The five-day Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Bangalee Hindu community, ended Friday with the immersion of the idols of Goddess Durga and her children in water bodies across the country amid festivity.
The process of immersion of the idols started around 4pm yesterday instead of noon due to the Jummah prayers of the Muslim community at that time.
The five-day Durga Puja began on October 11 with holding Maha Shasthi puja, Chondipath, incarnation (Bodhon) of the Goddess Durga and Adhibas at temples across the country amid festivity and religious fervor maintaining health guidelines.
The puja was performed in temples, homes and in the public, featuring
temporary stage decorations.
Maha Nabami Puja was celebrated on Thursday across the country. Maha Nabami is believed to be the day when Durga defeated the evil Mahishasura and the Nabami rituals begin with a Mahasnan and a Shodashopachar puja.
Representative of different political and social organizations as well as cabinet members and members of parliament visited different Puja Mandops in the city on Thursday. Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader visited the Ramkrishna Math Puja Mandop while State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan visited the Dhakeshwari National Temple during the five-day Durga Puja festival.
This year festival was celebrated at 32,118 puja mandaps across the country while the puja was celebrated at 238 puja mandaps in the capital. Durga Puja is the worship of 'Shakti' or divine power embodied in Devi Durga symbolizing 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.