On the occasion of Maha Ashtami on Tuesday, Kumari Puja – the worship of young girls as an embodiment of Goddess Durga – was performed at Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission in Howrah, near Kolkata. The ritual was observed with the same enthusiasm and devotion that has marked it for more than a century, drawing followers of Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, his consort Maa Sarada, and his disciple Swami Vivekananda.

The devotional appeal of Kumari Puja has remained unchanged since 1901, when Swami Vivekananda first initiated the ritual at Belur Math. Rooted in his philosophy of “service to God through service to humanity,” the puja has become a spiritual celebration of womanhood and divinity.

Jayita Sarkar, a teacher of English literature in a Kolkata

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