Bipadtarini Puja

Very few urban Bengalis know that many parts of rural Bengal, including those around Kolkata, celebrate today as the first day of the holy month of Shravan and also for Bipadtarini Ma's fast and puja. She is one of 108 incarnations of Durga and is noted for her special capacity to remove dangers and hurdles in life. The goddess is, therefore, called Sankat (problem) Nashini (remover) ot Maa Bipat (danger) Tarini (saviour). This goddess is worshipped along with a rigorous fast, on the Saturday (today) and Tuesday that fall between the Rath Yatra and the Uttar Rath Yatra. Many Hindu women observe this fast to remove all the dangers in the world. The special rule of this puja is that everything has to be offered to the goddess in 13 pieces. Usually, a ghat (pitcher) is covered with Amra Pallava or mango leaves and a Daab or green coconut — along with an offering of 13 knotted red threads (with special dried Durba grass), 13 types of flowers, 13 types of fruits, 13 betel leaves and 13 supuri or betel nuts. According to popular belief, if one worships this goddess with devotion, She can get rid of any danger. The purity and intensity of the fast is one sign of devotion. People eat only vegetarian food on the day before the fast. After the puja, devotees eat 13 luchis (deep fried and puffed flour savouries) and 13 types of fruits as prasad. After the puja, the 13 knotted red thread (dor) offered at the feet of goddess is tied around the hand. The red threads are worn on the left wrist of girls and on the right hand of men — and the treads are usually kept on the wrist for at least three days. It is obviously a folk ritual that was accorded legitimacy by Brahmanical tradition by declaring the goddess to be a form of Durga. Shravan heralds all the dangers that monsoons can bring — from floods to snakes slithering all over and from house collapses to boat mishaps. It is the most opportune time to worship someone who can get rid of obstacles and dangers.