Indra puja in Bengal
Hindu civilization’s most significant feature is its resilience, which enabled the culture to preserve the ancient traditions and carries them forward to the present. This ability to maintain cultural continuity is closely linked to the various communities’ sense of cultural identity. One such instance of an uninterrupted legacy of continuous observance of a tradition is the worship of Indra, the Devaraj, or the King of Gods, in some areas of West Bengal.
On Shukla Dwadashi of the month of Bhadra, Northern Rarh like Kandi Sub-division of Murshidabad, Katwa region of Bardhaman, Birbhum, and few areas at Bankura, Purulia of western Rarh observes Indra puja. Among plaques discovered at Paharpur, there’s one with Devaraj Indra, where he’s present with other Dikpalas. So, probably Indra used to receive puja from Manbhum to Rajshahi of the Varendra region.
It’s challenging to locate the hub as well as the origin of this worship in the past. However, there’s no doubt about the antiquity of the festival. Govardhan Acharya’s poetry mentions that the celebration of Indra Puja was declining in even the 12th century. He also notes that Sresthis worshipped Indra, and in their absence, people use a piece of wood meant to tie cow or make plough as Indra-dhwaj. Though Indra worship has reduced significantly eight centuries after Govardhan Acharya, people still practice the puja in the same style.
Kings of Jhargram, Narajol, Kalaikunda, Manbhum and Panchakot used to worship Indra-dhwaj at Shukla Dwadashi of Bhadra.
The King chooses the Saal tree a few days before Utsav. After that, they would do puja of the tree and cut the tree to make a column from it. On the Bhadra Dwadashi morning, people raise Indra-dhwaja by fixing the column and attaching a bamboo umbrella with a white cloth cover. These rituals could be seen among the royals of Bishnupur, Jhargram, Manbhum, West Medinipur etc. In Bishnupur, kings visit the pujasthal riding on an elephant with a sword. The rituals start only after the King arrives at pujasthal. Another tradition is to pour fried paddy(খই) and curd on the Indra-dhwaj. The Tribesmen play musical instruments and start dancing around dhwaja. Since in many kingdoms of Manbhum and Jhargram, tribals were majority subjects, it continues to be an important occasion for them. On this day, many choose their life partner during the festival as per local custom.
Indra Puja and Bhajo brata
Few households of Birbhum, Bankura, Medinipur and Kandi still organize pujas in their home. Yet, otherwise, it has disappeared from the vast area of Rajshahi to Purulia, where it was observed on Bhadra Dwadashi once. Instead, it has become an important festival for tribal communities.
In the Kandi region of Murshidabad, many households still observe Indra Puja on Indra Dwadashi. Like Kali-tala and Shasti-tala, which are very popular all over Bengal, Indra-talas also exist at Kandi. On Indra Dwadashi, people use a Bael tree branch to make Indra-dhwaja and offer pumpkin or goat as a sacrifice.
Women from Indrani kShetra (Katwa) used to make Indra dolls from clay. After offering puja, they take a bath in a pond while keeping it above their head to get a husband like Indra. Once upon a time, Sachi Devi performed tapas here to have Indra as her husband. Till today, the same traditions are followed.
Another brata (ritual) whose practice has dramatically reduced in society but still can be seen in Bardhaman, Birbhum and Murshidabad district is called “Bhajo brata”. It’s even observed in most Hindu villages of the Ketugram region, few villages of Katwa and Mangalkot of Bardhaman district and the Kandi region of Murshidabad and Southern Birbhum. This is a brata for unmarried women. They observe this brata, so Devaraj Indra grants a good harvest. It is said that this brata was introduced to martyaloka by an Apsara called ‘Bhanjabati’.
Unmarried girls collect and put seeds into a pot on the Shukla Panchami of Bhadra the next day, and these are offered to Devi Shahsti. After the puja, they put it into a new pot and every day after taking a bath, they pour water into these pots. Utsav takes place on Indra Dwadashi. However, in the Ketugram area, collecting seeds begins on Indra Dwadashi itself, and Utsav takes place somewhere between Jitashtami, another puja of lord Indra.
On Indra Dwadashi or Jitashtami(depending on the local tradition), girls would place a mUrti of Bhanjabati on an alter made of clay and put Alpana everywhere around her. Devi would be accorded with garlands and offer their pots where sprouts have come out by now. Then they would dance around Bhanjabati in circles. This is called the dance of Bhanjo. In the old days, the festival lasted for ten days, commencing from Indra Dwadashi and ending on Jitashtami.
