Durga Puja

Durga Puja the most important religious festival of Bengali Hindus, celebrates the return of the goddess to her natal home. In other parts of India as well, Durga is worshipped, but under different names.

The biggest religious festival of the Hindu community in Bangladesh is the festival of Durga Puja. Hindus participate in this festival with great devotion. Durga Puja is an old festival but it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty exactly how old it is.

The oldest manifestation of goddess Durga, who slew the Mahisasura, belonged to the fifteenth century AD. A series of festivals, centering on Durga Puja, is held in Bangladesh. Usually, on the sixth lunar day of the bright fortnight in the Bengali month of Ashwin, the ceremonial awakening of the goddess Durga takes place. Thereafter, Puja is performed for three days on the seventh, eighth and ninth and the immersion of the image of the goddess Durga (with her companions) takes place on the tenth day. People exchange greetings during a period of fifteen days after the immersion of the image of the deity.