Chokkudaan — Bringing Maa Durga To Life
The beautiful idols of Durga Maa in West Bengal for Durga Puja/Pujo never fail to mesmerize us. The sight of Goddess Durga, elegant, graceful and in all her glory is a sight to behold. Durga Puja is no longer just a religious festival of the Hindus where beautiful idols of Goddess Durga are worshipped with great grandeur. It has become a social festival touching everyone’s emotional chord and bringing people together on this grand festive.
Artisans begin preparing Durga Maa idols way ahead before the Durga Puja. It is truly a sheer wonderful experience to tour the picturesque potter’s lane in Kumortuli in Kolkata. There are different stages involved in the process of idol making. Among them one of the most important and special rituals is the painting of Maa Durga’s eyes on the idol which is called as “Chokkudaan”.
In Hinduism, Chokkudaan is one of the significant special ritual of painting the eyes of the goddess, inviting her to descend on earth. With the eyes being offered to Durga Goddess, the idol comes to life. Chokku Daan, which means offering the eyes to Durga idol has a special significance. Painting the eyes of the goddess is not done on any given random day.
This ritual of “Chokkudaan” takes place only on the auspicious day of Mahalaya at the break of the dawn.
Mahalaya marks the end of 16 day period known as Pitru Paksha.
Pitru Paksha is a period/phase during which the Hindus pay homage to their ancestors and this period is generally considered in-auspicious.
The day of Mahalaya not only marks the culmination of the Pitru Paksha period but is also the beginning of the Devi Paksha.
Devi Paksha phase holds a special significance for all Hindus especially Bengalis as it is the beginning of Navratri and Durga Puja festival.
Why Chokkudaan on Mahalaya
The meaning of the term Mahalaya itself should convey us why that day is considered very auspicious for a ritual like Chokkudaan.
Mahalaya is actually a combination of two words. “Maha” — means GRAND and “Alaya” — means ABODE.
Because of the significant auspicious events to have taken place in Hinduism on the day of Mahalaya prior to days before Durga Puja, the painting of Goddess’s eyes takes place on this particular day.
Legendary Tales About Mahalaya
- Goddess Durga with her children, Ganesh, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartikeya is believed to have stepped on planet earth on this day. Celebrations for Durga Puja begin seven days after Mahalaya. However in the year 2020 as per Hindu calendar, due to Adhik Maas this year Durga Puja will be delayed by a month after Mahalaya. Fact: Hindu leap year is inclusive of one extra month.
- Another belief around Mahalaya is that on this day Goddess Durga descended on earth and started the fight against evil, so the eyes on the idols of the goddess are drawn on this day. Offering eyes to goddess Durga by beautifully painting them is an extremely important step done in the wee hours of Mahalaya morning.
- Mahalaya is also known as “Akaal Bodhan”, Sanskrit term meaning uncustomary time (Akaal) for invocation (Bodhan) of Goddess Durga. The belief around this is Lord Rama during an unconventional time needed to invoke Goddess Durga to get her blessings to win the battle against the demon Ravana. He organized a ritual where he had to offer 108 blue lotus flowers to Goddess, but he could acquire only 107 flowers. He then prepared to sacrifice one of his eyes, which is also compared to a blue lotus. Upon this great sacrifice of Lord Rama Goddess Durga pleased with his devotion blessed him with victory in his battle to vanquish and slain the demon Ravana.
So for the various tales mentioned above, it gets interesting to know why such a special custom such as Chokkhudaan takes place only on Mahalaya and is celebrated with so much splendour and gusto.
On the dawn of Mahalaya idol makers who have been working for days prior to this day sculpting and chiselling the statue of Durga, paint the eyes of the Maa Durga. Finally after days of making the Durga idols, the makers in the wee hours of Mahalaya apply their masterstroke which is painting the eyes of Goddess.
- This ritual is supposed to be done in darkness and in the presence of only one sculptor and no one else.
- This is one of the ancient ritual which is done only by the main sculptor, one who is extremely skilled having steady hands, concentration and fortitude.
- Because of this expertise of the talented sculptor it is possible that viewed from anywhere in the puja pandal, it so appears to us that Maa Durga’s eyes are looking at us! This is a sheer wonder due to the skilled mastery and immense talent of the experienced sculptor.
The next time you visit a puja pandal, be sure to pay close attention to the craftsmanship details that goes into making these gorgeous idols to be life like.
Happy Durga Puja!
