Birendrakrishna Bhadra , The Voice That Became Mahalaya

The Dawn of Mahalaya

by Dr Anindita Roy (Ph.D)

It is still dark. The air is heavy with silence, broken only by the soft stirrings of dawn. In countless homes across Bengal, people rise before daybreak, eyes still heavy with sleep, yet hearts awake with anticipation. Radios are switched on. And then, like a wave of sacred energy, a voice fills the air — deep, resonant, timeless.

“Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu...”

This is the sound of Mahalaya.

For Bengalis, Mahalaya is not just a date on the calendar. It is the moment the year turns towards joy, the moment when the Goddess begins her journey home. On this day, as the dark fortnight of Pitri Paksha comes to an end, families gather by the riverbanks, offering water and prayers to their ancestors. It is believed that their blessings open the way for the Mother’s arrival.

But beyond rituals, Mahalaya is a story — a story from the Devi Mahatmya. Once, the world was held hostage by Mahishasura, the buffalo-demon. Neither man nor god could defeat him. Out of their collective fury and energy arose Durga, the invincible Mother. With her ten arms carrying the weapons of all the gods, she rode forth to battle. For nine nights and days she fought, until Mahishasura fell, and the world was freed. Mahalaya is the prologue to this battle — the invocation, the invitation, the stirring before the storm.

 

The Voice That Became Mahalaya ( Click for listening to that great voice)

If Mahalaya has a soul, it is the radio broadcast Mahishasura Mardini. Since the early 1930s, All India Radio has carried it into the stillness of dawn: verses from the Chandi Path, interwoven with devotional songs and classical music.

At the heart of it all is one man’s voice — Birendra Krishna Bhadra. His narration is not merely recitation. It is theatre, prayer, and devotion rolled into sound. The rise and fall of his intonation, the clarity of every Sanskrit syllable, the emotion trembling in his pauses — together, they awaken the Goddess in the listener’s heart.

Generations have grown up with this ritual. Children sleepy-eyed on the floor beside elders, women preparing offerings, men returning from tarpan by the river — all tuned into the same voice at the same hour, year after year.

So inseparable is Bhadra’s voice from Mahalaya that when, in 1976, the programme was re-recorded with the beloved film star Uttam Kumar, the people revolted. Letters poured in. How could Mahalaya be Mahalaya without Bhadra? His voice was not just a performance — it was the very sound of dawn itself. The station relented, and his recording was restored.

  

The Eternal Beginning

Even today, when the world has changed, when radios have given way to television, cassettes, YouTube, and streaming apps, the tradition holds. On Mahalaya morning, countless Bengalis still wake at 4 a.m. to the same familiar cadence.

For some, it is nostalgia — the sound of childhood mornings in ancestral homes. For others, it is sacred — the invocation that summons Durga to Earth. But for everyone, it is the same truth: Mahalaya is not complete without Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s immortal Chandi Path.

And so, year after year, as the darkness of the new moon gives way to the first light of dawn, his voice rises again — carrying across time, generations, and worlds — announcing the Mother’s arrival, and the triumph of light over shadow.

The Eternal Story of the Goddess

In the stillness of an autumn dawn, a voice rises — Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s immortal recitation of the Chandi Path. For generations, this sound has awakened Mahalaya, announcing that the Mother is on her way. From Kailash, she begins her journey to her earthly home, carrying with her both tenderness and terror, both the warmth of a mother and the wrath of a warrior.

But why autumn? Why does Bengal celebrate Durga’s homecoming when most of India worships her in spring?

The answer lies in an ancient episode from the Ramayana. Before his battle with Ravana, Rama needed the Goddess’s blessings. The season was not spring, the usual time of worship. Still, Rama invoked her in autumn — an Akal Bodhan, an untimely awakening of the Mother. Pleased with his devotion, Durga blessed him. For nine days and nights he fought, and on the tenth day — Vijayadashami — evil fell and dharma triumphed.

And so, every year, Sharad Navaratri and Durga Puja carry the memory of that invocation. It is not only the gods who call to her, but mortals too. The Mother comes when her children call, whether in time or out of time.

Across India, the two Navaratris celebrate her in different moods.

• Chaitra Navaratri, in the freshness of spring, worships her as the Mother of creation — the power that renews life and sustains beginnings.
• Sharad Navaratri, in the crispness of autumn, worships her as the warrior — the power that destroys evil and restores cosmic balance.

Both tell us the same truth: the Goddess is everywhere, in the tender sprout and in the flashing sword, in the quiet prayer and in the roaring battlefield.

Her many faces are gathered in the Navdurga — the nine forms worshipped across the nine days. On the first day, she is Shailaputri, mountain-born and strong. On the second, Brahmacharini, the ascetic seeker. By the third, she becomes Chandraghanta, the warrior whose bell repels demons. On the fourth, she shines as Kushmanda, creator of the cosmos. The fifth day honors Skandamata, motherly and protective. The sixth invokes Katyayani, fierce and fearless. On the seventh, she is Kalaratri, dark and terrifying, the remover of fear. On the eighth, she softens into Mahagauri, pure and forgiving. Finally, on the ninth day, she reveals herself as Siddhidatri, the giver of spiritual power.

Nine forms, nine moods — together, they show that the Goddess is not one image but the wholeness of life itself: creation and destruction, love and power, gentleness and fury.

Thus, Mahalaya is not only the opening of Durga Puja. It is a reminder of our eternal bond with the Divine Feminine. From Rama’s Akal Bodhan to today’s pre-dawn radio ritual, it is the same invocation — the call of humanity to its Mother. 

And every year, she answers, walking once more among her children, blessing them with the strength to fight their battles, and the grace to remember who they are.

 

Mahihauramardini Story

Mahalaya is not just a religious observance but also a cultural ritual. It is the bridge between paying homage to ancestors and welcoming the Goddess #Mahalaya #DurgaPuja #AkalBodhan #Navdurga #SharadNavaratri #ChaitraNavaratri #MahishasuraMardini #BirendraKrishnaBhadra #GoddessDurga #DivineFeminine