Mahalaya marks the spiritual dawn of Durga Puja across Bangladesh

Sanatan devotees across Bangladesh ushered in Mahalaya on Sunday with reverence and joy, marking the sacred beginning of Sharadiya Durgotsab, the grandest festival of the traditional Hindu faith. Mahalaya signifies the celestial descent of Goddess Durga to Earth, heralding the countdown to Durga Puja, which formally commences on September 28 with Shashthi Puja. On this auspicious day, the divine invocation of Goddess Durga is performed through the recitation of Chandipath, the sacred scripture narrating her cosmic creation. According to mythology, it was on Mahalaya that the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva conjured Mahamaya, the invincible feminine force, to vanquish the demon Mahishasura who, blessed with a boon that no man or god could kill him, had seized control of...