Page:Durga Puja - With Notes and Illustrations.djvu/48

 Markandeya Purana. It is not optional, it is indeed a commandment, and it has what the Smarthas would call a Nityatva i. e., the omission is a sin, but it lias also a Kamyatva in it, i. e., if performed it is meritorious and may be performed with some object in view. The Kalika Purana says, whoever in the great festival of Durga does not worship the Devi whether from ignorance, vanity, or jealousy, or from any other cause, the wrath of the Goddess falls on him and destroys all his wishes. The Bhavishyottara Purana says, the gratification of Bhavani is the assurance of happiness for the whole year, is for the destruction of the spirits, goblins and ghosts, and also for the sake of festivity. The Devi Purana says, the meritorious effects of gratifying Durga even for half a minute, cannot be described by Mabesa, the five-faced, in a hundred years. Indeed, the Durgotsava is of all Hindu festivals, the most solemn and the most popular. Every Hindu, who can afford to enjoy the luxury of celebrating the festival, begins to make preparations for it from the commencement of the year. So dear is the festival to the Hindus of Bengal that few forego the pleasure of worshipping the autumnal Goddess. Should not the circumstances of any person permit him to worship the Goddess in the idols, in his own house, he