Dhaka:Durga Puja, the largest religious festival for the Hindu community in Bangladesh, concluded on Wednesday with the immersion of idols of Goddess Durga and her children in water bodies nationwide.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the Hindu belief holds that the immersion signifies the return of Goddess Durga to her husband's abode at Kailash in Devaloy. In Dhaka, thousands gathered by the Buriganga River to witness this concluding phase of the festival, a significant part of the religious celebrations.
In a vibrant display of devotion, Hindu worshippers from various city parts transported idols to the river ghat in trucks, accompanied by hymns and the resonant sounds of traditional musical instruments like 'Shankha', 'Khol', and 'Dhak'. As the idols of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik, and Ganesh were immersed, devotees bid farewell with hopes for the goddess's return in the following year.
The Dashami Puja celebrations involved female devotees offering vermilion at Durga's feet in mandaps and temples citywide. The Bijoya Dashami festivities saw women engaging in 'sindur khela', dancing, and music, culminating in the joyous smearing of sindur on each other's faces, amid greetings and celebration.
The mandaps were filled with the sounds and sights of traditional dance and music as devotees celebrated the festival's final day. At the Dhakeshwari National Temple, the poignant farewell moment was marked by the carrying out of the goddess's idol for immersion, an event that evoked mixed emotions among the participants.
This year's six-day festival, which began on October 16 with the incarnation of Goddess Durga, saw Maha Saptami celebrated over multiple days. Known as Sharadiya Durga Utsab, the annual festival symbolizes the triumph of good over evil, with divine forces overcoming darkness. Durga Puja was celebrated at 33,165 mandaps throughout Bangladesh.