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 her in paintings or in the Ghata (an earthen pot of a peculiar form), or he sends his free-will and devotional offerings to the idols of his neighbours or relatives. On the eighth day of the moon i. e. on the second day of the Durgotsava offerings of rice, sugar, cocoanut, and various other fruits and flowers are made by every Hindu in Bengal. The Devi Purana says, this is a ceremony that can be celebrated by Brahmanas, Kshatrias, Vaisyas, Sudras, and by other slaves, also by various Mlechchhas, and Dasyus. Indeed, it is a national festival, and no native of any caste or creed can avoid the contagion of the jubilee. In the North-West, in the Punjab and in the Southern Presidency it is observed as a Navaratri (nine nights) festival.

The festival is celebrated according to the text of three Puranas viz., the Kalika Purana, the Devi Purana, and the Vrhannandikesvara Purana; the most elaborate of these is the last. There are three times of commencing the ceremony. From the waning ekadasi of Ashadha to the waxing ekadasi of Kartika the gods are said to sleep, this period is called the Dakshinayana, the night of the Gods, when the sun proceeds towards the south. Before the goddess is worshipped she has to be awakened. Indra is said to rise about the time of the new moon of Asvina, and from time