Play store
DHAKA — The six-day Sharadiya Durga Puja celebrations concluded across Bangladesh on Wednesday with the observance of Bijoya Dashami, marked by traditional rituals, Sindur Khela, colourful processions and the immersion of idols of Goddess Durga in rivers and other water bodies.
Devotees bid farewell to the goddess amid religious fervour and festive gatherings, exchanging Bijoya greetings and expressing hope for her return next year.
The celebrations culminated in Sindur Khela during the day, followed by the immersion, known as Bisarjan, of idols in nearby rivers, ponds and other water bodies in the evening.
Temples and puja mandaps across the country witnessed large gatherings of worshippers. In Dhaka, thousands of devotees visited Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramna Kali Mandir, Siddheshwari Kalimandir, Ramakrishna Mission and Math, and other major religious venues to participate in the final day’s rituals.
Married Hindu women dressed in traditional white sarees with red borders took part in Sindur Khela, one of the most recognisable traditions of Bijoya Dashami.
During the centuries-old ritual, women first offer vermilion and sweets to Goddess Durga after the final Dashami Puja. They then apply sindur to one another’s foreheads and faces, exchange sweets and pray for marital happiness and prosperity.
Although traditionally observed by married women, the ritual has increasingly become a broader expression of communal celebration, with male devotees also joining in the festivities in recent years.
Earlier in the morning, Dashami Puja was performed at temples and temporary mandaps, followed by Darpan Bisarjan, a symbolic ritual in which the goddess’s reflection is offered back to the water before the formal immersion of the idol.
Following the religious ceremonies, colourful processions carrying idols made their way through city streets towards designated immersion points. While idols were traditionally carried on bamboo structures, many are now transported on decorated trucks and pickup vans, with some taken by boat to the middle of rivers for immersion.
Devotees chanted traditional slogans, including “Aschhe bochhor abar hobe” (Durga Puja will return next year), expressing both the joy of the celebrations and the sadness of bidding farewell to the goddess.
In the capital, major celebrations took place at Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramakrishna Mission and Math, Kalabagan, Banani, Shakhari Bazar and Ramna Kali Mandir. Large crowds also gathered to witness the immersion ceremonies, while law enforcement agencies maintained security and helped manage traffic.
Similar celebrations were reported in major divisional cities, including Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barishal, as well as district towns such as Narayanganj, Faridpur, Dinajpur, Jashore, Kushtia, Netrakona, Tangail and Satkhira.
Bijoya Dashami also marked the beginning of post-Puja family and social gatherings. After the immersion ceremonies, younger family members touched the feet of elders to seek their blessings, while relatives, friends and neighbours exchanged warm greetings and embraced one another.
Traditional sweets, including chomchom, kalojam, sandesh and narkeler naru, made from coconut and jaggery, were shared among families and communities as part of the festivities.
The conclusion of Durga Puja brought the annual celebrations to a close, with devotees returning home after the immersion rituals while carrying forward the spirit of goodwill, unity and communal harmony associated with Bijoya Dashami.
