Akalabodhana () or Akal Bodhan () is the worship of

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

—an incarnation of

Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...

—in the month of

Ashvin Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; ; Malay/ Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar Tamil calendar, where it is known as Aippasi, and the solar Indian nation ...

, an uncustomary time for commencement of her worship.

Etymology

''Akala'' and ''bodhana'' are both derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word ''akālabodhana'', which are also included in many other Indo-Aryan languages. The word ''Akala'' means untimely, and ''bodhana'' means awakening. Akalabodhana refers to the untimely awakening of the goddess Durga for her worship.

Legend

According to the Bengali version of

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

, when

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

awakened

Kumbhakarna Kumbhakarna (Sanskrit: कुम्भकर्ण, lit. ''pot-eared'') is a powerful rakshasa and younger brother of Ravana from the Hinduism, Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Despite his gigantic size and appetite, he is described as a virtuous c ...

and sent him to fight in the Lanka war,

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

was terrified.

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

assured Rama and told him to worship Durga for success on the battlefield. Rama told Brahma that this was not the proper time (''akala'') to worship the goddess as it was the

Krishna Paksha Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the ''purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, an ...

(waning moon), prescribed for her sleep. Brahma assured Rama that he would perform a ''puja'' for the awakening (''bodhana'') of the goddess. Rama agreed and appointed Brahma as the

purohita Purohita (), in the Hindu context, means '' chaplain'' or ''family priest'' within the Vedic priesthood. In Thailand and Cambodia, it refers to the royal chaplains. A ''tīrthapurohit'' is a priest/ritual performer (''purohit'') at a sacred si ...

(priest) of the ritual. Brahma performed the puja from the period of Krishna Navami till the death of the Ravana, during Shukla Navami. Following the instructions of Brahma, Rama praised the goddess by uttering Katyanaya hymn. Brahma uttered the Devi Sukta from the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

to please Durga. Pleased, the goddess appeared and declared that a great war between Rama and Ravana would occur between Shukla Saptami to Shukla Navami. On saptami, she aanounced that she would enter Rama's bow and arrows. When ashtami (eighth day) would end and navami (ninth day) would begin, she proclaimed that she would cut Ravana's heads one after another. Finally, she assured that in the afternoon of Shukla Navami, she would destroy Ravana completely. In a Bengali rendering of the ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'' legend,

travelled to

Lanka Lanka (; ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary Rakshasa king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks kn ...

to rescue his abducted wife,

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

, from

, the

rakshasa Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as ...

king. Ravana was a devotee of Durga, who worshipped her in a temple in Lanka. However, angered by the abduction of Sita, a form of the great goddess, Durga shifted her loyalties to Rama. When Rama grew intimidated by the prospect of war,

counselled him to worship Durga, who would bless him with courage. Rama worshipped Durga underneath a ''

bilva ''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as bael (or ''bili'' or ''bhel''), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is present i ...

'' tree, chanting the Devi Sukta and other Tantric hymns for her propitiation. Pleased, Durga appeared before Rama and blessed him with victory, and the boon of being able to slay Ravana. Armed with a weapon granted to him by Durga, Rama was able to kill Ravana and rescue his wife.

References

{{HinduFestivals Durga Puja Shaktism

Etymology

Legend

See also

References