IN PICS: Significance Of Durga Puja And Celebration Visuals From Across India

Image (Image: Getty)

Images of the goddess—astride a lion, attacking the demon king Mahishasura—are placed at various pandals and temples across the country and even abroad. (Image: PTI)

Durga Puja celebrations and worship begin on Sasthi, the sixth day. For the next three days - saptami, ashtami and navmi - the goddess is worshipped in her various forms such as Maa Durga, Maa Lakshmi and Maa Sarasvati. (Image: PTI)

According to Hindu mythology, the puja celebrates the annual descent of Goddess Durga, the slayer of Mahishashur, accompanied by her four children -- Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati -- to visit her parents. (Image: PTI)

The celebrations end with Vijaya Dashami (Tenth Day), when, amid loud chants and drumbeats, idols of the Goddess are carried in huge processions to local rivers, where they are immersed. That custom is symbolic of the departure of the deity to her home and to her husband, Shiva, in the Himalayas. (Image: AFP)

Maha Saptami (the seventh lunar day), according to the almanac began, on Friday afternoon itself, but the rituals were mostly held on Saturday at the marquees and houses. The rituals were complete by Saturday afternoon, when Maha Ashtami (the eighth lunar day) started. (Image: AFP)

In consonance with the customs, fasting devotees offered flowers to the goddess in obeisance and later on, stuffed themselves with an array of food items. Devotees across the country danced, whistled, mingled with friends and family, relished the street foods and patiently stood in long queues before the landmark marquees. (Image: AFP)

Through 'pran pratistha', the spirit of Durga as a warrior goddess was awakened and she started her battle against the manifestation of all evils in the shape of Mahishasura - the buffalo demon. (Getty Image)

The puja festivities and prayers began on the sixth day of the first quarter of the moon and will end on Dashami or the 10th day, celebrated across the country as Dassehra. (Getty Image)