus. Goddess Durga was pleased with this devotion and showered her blessings on him, which helped him win against Ravana. This battle took place on the seventh day of the month of Ashwin.

Durga Puja is associated with traditional rituals, such as Navapatrika, where nine plants are bathed in the Ganges before sunrise. These nine plants are turmeric, bel, Ashoka, jayanti, pomegranate, banana, paddy, colocasia and arum. The second ritual is Mahasnan, where a mirror is treated as the personification of Goddess Durga and given a ritual bath.

The last ritual is the Prana Prathishta, where a pot filled with holy water and covered with a coconut surrounded by five mango leaves is placed in front of the idol of the goddess, followed by the chanting of divine hymns. Finally, the goddess is worshipped with the help of 16 special objects.