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[[File:Akalbodhan Venus Club 2010 Arnab Dutta.JPG|thumb|A scene of Akalabodhana, the untimely realization of Durga by Rama, as described in the Krittivasi Ramayana; [[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja]] [[mandapa]] of Khidirpur Venus Club, Kolkata, 2010]]
{{Hatnote|This article is not about [[Durga Puja]]; it is about the term and the theme Akalabodhana.}}{{Short description|Worship of Durga in the month of Ashvin}}
'''Akalabodhana''' ({{langx|sa|अकालबोधन|translit=akālabodhana}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sivapriyananda |first=Swami |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVkyFvZL_qMC&pg=PA41 |title=Mysore Royal Dasara |date=1995 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |pages=41 |language=en}}</ref> or '''Akal Bodhan''' ({{Langx|bn|অকালবোধন}}) is the worship of [[Durga]]—an incarnation of [[Devi]]—in the month of [[Ashvin (month)|Ashvin]], an uncustomary time for commencement of her worship.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rodrigues |first=Hillary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=onyaEhwhJBUC&pg=PA84 |title=Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess: The Liturgy of the Durgā Pūjā with Interpretations |date=2012-02-01 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-8844-7 |pages=84 |language=en}}</ref>

==Etymology==
''Akala'' and ''bodhana'' are both derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word ''akālabodhana'', which are also included in many other [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] languages. The word ''Akala'' means untimely,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Calgary) |first=Calgary Conference on Karma and Rebirth, Post-Classical Developments (1982 : University of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaRWtgXjplQC&pg=PA86 |title=Karma and Rebirth: Post Classical Developments |date=1986-01-01 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-87395-990-2 |pages=86 |language=en}}</ref> and ''bodhana'' means awakening.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Simmons |first1=Caleb |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UENmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA200 |title=Nine Nights of the Goddess: The Navarātri Festival in South Asia |last2=Sen |first2=Moumita |last3=Rodrigues |first3=Hillary |date=2018-07-11 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-7071-9 |pages=200 |language=en}}</ref> Akalabodhana refers to the untimely awakening of the goddess Durga for her worship.

==Legend==
According to the Bengali version of [[Bhagavata Purana]], when [[Ravana]] awakened [[Kumbhakarna]] and sent him to fight in the Lanka war, [[Rama]] was terrified. [[Brahma]] assured Rama and told him to worship Durga for success on the battlefield. Rama told Brahma that this was not the proper time (''akala'') to worship the goddess as it was the [[Krishna Paksha]] (waning moon), prescribed for her sleep. Brahma assured Rama that he would perform a ''puja'' for the awakening (''bodhana'') of the goddess. Rama agreed and appointed Brahma as the [[purohita]] (priest) of the ritual. Brahma performed the puja from the period of Krishna Navami till the death of the Ravana, during Shukla Navami. Following the instructions of Brahma, Rama praised the goddess by uttering Katyanaya hymn. Brahma uttered the [[Devīsūkta|Devi Sukta]] from the [[Vedas]] to please Durga. Pleased, the goddess appeared and declared that a great war between Rama and Ravana would occur between Shukla Saptami to Shukla Navami. On saptami, she aanounced that she would enter Rama's bow and arrows. When ashtami (eighth day) would end and navami (ninth day) would begin, she proclaimed that she would cut Ravana's heads one after another. Finally, she assured that in the afternoon of Shukla Navami, she would destroy Ravana completely.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%AE_-_%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%B7%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A3%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%88%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%A3_%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8.pdf |title=SriMahabhagavatam |author= Panchanan Tarkaratna}}</ref>

In a Bengali rendering of the ''[[Ramayana]]'' legend, [[Rama]] travelled to [[Lanka]] to rescue his abducted wife, [[Sita]], from [[Ravana]], the [[rakshasa]] king. Ravana was a devotee of Durga, who worshipped her in a temple in Lanka. However, angered by the abduction of Sita, a form of the great goddess, Durga shifted her loyalties to Rama. When Rama grew intimidated by the prospect of war, [[Brahma]] counselled him to worship Durga, who would bless him with courage. Rama worshipped Durga underneath a ''[[Aegle marmelos|bilva]]'' tree, chanting the Devi Sukta and other [[Tantra|Tantric]] hymns for her propitiation. Pleased, Durga appeared before Rama and blessed him with victory, and the boon of being able to slay Ravana. Armed with a weapon granted to him by Durga, Rama was able to kill Ravana and rescue his wife.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDaniel |first=June |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caeJpIj9SdkC&pg=PA222 |title=Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal |date=2004-08-05 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534713-5 |pages=221–222 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Durga Puja]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{HinduFestivals}}

[[Category:Durga Puja]]
[[Category:Shaktism]]

Akalabodhana - Revision history

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