On the morning of Ashtami, at Belur Math on the western bank of the Hooghly and in a number of pujas across Bengal, a young girl is led to a decorated seat before the goddess. She wears a red sari, her feet are painted with alta, and she is garlanded and crowned. Then the priest worships her with flowers, lamps, incense and food, just as he would worship the goddess. For that hour she is Durga.
Why a girl
The idea behind Kumari Puja is that the goddess is present in every woman, and the rite honours her in her purest form, in a girl who has not yet grown up. The girl is called the kumari, and older texts give her a different name for each year of her age, as if each age were a form of the goddess of its own.
For the girl and her family it is a great honour, and for the people watching it is one of the most moving moments of the Puja: thousands of adults bowing to a child.
Belur Math
In October 1901, Swami Vivekananda held the first Durga Puja in an image at Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Order he had founded, and he included a Kumari Puja. The tradition continues there today, and it is now the best known Kumari Puja in Bengal, drawing vast crowds every Ashtami.
Many older pujas, including some bonedi bari, hold a Kumari Puja of their own, usually smaller and quieter, among family and neighbours.
If you go to Belur Math
- Arrive very early. The grounds fill long before the rite begins, and the Ashtami crowds are among the largest of the Puja.
- The ferry from Dakshineswar crosses the river to the Math, and Dakshineswar is the northern end of the Blue Line metro.
- Dress modestly, follow the volunteers, and check the Math’s own notices for this year’s timings and any rules on photography.
- Check this year’s Ashtami date in the schedule before you plan the trip.