AGARTALA, Oct 12 (TIWN): With Durga puja spirit on spire, Maha-Saptami puja has started across Durga puja pandals in Tripura.

Pomp and pageantry marked Maha Saptami - day two of the Durga Puja across Udaipur, Dharmanagar, Kailashahar, Belonia, Amarpur etc on Friday.

Since early morning, people have been thronging colossal puja pandals (marquees) where idols of the goddess and her four children are being worshipped.

The religious rituals of Maha Saptami (seventh day on the lunar calendar) began with the bathing of a banana plant in ponds.

According to Hindu mythology, the festivities and prayers begin with the symbolic arrival of the goddess on earth on the sixth day of the first quarter of the moon and ends on Dashami or the 10th day, which is celebrated across the country as Dussehra.
Traditionally, every pandal has an idol of Goddess Durga depicting her as slaying the demon Mahishasur. She is shown astride a lion and wielding an array of weapons in her 10 arms.