Durga Puja, the largest religious festival for Bangali Hindus, ended yesterday with the immersion of the idols of Goddess Durga and her children in water bodies across the country amid festivity.
In Dhaka, thousands of devotees gathered along the banks of the Buriganga River, where idols from temples and neighbourhoods were transported on brightly decorated trucks for immersion. The process began around 12:00pm.
The immersion ceremony is the final act of the festival and is accompanied by prayers, chants, and the blowing of conch shells, creating a vibrant yet poignant atmosphere.
Devotees throw flowers into the river as they watch the idols slowly sink, a gesture symbolising the goddess’s departure.
Devotees, with tearful eyes, bid farewell to the mother deity and her children—Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik, and Ganesh—as the idols
are immersed, wishing the Goddess Durga’s return next year.
A highlight of the final day is the ‘Sindur Khela’ ceremony, where the married women adorn each other with vermilion, symbolising the strength of the goddess.
The five-day Durga Puja began on Wednesday with holding Maha Shasthi puja, Chondipath, incarnation (Bodhon) of the Goddess Durga and Adhibas at temples across the country amid festivity.
The puja was performed in temples, homes and in the public, featuring temporary stage decorations.
This year festival was celebrated at 31,461 puja mandaps across the country while the puja was celebrated at 253 puja mandaps in the capital.
Durga Puja is the worship of ‘Shakti’ or divine power embodied in Devi Durga symbolising the battle between good and evil where the evil forces succumb to the divine forces.
According to the Puranas, after fighting with Mahisasur for 9 days and 9 nights, Goddess Durga won on the tenth day.
