The celebration of this year's Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindus, ended Friday as devotees bade farewell to the Goddess Durga and her four children.
The five-day long festival came to an end through the celebration of Vijaya Dashami, in which the main ritual is the immersion of Durga statues in rivers.
In the capital, jubilant devotees joined colourful truck processions carrying statues of the deity Durga and her children--Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesha-- amid fanfare towards the Buriganga River for immersion.
Thousands of devotees, young and old, men and women, thronged the banks of the Buriganga for the ritual.
They joined hands to lower the idols into the water amid the beating of drums, prayers and chanting of hymns.
Dhaka Mohanagar Puja Udjapan Committee said alongside the Buriganga river, hundreds of devotees thronged the Turag, the Shitalakkhya and the Balu rivers in the capital for immersion of Goddess.
In Chittagong, thousands of devotees in their tearful eyes bade farewell to the mother deity and her children through the immersion of their idols in the Bay of Bengal.
Nearly 100,000 Hindu devotees thronged the Patenga Beach to see off the goddess this year.
“Chittagong usually sees the highest number of immersions. At least 200 idols were immersed in Patenga Beach which is the main immersion point while the rest were immersed in different spots including Kalurghat, Southkattoli, Pathor Ghata Gongabari, Enayet Bazar Goal Para Pond and Parky Char Sea Beach,” said Bangladesh Puja Uddyapan Parishad Chittagong Metropolitan’s General Secretary Ratnakar Das Tunu.
A tinge of sadness filled the air but the devotees consoled themselves that Durga would return again next year.
According to Hindu belief, the deity, along with her children, sets on a journey for Kailash, her husband's abode, on Dashami.
Durga puja is the worship of “Shakti” or divine power embodied in Devi Durga symbolising the battle between good and evil where the dark forces eventually succumb to the divine forces.
Hindus across the country celebrated on Thursday the Bijoya Dashami amid festivity and enthusiasm by visiting their relatives' homes to share sweetmeats when married Hindu women put vermilion on each other's forehead on the occasion.
This year, Maha Navami was also celebrated on Thursday. The festival began on October 19 with "Bodhan", "Amontran" and "Adhibas" of Goddess Durga and "Ghatasthapan" on "Shasthi Tithi".
Mahasaptami Puja was offered on Tuesday while Mahastami and Kumari Puja on Wednesday.
Durga Puja was celebrated at over 28,000 puja mandaps across the country, including over 200 in Dhaka city.
According to Hindu scriptures and the Bangla almanac, Durga Puja is observed in sync with the moon's movement.
The festivity and prayers begin on the sixth day of the full moon and end on the tenth day or Bijaya Dashami.
