Bijoya Dashami Today as Durga Puja Festivities Conclude with Idol Immersion
Published : 12:23, 21 October 2026
Bijoya Dashami is being observed today, marking the conclusion of Sharadiya Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community. The five-day festivities will come to an end with the immersion of idols, as devotees prepare to bid farewell to Goddess Durga amid a mixture of celebration and emotion.
This year’s Durga Puja began on October 16 with Shashthi Puja. After several days of religious rituals, prayers and celebrations, the festival will formally conclude on Wednesday with the immersion of the idols on Bijoya Dashami.
According to Hindu religious traditions, Maha Navami is one of the significant stages of the festival, featuring special worship and rituals dedicated to Goddess Durga. Offerings are made during sacred fire ceremonies, traditionally using 108 bel leaves, mango wood and ghee. Blue aparajita flowers and other ritual offerings also hold significance in Navami worship.
On Maha Navami, temples and puja mandaps across the capital and other parts of the country drew large crowds of devotees. Temples resonated with prayers, chants and devotional offerings. Several puja venues and narrow streets in Old Dhaka were particularly crowded.
A visit to several puja mandaps in the capital revealed a steady flow of visitors from the morning, with crowds growing larger in the afternoon. Children accompanied their parents and families, dressed in new clothes for the occasion. After visiting the mandaps, many people bought food and other items from temporary stalls set up nearby.
Different parts of the capital were decorated with colourful gates, lighting and festive displays to mark Durga Puja. Special programmes were organised at various venues, while the sounds of drums, cymbals, bells and conch shells created a festive atmosphere.
On Bijoya Dashami, a procession carrying Durga idols is scheduled to depart from Dhakeshwari National Temple and travel through several streets of the capital before reaching Sadarghat. The idols will then be immersed, formally bringing the festival to a close.
Leaders of various political parties and organisations, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have extended greetings to members of the Hindu community on the occasion of Bijoya Dashami.
Although the religious ceremonies and festivities are ending, devotees will carry with them memories of the joy of welcoming Goddess Durga and the emotions associated with her departure.
