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Published : 01 Oct 2025, 02:49 PM
As the Durga Puja festival enters its ninth day, a tinge of sorrow filled the air as devotees prepare to bid farewell to the goddess.
Undeterred by the rain on Wednesday, worshippers thronged temples and pavilions across the country to take part in the Sandhi Puja rituals marking Maha Nabami, the penultimate day of the biggest festival for Bengali Hindus.
The Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka reverberated with the sounds of drums, conch shells and brass cymbals, while more than 33,000 pavilions across Bangladesh joined in the festivities.
Dharmadash Chatterjee, the head priest at Dhakeshwari, said: "On Nabami, the worship reaches completion and the tune of parting begins. On Dashami, we bid the goddess adieu.”
The ninth day begins with Sandhi Puja, performed during the final 24 minutes of Ashtami (eighth day) and the first 24 minutes of Nabami. During the ritual, the goddess is offered 108 lotuses and 108 earthen lamps are lit.
At Dhakeshwari Temple, puja rituals began around 9am, with devotees offering Anjali (obeisance with palmfuls of water) after 11am. The Maha Aarti -- worship with oil lamps and bells -- was scheduled for the evening.
Despite the rain, worshippers gathered from early morning. Ramcharan Das, who came from Azimpur with his elderly mother, said: “As the Puja nears its end, we prayed to the goddess for the well-being of everyone, including our family.”
This year’s Durga Puja formally began on Sept 21 with the rituals of Mahalaya, including the installation of the mangal ghot (water-filled pot) and offerings of flowers, basil and bel leaves.
According to Hindu scriptures, Mahalaya, Bodhon and Sandhi Puja are the three core chapters of Durga Puja.
In Hindu belief, Saptami (the seventh day) brings absolution of sins across seven lifetimes, Ashtami grants eight blessings, and Nabami completes the cycle before Dashami, when the goddess is bid farewell, head priest Dharmadas explained.
According to the Hindu calendar, the goddess has arrived on an elephant this year, seen as a symbol of plentiful harvests. But her departure on a palanquin is regarded as an omen of epidemic.
Durga Puja is being celebrated at 259 pavilions in Dhaka, seven more than last year, and in 33,355 sites across the country -- nearly a thousand more than in 2024.
On Thursday, Bijoya Dashami rituals will include Dashami bihit puja, mirror immersion, voluntary blood donation at noon, and a grand procession at 3pm before the idols are immersed in water.
On Dashami, along with the prescribed rituals, there are additional observances like Sindur Khela, where married women smear vermillion on each other's faces, offering sweets to the goddess, the procession, and finally the immersion, according to Pranab Chakrabarty, advisory priest of Dhakeshwari Temple.
Bijoya Dashami marks the farewell of the goddess with the immersion of her idols, and also the anticipation of her return next year.
