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Lakshmi Puja, a major religious festival of the Hindu community, will be celebrated across Bangladesh on Sunday with due religious fervour and enthusiasm.
The festival falls on the first full-moon night after Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Hindus. The occasion is known as Kojagari Purnima, and the worship is therefore also called Kojagari Lakshmi Puja.
Hindus believe that Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity, visits the homes of devotees on the full-moon night to bless them with abundance and good fortune. Following this belief, Bengali Hindus traditionally worship the goddess in their homes.
According to the Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika, an authoritative Hindu almanac, Kojagari Lakshmi Puja will be observed on Sunday, October 25. The Purnima Tithi, or full-moon lunar phase, will begin at 11:55am on October 25 and end at 9:41am on October 26.
Goddess Lakshmi is revered as the embodiment of wealth, prosperity, good fortune, knowledge, fertility, generosity, courage and beauty. Her divine vehicle is an owl. Hindu tradition also identifies Lakshmi with Sita and Radha, the consorts of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, respectively.
The worship is performed with an idol or a consecrated pot known as a ghat, either individually or collectively. While the full-moon worship is particularly significant in the month of Ashwin, many Hindu families also worship Goddess Lakshmi every Thursday. In some regions, special worship is held on Dipanwita Amavasya, the new-moon night associated with Diwali.
In Bengali society, traditional narratives about the goddess are recited during the festival. These devotional compositions, known as Lakshmi’r Panchali, are an integral part of the observance.
The rituals involve offerings of flowers, vermilion, rice, mango leaves, tulsi leaves, sandalwood, incense, lamps, food and water, among other items.
Households are decorated with alpona, traditional patterns drawn with rice flour, often featuring the footprints of Goddess Lakshmi. A sacred pot and sheaves of paddy are also placed in courtyards as symbols of prosperity. Many devotees, particularly women, observe a fast as part of the religious rituals.
A distinctive tradition of Kojagari Lakshmi Puja is staying awake throughout the night. The word Kojagari is traditionally associated with the question, “Who is awake?” According to religious belief, Goddess Lakshmi visits homes during the night to bless those who remain awake and devoted to her worship.
The festival is observed by Bengali Hindu families with prayers and rituals seeking prosperity, well-being and good fortune for their households.
