Dhaka, Oct 8 (UNI) Tens of thousands of Hindus, dressed in colourful attires took to the streets on Tuesday, beating drums and chanting mantras as five days of revelry and celebration ended today with immersion of Devi Durga in rivers and water bodies across the country. 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.
The Bijoya Dashami (Tenth Day) of the arrival of Goddess Durga to the Earth is celebrated by devotees amid festivity and enthusiasm by visiting relatives and friends and share the joy.The five-day Durga Puja festival began on Friday last with the incarnation (Bodhon) of Goddess Durga on the day of Maha Shashti.
In the capital Dhaka, jubilant devotees joined colourful truck processions carrying idols of Durga amid fanfare towards the Shitalakshya, Turag and Balu rivers for immersion when children, the young and the elderly joined hands to slowly put the idols into the water at the climax of the festival, the biggest of the Bengali-speaking followers of Hindu faith.
The biggest Bijoya procession was brought out around 4 pm from the Dhakeshwari Temple in the capital for the immersion of the idol which ended on the bank of Buriganga River near Sadraghat after parading different streets this evening.
Maha Ashtami, also known as Kumari Puja, was observed on Sunday while Maha Nabami Puja on Monday at temples across the country. Over 31,000 permanent and temporary pandals of Durga Puja were erected across the country this year. Earlier, hundreds of Hindu devotees attired in their best dresses thronged in different puja mandaps in the city since morning to bid farewell to Goddess Durga and seek blessings.
They uttered ‘Shuva Bijoya’ and exchanged greetings with one another. Bijoya is another name of the Goddess Durga better known for her ten hands. Adequate security measures were ensured this year at all temples and pandals with deployment of additional squads of Ansar, police, RAB and other law enforcement agencies for peaceful celebration of the festival.
