Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu festival, will come to an end Friday with the immersion of the Goddess Durga’s idols across the country. Devotees will throng Puja mandaps to celebrate Bijoya Dashami, the last day of the festival, recite the mantras, offer flowers to the goddess Durga and pray for her blessings. The mandaps across the country have been decorated with beautiful idols, showcasing the goddess in all her glory. Bijoya Dashami is a special ceremony to reaffirm peace and good relations among people. READ: Messages of Durga Puja Festival: What can we learn from Goddess Durga? On this day, Hindu families visit each other to share sweetmeats. As part of the main rituals of Dashami Puja celebrations, female devotees will give vermilion at the feet of Durga at mandaps and temples across the city, which is part of the traditional ‘Shidur Khela’. The ritual follows Hindu women putting the vermilion on each other aspiring for prosperity in lives, as a tribute to the power of Devi Durga. This year, the religious festival is being celebrated at some 32,118 puja mandaps throughout the country, including the capital. In the capital, thousands of people are set to throng the Buriganga River today to observe the final phase of the festival -- the immersion of the goddess Durga. Devotees in their tearful eyes will bid farewell to the mother deity and her children – Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh – through the immersion of their idols in the water wishing Durga’s return next year. The five-day festival started on October 11 with the incarnation (Bodhon) of the Goddess Durga marking Sashthi amid strict security measures across the country. READ: Durga Puja symbolises national unity in Bangladesh: State Minister for Religious Affairs Durga Puja, the annual Hindu festival also known as Sharadiya (autumnal) DurgaUtsab, is the worship of "Shakti" [divine force] embodied in goddess Durga. It symbolises the battle between good and evil where the dark forces eventually succumb to the divine.

The five-day Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu festival, will come to an end Friday with solemn immersion of the Goddess Durga across the country. Devotees will throng Puja mandaps to celebrate Bijoya Dashami, the last day of the festival, recite the mantras, offer flowers to the goddess Durga (pushpanjali) and pray for her blessings. The mandaps across the country have been decorated with beautiful idols, showcasing the goddess in all her glory. BijoyaDashami is the special ceremony of reaffirming peace and good relations among people. Read: Hasina calls for hunting down culprits of Cumilla incident On this day, families visit each other to share sweetmeats. Married Hindu women put vermilion on each other's forehead on the occasion. This year, the religious festival is being celebrated at some 32,118 puja mandaps throughout the country, including the capital. In the capital, thousands of people are set to throng the Buriganga tomorrow to observe the final phase of the festival -- the immersion of the goddess Durga. Devotees in their tearful eyes will bid farewell to the mother deity and her children – Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh – through the immersion of their idols in the water wishing Durga’s return next year. Also read: Cumilla incident: DIG says offenders to be hunted down Meanwhile, there will be strict security measures in place so that Durga Puja ends peacefully.The five-day festival started on October 11 with the incarnation (Bodhon) of the Goddess Durga marking Sashthi. Durga Puja, the annual Hindu festival also known as Sharadiya (autumnal) DurgaUtsab, is the worship of "Shakti" [divine force] embodied in goddess Durga. It symbolises the battle between good and evil where the dark forces eventually succumb to the divine.