DHAKA, Oct 24, 2023 (BSS) - The grand festival of five-day Sharadiya Durga
Puja will come to an end tonight with celebrations of Sindur Khela in day
time, immersion of idols in the evening at nearby rivers or ponds and
exchanging Bijaya greetings among devotees across the country.

Temples across the country including Dhakeshwari National temple, Ramna Kali
Temple, Siddheswari Kalimandir are now seeing massive gathering of female
devotees clad in colorful dresses including white saree with red borders and
they are performing Sindur khela, a significant part of Bijoya Dashami
celebrations. Males also join this ritual nowadays with giving colors to
faces of other devotees or participants.

Sindur Khela, literally meaning 'vermillion game', is a Hindu tradition of
East India and Bangladesh where women smear each other with sindur on Bijaya
Dashami, the last day of the Durga Puja.

On the day of after the conclusion of the ritual worship, married Hindu women
apply sindur on the forehead and feet of the goddess and offer sweets to her.
Then they put sindur on each other's faces and offer sweets to each other,
said Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee President Monindra Kumar Nath.

In the morning, Dashami puja was offered at temples and makeshift mandaps
while Darpan Bisarjan will also be held before immersion of idols.

Darpan Bisarjan ceremony conducted on Bijaya Dashami day is the "real
immersion" as it is beloved that the divinity that had been breathed into the
Devi idol at installation, slowly leaves the idol, said purohit (priest)
Sadhan Chakrabarty.

After the ritual, colourful processions to the riverside followed by Bisarjan
or Niranjan of Devi idols are a spectacle to enjoy, he added.

Marking Dashami, colorful processions will be brought out from temples and
makeshift puja mandaps and later Devi idols will be immersed in nearby
rivers, ponds or water-bodies.

Bijaya Dashami is a bittersweet day as goddess Durga and her children are
taken out of their earthly abode or the pandal for Bisarjan or immersion in
the river.

This indicates her return to Mount Kailash. Devotees often shout "Aschhe
bochhor abar hobe" (Durga Puja will return next year again).

In the past, the idols were carried on bamboo structures. However, nowadays
the idols are transported in trucks or pickup vans to riverbanks and then
they are placed in a boat and taken to the middle of the river for immersion.

After immersion of idols, young members of the family touch the feet of the
elders to seek blessings. Some hug each other (kolakuli). Sweets such as
chomchom, kalojam, sandesh, narkeler naru (mounds made of coconut and
jaggery) are distributed on this day.

In the capital Dhaka, the main puja mandaps are at Dhakeshwari National
Temple, Ramkrishna Mission and Math, Kalabagan, Banani, Shakhari Bazar and
Ramna Kali Mandir.

In major divisional cities including port city Chattogram, Narayanganj,
Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet and district towns including Faridpur, Dinajpur,
Jashore, Kushtia, Netrakona, Tangail, Satkhira are also witnessing massive
celebration of Durga Puja.

On Monday, Maha Navami, the fourth-day of Sharadiya Durga Puja, was
celebrated with offering puja, anjali, daily bhog, sacrificing vegetables and
fruits and dhunuchi nach (dance competition).
 
On Navami, Goddess Durga is worship as Mahisasuramardini which means the
Annihilator of the Buffalo Demon. It is believed that on Maha Navami day
Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura.

Maha Navami is the penultimate day of Navratri, and it is dedicated to
worshipping the goddess Durga, who is believed to have manifested her full
divine power by this day. It is also the day when Durga is believed to have
defeated the buffalo demon Mahishasura, symbolizing the triumph of good over
evil.

Last night, temples and makeshift pandals saw massive gathering of devotees
and visitors as Navami is the last night of Sharadiyo Navaratri or Sharadiya
Durgotsab.

Navami Puja typically follows a specific sequence, involving the recitation
of mantras and the offering of various items, such as fruits, sweets, incense
and lamps.

In different temples, animals are sacrificed on this day as an offering to
the goddess.

Bali (Sacrifice) is an essential aspect of the puja as it invokes power, said
a priest Sadhan Chakrabarty.

He said as the Hindus worship Goddess Durga, who is the embodiment of shakti
(power), it is essential to incorporate bali in puja, but it does not have to
be an animal, he said.

 
Earlier, people preferred animal sacrifice because of certain socio-economic
reason, but now most of the temples and mandaps prefer to use vegetables or
fruits in Bali, he added.

On Navami, Dunuchi Nach draws the special attraction as this is one of the
most exciting rituals of the Durga Puja.

Clay pots are filled with smoking charcoal. Some people take the pot in their
hands and start dancing.

The daredevils try to balance the clay pot on their heads. Some who wish to
be even more adventurous attempt to hold the pot through their teeth!
Earlier, the dhunuchi nach was performed only by men.

However, nowadays women are also emerging as dhunuchi dance experts.

On Sunday, Maha Ashtami, the third day of five-day Sharadiyo Durga Puja, was
celebrated amid different rituals including offering of Anjali, Kumari and
Sandhi Puja at temples since morning.

In the morning, Goddess Durga was offered puja followed by offering anjali by
devotees and distribution of prashad among them at temples and makeshift
pandals across the country including the capital Dhaka.

Kumari Puja, a special ritual of Durga Puja, was held at Ramkrishna Math and
Ramkrishna Math, Dhaka this morning as five-year old Shatakkhi Goswami
attired with traditional sharee was worshiped in the mould of Uma, said
Premananda Maharaj of the mission.

During this puja, a prepubescent girl is worshiped as the living incarnation
or avatar of Maa Durga. She is dressed in new clothes and floral ornaments.
This ritual has its origins in the Hindu Puranas.
Kumari Puja was held in some traditional temples in Dhaka, Chattogram and
other parts of the city.

Sandhi is a transition point between Ashtami and Nabami as the last 24
minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami are known as
'Sandhikkhon', said Sadhan Chakrabarty.

According to the Puranas, this is an auspicious moment in time when Durga
manifests into Chamunda. Chamunda is a fierce, indomitable entity, who
single-handedly defeated demon duo Sumbha and Nisumbha.

A total of 108 earthen lamps (pradip) are lit to celebrate this momentous
occasion.

On Saturday, Maha Saptami, the second day of the five-day Sharadiya Durga
Puja, was celebrated in befitting manner as temples and makeshift mandaps
witnessed huge devotees and visitors while beautifully crafted idols of
Goddess Durga was installed formally on the first day of Maha Shasthi on
Friday.

Temples and mandaps have been illuminated and decorated gorgeously marking
the puja as some puja pandals were portrayed in different themes signifying
different aspects of life and religious stories.

Bangalee Hindus might have a plethora of festivals (baaro maaashe tero parbon
or 13 festivals in 12 months) but Sharadiya Durgotsab remains the queen bee.

Durga Puja is being celebrated at 32,408 mandaps across the country this year
including 245 in the capital, according to Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad
(BPUP).

BPUP General Secretary Prof Chandranath Poddar said the country saw Durga
Puja celebration at 32,168 mandaps including 241 in the capital last year.

Stringent security measures have been taken across the country during the
celebration of Durga Puja to avert any untoward situation.