Our Durga Puja – Part 2
WHAT IS ‘SANDHI’ IN DURGA PUJA
As a child, I was quite naive. There are so many examples of this that they could outshine the childhood foolishness of the revered author Manik Bandopadhyay. However, that doesn’t mean I’ve become very clever now. Even now, I tend to trust people easily. When my naivety is exposed, I try to cover it up with excuses of positivity. In other words, being naive is my ambition.
Just like fools think of themselves as smart, I too used to think I was pretty clever. I would ask random questions. What everyone understood, I didn’t, and that continues to this day. I used to think, “How foolish the elders are! Why do they perform the evening puja (Sandhya Puja) in the afternoon? Those who write scriptures must not have any brains.”
One day, I asked a neighbourhood elder, who happened to be a local political leader, this question. He said, “You fool! It’s not ‘Sandhya Puja’ (evening worship); it’s ‘Sandhi Puja’—meaning ‘treaty.’ Do you know what a treaty is? Of course you don’t, you don’t study at all. You just wander around all day.”
Fearfully, I replied, “I know that a treaty means an agreement. One day, my father was explaining to some people about why the ‘Shimla Treaty’ happened. I had asked him what the word treaty meant.”
“Wow, you’re smarter than you seem! Exactly, it’s a treaty between Durga and the demons, meaning no more fighting and all that.”
I couldn’t quite digest that idea. If a treaty was made, and then Durga killed the demons anyway, isn’t that unfair? My sense of justice was strong even back then. It still is, my friends often say that my ethics and honesty are my biggest proof of foolishness.
But if the wise neighbourhood leader said it, it must be true. After all, political leaders are the wisest people, right? There was no room to question them back then, nor is there much room now, at least they believe so. And this idea of making a treaty and then betraying it seems to happen all the time in our political parties. Before elections, there’s a treaty; after elections, there’s a betrayal.
Anyway, though I was a little angry with Durga, my respect for the neighbourhood leader grew.
As I grew older, my overthinking started. Now, I have to dive deep into everything. Lately, I’ve learned a bit of English, so I keep saying ‘think deep’ in both my office and neighbourhood circles. I’ve even written a book’Thnk Deep’, on it.
Just like today’s AI can provide the right answers to any question, I had someone like that in my life, my father. In my childhood, I noticed that in the 80s and 90s, those who held high posts or became ministers in Bengal used to sit on the floor by my father’s bedside in the 70s (or earlier), absorbing knowledge about Das Kapital, international relations, neighbouring countries, or the politics and economy of our nation. As the youngest child, I had a wild card entry to any discussion, and I could ask any question I wanted.
One day, I asked my father, “Isn’t it unfair that after making a treaty, Durga still killed the demons?”
My father laughed and explained, “‘Sandhi’ here doesn’t mean ‘treaty’; it means ‘junction or connection.’ Just like Sushruta, the world’s first surgeon said that the human body has hundreds of junctions between bones, similarly, the ‘Sandhi-khan’ refers to the connection between two time periods.”
My father wasn’t much of a devotee, and we didn’t celebrate too many rituals at home, except for Saraswati Puja. We four siblings would offer our anjali (prayers) together. We’d get Lakshmi’s blessings cheaply at our aunt’s house, where we’d help make coconut naru (sweets), and as the youngest in the family, I’d get a few even before the puja started. After all, they say God resides in children.
Anyway, after learning from my father and doing some reading myself, here’s what I’ve gathered in my own words:
The moment connecting Ashtami (the eighth day) and Navami (the ninth day) is called the ‘Sandhi khan’. This is a key part of Durga Puja. It spans 24 minutes of Ashtami and 24 minutes of Navami, totaling 48 minutes. During this time, Durga takes on her fierce form as ‘Chandi’. Hence, during ‘Sandhi Puja’, Durga is worshipped as Goddess ‘Chamunda’. After taking on the ‘Chamunda’ form, Durga (or Chamunda) slays the two generals of ‘Mahishasura’, ‘Chanda’ and ‘Munda’. Then, riding her lion, Durga slays ‘Mahishasura’. It is said that Mahishasura sought liberation from his evil powers by being slain by Durga. This isn’t murder, but a form of surrender, something we also see later in the Ramayana, when Ravana surrenders his life to Rama.
What a beautiful story. A metaphor for the eternal struggle between truth and falsehood, unmatched anywhere in the world.
Knowing this deepened my reverence for Durga. The four days of Durga Puja are a symbolic expression of the destruction of evil forces and the promotion of good thoughts. This battle between good and evil still continues. There are still many people who embody the demon-like qualities of Mahishasura, and there are still some who fight against these evil forces. This fight will never end, but it brings peace of mind to know which side I, or we, are on.
—Subrata Haldar
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