Mahalaya Puja Vidhi and Vrat Katha - Know the Rituals and History of Mahalaya

According to the Hindu calendar, Mahalaya begins on the new moon of Ashwin month. Mahalaya is considered the first day of Durga Puja. According to belief, on this day people pay homage to ancestors. Shraadh of people suffering from premature death is also done on this day.

Know what is the meaning of Mahalaya

The original meaning of Mahalaya is the call of the total deities and ancestors. Pitra Paksha Tithi takes place for 15 days and all fathers are immersed on Mahalaya. On Amavasya, Pitar visits Pindadan and Shradh at the door of his daughter. Pitras should perform pindadan and tilanjali. People worship and ancestors of ancestors on Amavasya. The water and bodies given to them are received by the fathers.

The gods leave their place in the Pitru Paksha. The ancestors reside in the place of the gods for 15 days. On the day of Mahalaya, Pitar goes to his house after receiving Pinddaan and Tilanjali from his daughter-in-law and blessing his son and family with happiness, peace and prosperity. From Mahalaya, the deity then resides in his place. In Pitru Paksha, worship of ancestors is done for 15 days, not of deities. The worship of deities begins from Mahalaya.

Mahalaya Puja Vidhi: Method of Worship

Pitru Visarjan Amavasya is also known as Mahalaya. In Hinduism, there is a belief that ancestors who do not know the date of death are worshiped on Mahalaya or Pitripaksha Amavasya. It falls on the new moon of Ashwin month. This festival, which comes seven days before Durga Puja, is considered to be the end of Pitrupaksha and the beginning of Durga Puja. It is also believed that on this day, Mother Durga starts her journey to Earth from Kailash.

This is how to leave fathers - According to the Garun Purana, fathers want family members to pay obeisance to them on the day of Mahalaya. It is believed that the ancestors descend on the earth during the 16 days of Pitrupaksha and farewell to them on Amavasya. For the good luck of the fathers.

• first of all, take a bath in the morning and prepare satvik food with a pure mind. 
• On this day everyone remembers their fathers and offers food to them. 
• Kheer and puri must be included in this meal made without garlic onion. 
• For the cow, for the dog, for the ant, for the crow and for the gods, remove the food beforehand. 
• After this, provide food to the Brahmins. 
• Food and clothes are donated in the puja mandap. 
• Food for fathers is made in silver or copper utensils. 
• These meals are then fed in a bowl made of banana leaves and dry leaves. 
• Mostly kheer, rice, lentils, gaur, and sitaphal are offered in food.
• After the meal, do tilak of the Brahmin and give them alms with reverence. 
• After this, have a meal with all the family members and pray for the peace of the ancestors' souls. It is believed that if the ancestors leave happy and happy, then they take away all the family's troubles with them.

Mahalaya Vrat Katha: Story of Mahalaya

As legends have it, Mahishasura was a king with the head of a buffalo. He was a staunch worshipper of Lord Brahma. After years of penance by Mahishasura, Brahma was lastly pleased and offered him a want. Mad with energy, Mahishasura demanded immortality. His wish was that he shouldn't be killed by a "man or animal" on the face of Earth. Brahma granted him this wish, and then told him {that a} lady will be the finish of him.

Mahishasura believed that there isn't a lady on this planet who may trigger him any hurt. The legend continues, Mahishasura, high on the power of "immortality", attacked Trilok (the three worlds of earth, heaven and hell) together with his army. He even tried to capture Indralok (the dominion of Lord Indra).

The gods determined to wage a warfare on Mahishasura however due to Lord Brahma's boon no one was able to defeat him. The gods thus approached Lord Vishnu for assist. After contemplating the situation, Lord Vishnu decided to create a female form to defeat Mahishasura. But since Lord Shiva is the god of destruction, they consulted with him. Brahma, Vishnu, nd Shiva mixed all their powers together to give birth to Durga.

Goddess Durga then fought Mahishasura over an interval of fifteen days throughout which he kept altering his form to develop into totally different animals and misled her. Finally when he transformed right into a buffalo, Goddess Durga stabbed him with her trident and that was the end of him. Mahishasura was defeated and killed on the day of Mahalaya.

This story is broadly narrated throughout Durga Puja.

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