Neel Puja

Another intriguing part of Gajan is the ‘Neel Puja’. The women of the household conduct this puja by offering milk to the ‘Shiva Lingam’ and praying for the well being of their family and children. This puja is done by the village women in the nearest temple of Shiva.

‘Neel’ comes from the word ‘Neelkantha’, which is another name of Shiva. Neel means the colour blue and kantha, means the throat. This puja is a symbol of the holy marriage of Shiva and Parvati. The women pray for their marriages to be blessed by the deities.

A priest conducting the rituals of Neel Puja. Image Courtesy: www.youtube.com

As per the Hindu scriptures, the Gods and Demons were fighting for the ‘amrita’, the drink of immortality; a fatal poison came out of the ‘Halahal’. To save the creation, The toxic poison was consumed by Shiva which in turn made is throat turn blue in colour. Hence the name ‘Neelkantha’ was bestowed upon him.

People in West Bengal nowadays celebrate ‘Neel Sashti’. The goddess Sashti is considered to bring well being to the women of the family and their children.

The Neel Puja is one of the major part of the Gajan festival and is majorly a ritual for the women only but at various places, fairs are organized for the entire village. Various plays and songs are dedicated towards the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.