Durga Puja begins

Sharadiya Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Bangalee Hindu community, began on Wednesday with invocation of Goddess Durga on the day of Maha Shasthi at temples and makeshift mandaps across the country amid due religious fervour and festivity.

The five-day celebration began with invocation of Goddess Durga on the day of Maha Shasthi.

This year, Durga Puja is being celebrated at 31,461 puja mandaps across the country including 252 in the capital.

The government has extended Durga Puja holidays for one more day on Thursday (October 10) to facilitate the Hindus to celebrate their festival amidst much enthusiasm.

So, the government employees will get a total of four-day holidays including weekends (Friday and Saturday) during the Durga Puja as October 13 (Sunday) was previously announced public holiday on the day of Bijoya Dashami of the festival.

On October 10, the second day of the celebration, Maha Saptami puja will be held in the morning as nabapatrika, nine plants including a banana tree tied together and wrapped in a white saree with red borders, and bathed in the water of the holy Ganges will be placed next to Ganesha on that day.

On the third day of Maha Ashtami on October 11, different rituals including Ashtami puja, offering Anjali, Kumari Puja and Sandhi Puja will be held in the morning.

Maha Nabami tithi will also begin on the same day this year and it will last till 6:12am on October 12. So rituals of Maha Nabami will be performed on the both days.

Rituals of Dashami Puja will also be held on both October 12 and 13 this year.

The festival will end on October 13 with immersion of idols in nearby rivers or ponds. Generally, the largest immersion is held at the world’s largest sea beach Cox’sbazar every year.

According to legend, Goddess Durga arrives on earth from heaven during the puja. This year, the Goddess will arrive on palanquin.

A festive mood is in the air across the country on the occasion of Durga Puja as the puja mandaps will be filled with devotional chanting with the smoke of incense (dhup), beating of drums (dhak-dhol), kansar-mandira and ululation (uludhoni) from tomorrow.

Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad (BPUP) general secretary Santosh Sharma said apart from law enforcement agencies, volunteers will be deployed in all puja mandaps across the country during the festival.

A central control room has been set up at the Dhakeswari national temple premises likewise every year for monitoring overall security at puja mandaps in the capital.

In the capital, key puja mandaps are at Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramkrishna Math and Mission, Banani, Kalabagan, Shakhari Bazar, Shiddeshwari Kali Mandir, Ramna Kali Mandir, Jagannath Hall on Dhaka University campus, Khamar Bari at Farmgate, Lalbagh Rishipara, Rajarbagh Kalimandir and old part of Dhaka including Tanti Bazar.

Foolproof security measures will be ensured across the country during Durga Puja celebration.

Apart from religious rituals, performance of devotional songs, clothes distribution, Aroti competition, voluntary blood donation will be arranged at Dhakeshwari National Temple.

Durga Puja will also be celebrated in large scale in major divisional cities including Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet, district towns including Faridpur, Dinajpur, Cox’s Bazar  Kushtia, Gopalganj, Satkhira.

As per the Hindu texts, during Treta Yuga, Lord Rama Chandra fought with Dashanan Ravana.

Rama Chandra worshiped Goddess Adyashakti Mahamaya (Debi Durga) in autumn hoping to increase her strength with the aim of annihilation of sins and Rama Chandra was able to rescue Goddess Sita and kill Ravana after winning the battle.

Since then, Hindu community members have been celebrating Durgotsab in the autumn.