Durga Puja ends today with Bijoya Dashami

The six-day Sharodiya Durgotsab, the biggest festival of Bengali Hindus, will conclude today with the immersion of Goddess Durga in the capital and elsewhere across the country.

On the final day of the festival, devotees will gather at puja mandaps to celebrate Bijoya Dashami, marking Goddess Durga’s victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura. They will seek the deity’s blessings and offer sweets, milk and vermilion.

Relatives and friends will visit one another’s homes and exchange sweets, while Hindu women will apply vermilion to one another’s foreheads as part of the celebrations.

Later in the afternoon and evening, thousands of people are expected to gather along the River Buriganga in the capital to take part in processions and witness the immersion of the idols.

Elsewhere in the country, devotees will carry idols of Goddess Durga to rivers and other water bodies for immersion, bidding farewell to the goddess and her children, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh, while praying for her return next year.

Law enforcement agencies said strict security measures would be in place to ensure the festival concludes peacefully.

Earlier, the Bengali Hindu community celebrated Maha Navami on Tuesday with traditional rituals, including the lighting of 108 earthen lamps and offerings of 108 lotus flowers during a devotional ceremony known as Maha-arati.

Navami bhog was also offered to Goddess Durga and distributed among devotees.

The premises of Dhakeshwari National Temple in the capital were crowded with devotees from Tuesday morning. Rituals continued amid the chanting of mantras, ululations and the sounds of dhak drums, cymbals and bells. After worship, many visitors strolled through the fair on the temple grounds and shopped at stalls.

Maha Navami is one of the most significant days of Durga Puja. Through their worship of Goddess Durga, devotees pray for the destruction of evil and the triumph of good. They seek happiness, peace, prosperity and well-being from the goddess.

Alongside personal well-being, prayers for peace, communal harmony and goodwill in society also hold special significance on Maha Navami.

The rituals of Kalparambha and formal worship marking Maha Navami began at around 10am at Dhakeshwari National Temple. Devotees made ululations as the priest recited mantras. Some joined their hands in prayer, while others raised their hands and chanted slogans praising Goddess Durga.

Around 11am, devotees were given flowers and bel leaves to offer to the goddess. The ritual concluded at around 11:15am with the offering of anjali.