Sindoor Khela is an important ritual performed by married women during Durga Puja in Bengal. The goddess is adorned with sindoor and it is said, "May the sindoor, which is the symbol of happiness and the supreme beauty of all worlds, decorate your forehead." Here is a look at the spiritual importance and symbolism of Sindoor Khela during Durga puja
The sindoor khela is one of the most popular customs during
Durga Puja. However, this practice has no scriptural significance. The sindoor khela
is actually a social ritual.
Sindoor is considered a symbol of good fortune.
According to the Bhavishya Purana, sindoor itself is a
symbol of Brahman. A married woman applies sindoor on her forehead to invoke
the supreme Brahman. It is believed that when sindoor is applied to the parting
of a woman’s hair, Brahma resides on her forehead, and the supreme Brahman removes
all the sorrows and misfortunes of the household.
The Srimad Bhagavad Purana also mentions a description of
the sindoor game during the Katyayani Vrata, where the gopis (cowherd women)
play with sindoor, praying for the well-being of their husbands. The tradition
of applying sindoor is meant for the well-being of the husband and the family.
Durga, the daughter of the house, is worshiped as the
goddess, and in her form, she is sent to her in-laws' house as a daughter. It
is a custom to bid farewell to the daughter with a smiling face at the time of
departure. Therefore, after the sindoor khela, the daughter is sent off to
Kailash for one year. The sindoor that is offered to the goddess is kept by
married women for the whole year. They then apply it on their own foreheads.
On the tenth day (Dashami), married women play the sindoor khela
to pray for the long life of their husbands. They believe that playing the
sindoor khela increases the longevity of their husbands. This belief has been
followed by Bengali brides for generations. They apply sindoor on each other's
hair parting and touch each other's hands with the shankha (conch), noa
(bangle), and palai (bracelet) while offering sindoor.
These days, unmarried women also participate in the sindoor game, purely for the joy of the celebration.