Your archive
From the archive record
On the last day of Durga Puja also known as Vijayadashmi, everyone gets ready to bid Goddess Durga adieu. Devotees are given rice from the sack offered to Maa Durga as a symbolic gesture from Goddess Laksmi. This ritual is called the Maha Laksmi prasad. According to Bengali legends, goddess Durga travels to her maika, or mother's home, once a year. The five days of her stay at the home of her parents, King Giriraj (Lord of the Mountains) and Menaka, are celebrated as Durga Puja in Bengal. Because it is a celebration, celebratory feasts that include Maa Durga's favourite foods are cooked up (hence the indulgence in meat and fish during these festivities). But on the last day of her stay, as Durga prepares to leave her parents to return to her parents-in-law's home, a few rituals take place
License this footage
Broadcast-quality masters are available from Wilderness Films India.
Keep exploring
ceremony · music
Devotees participate in a traditional Hindu religious ceremony featuring devotional singing, kirtan, and ritual worship inside a temple hall or community prayer space in India.
hills · festival
During the Jeetu Bagdwal festival in the Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand, villagers gather for a vibrant traditional ritual filled with folk songs, dancing, drumming and ceremonial performances.
Jharkhand·ceremony
Thousands of women devotees gather at Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, Jharkhand, during the Maha Shivaratri celebrations.
crafts · ceremony
An outdoor handicraft stall at a Nature Festival featuring a wide collection of traditional Indian brass sculptures and ritual objects.
festival · hills
During the Jeetu Bagdwal festival in the Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand, participants gather for a traditional folk ritual accompanied by singing, dancing, and the rhythmic beats of the dhol and other percussion instruments.
temple · ceremony
An award presentation takes place during a Krishna Janmashtami celebration at Yogmaya Temple in Mehrauli, Delhi.
music · ceremony
Devotees gather at Jagannath Mandir, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami with traditional kirtan, bhajans, and devotional worship.
ceremony · music
Devotees gather at Jagannath Mandir, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami with traditional aarti, kirtan, and devotional prayers.