Durga Puja at an ashram in Dhenua village of Hirapur, Bardhaman, Bengal, is unique for various reasons. The most important one is that the entire Durga Puja rituals spread over four days are completed on the Mahalaya Day itself. This particular rule was given directly by the goddess in a dream.
On the day of Mahalaya, the Bodhon (consecration) of
Shashthi, along with the Puja of Saptami, Ashtami, and Navami, are all
completed, followed by the Puja of Dashami. Yes, the four-day Puja is performed
with complete rituals (purna upachare), meaning following all the rules, on the
same day. And on the day before Mahalaya, i.e., Chaturdashi, the Puja of
Goddess Dakshina Kali is performed.
The story
Girijananda Maharaj, while touring in 1977 or 1978, came to
the Kalikrishna Temple of Gauri Kedarnath Dham in Dhenua village of undivided
Bardhaman (Burdwan). He spent the night there. After performing his regular
evening rituals and chanting the Goddess's name, he went to sleep. In a dream,
he saw a unique form of the Divine Mother.
His revered, ten-armed Goddess Durga had personally appeared
in the dream. But the buffalo demon, Mahishasura, was not at her feet. There
was no anger in her gaze. Instead, she had a joyful, delighted expression. In
her two hands, she held the hands of her two dear companions, Jaya and Vijaya.
The Goddess said that she wished to be worshipped in that very form.
Since then, Durga is worshipped in this form at this ashram in Dhenua village of Hirapur, Bardhaman. Jaya and Vijaya are present with the ten-armed Goddess on a single-panel structure (ekchala frame). However, the Goddess sits on the back of a lion.