AGARTALA, Oct 17 (TIWN): Devotion, prayers, and dedication marked the beginning of the auspicious occasion of Maha-Ashtami at Durga Bari since Wednesday morning.Amidst huge enthusiasm and devotion, on the auspicious day of Maha-Astami, devotees observe rigorous fast and worship Goddess Durga and offered prayers at Durga Bari temple. Durga Ashtami celebrates the victory of Goddess over Buffalo Demon Mahishasura. According to Hindu mythologies it is said that Kaali Mata emerged from the forehead of Goddess Durga to kill Chanda and Munda Durga Puja at the Durgabari temple is funded and organised by the state government and the district magistrate of West Tripura is the main sevayat of the puja. When princely Tripura signed the instrument of accession with the Government of India on October 15, 1949, it was agreed that daily work at Durgabari temple, Tripureswari Kali Temple at Udaipur in Gomati district and some other temples would be funded and looked after by the state government.On Wednesday morning people moved out of their houses to offer Pushpanjali (a special kind of prayer) to Goddess Durga.

Thousands of people thronged to the puja pandals in their localities on the third day of weeklong festival in this part of India.

The ‘Pushpanjali’ began morning 9.30 am Durga bari temple. Large number of crowd was witnessed at the premises of the Durga bari temple to offer prayers to Goddess Durga.  Durga Puja is the biggest festival in the Eastern part of India when lakhs of people take on the streets to see the Durga idols and marquees.

The morning rush was seen even yesterday on the auspicious day of Maha Saptami. People gathered to offer morning prayers as the rituals began with ‘pran pratistha’.

With this process, the deity was symbolically endowed with life and invoked in a group of nine plants bunched together — the Navapatrika.

In Tripura many puja’s have been organised with diverse themes, lightings and decorations wooing the people.

However, The idol of Goddess Durga of Durga Bari temple is widely known among people for its distinctive structure of the Goddess Durga with only two hands at her back.The idol is distinctive because, mythology says that Goddess Durga won over the evil buffalo demon Mahisasura with ten hands. The puja started nearly 200 years ago by King Radha Kishore Manikya Bahadur in the Durgabari premises. It still enjoys state patronage with the state administration sanctioning lakhs of Rupees for the puja every year.

Interestingly, the goddess has only two arms at the Durgabari Temple where the rituals are 200 years old and is currently organized by the state's Communist government. In the early nineteenth century, Krishna Kishore Manikya Bahadur's queen fainted after seeing the goddess with ten arms.

Thereafter, on the advice of priests, Durga has only two hands visible while the remaining eight are hidden behind her back.

As per the age old tradition, a buffalo will also be sacrificed to Goddess Durga, which is every year given by state government to mark the win of good over evil at Durga Bari temple on the day of Navami.