https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Akaal_bodhanAkaal bodhan - Revision history2026-07-31T14:46:49ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Akaal_bodhan&diff=181148&oldid=prev>Salil Kumar Mukherjee at 13:30, 9 August 20212021-08-09T13:30:24Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Hatnote|This article is not about [[Durga Puja]]; it is about the term and the theme Akaal Bodhan.}}<br />
[[File:Akalbodhan Venus Club 2010 Arnab Dutta.JPG|thumb|A scene of 'Akaal Bodhan' the untimely realization of Durga by Rama as described in the Krittivasi Ramayana; Puja mandap of Khidirpur Venus Club, Kolkata, 2010.]]<br />
'''Akaal Bodhan''' ({{lang-bn|অকাল বোধন}}) is the worship of [[Durga]]—an incarnation of [[Devi]]—in the month of [[Ashwin]], an uncustomary time for commencement of the worship.<br />
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==Etymology==<br />
Both the words ''Akaal'' and ''Bodhan'' are [[Sanskrit]] words, which are also included in many other Indian languages, such as like [[Bengali language|Bengali]] and [[Hindi]]. The word ''Akaal'' means untimed (''kaal''=time and ''a''=not) and the word ''Bodhan'' means worship or invocation. Thus, ''Akaal Bodhan'' means worship or invocation of [[Durga]] in an uncustomary time. It is given this name since the period of this worship differs from the conventional period, which is during the spring ([[Vasanta (Ritu)|Basant]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Akaal Bodhan Article|url=http://www.durga-puja.org/what-the-epics-say-akalbodhan.html}}</ref><br />
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==Akaal Bodhan==<br />
In the ''[[Ramayana]]'', [[Rama]] goes to [[Lanka]] to rescue his abducted wife, [[Sita]], from the grip of [[Ravana]], the king of the Demons in Lanka. Before starting for his battle with Ravana, Rama wanted the blessings of Devi Durga. He came to know that the Goddess would be pleased only if she is worshipped with 108 Neel Kamal (blue lotuses). After travelling far flung places, Rama could gather only one hundred and seven of them. He finally decided to offer one of his eyes, which resembled blue lotuses. Durga, being pleased with the devotion of Rama, appeared before him and blessed him. Devi took the form of Chandi to kill demon brothers Chanda and Munda. Chanda and his brother Munda could not be killed in day time or at night so the Sandhi-kshna was chosen to kill them(i.e., the crossover period between [[Ashtami]] [the next day] and [[Navami]] [the day after]). Ravana was killed on the tenth day, [[Dashami]]. Since the period of this worship was different from the conventional period, this [[puja (Hinduism)|puja]] is also known as ''Akal-Bodhan''; a worship (''Bodhan'') in an unconventional time (''A-Kaal'').<ref>{{cite web|title=Akaal Bodhan Article|url=http://www.ganguly.de/durgapuja/mytho.html|accessdate=2 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_books/413.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305104013/http://asi.nic.in/asi_books/413.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Durga Puja]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{HinduFestivals}}<br />
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[[Category:Durga Puja]]<br />
[[Category:Shaktism]]</div>>Salil Kumar Mukherjee