BSS, Dhaka :The third day of the Durga Puja, biggest festival of the Hindu community, ended with Mohashtami puja proshashta and brotoupabas (fasting) yesterday morning and Sandhi puja at night. The Mohanabami puja of the Goddess Durga will be held today. As the Nabami and Dashami tithi falls on the same day, the rituals relating to celebration of the five-day festival will come to an end today (Friday). However, the images of the Goddess Durga will be immersed in the nearby ponds or in water bodies in the capital city as elsewhere across the country following a colourful Bijoya Dashami procession on Saturday. The main attraction of Mohashtami day was Kumari Puja, worshipping of the virgin Goddess as a symbol of mother. Hundreds of Hindu devotees irrespective of ages thronged at Dhaka’s Ramkrishna Mission and Math to take part in the Kumari Puja there. Beating of dhuk-dhols (drums) and blowing of Sankhya (conch shells) and other religious rituals added a new dimension in worshipping of the virgin Goddess. Hundreds of devotees offered Anjali before the Goddess Durga at different puja pandals and temples yesterday seeking her divine blessings for peace, prosperity and welfare of the country and its people. Besides, the other programmes of the Mohashtami day included distribution of Mohaprosad among the devotees, Arati completion, blood donation camps and discussions. In celebration of the Durga Puja festival a total of 28,458 puja pandals were erected with colourful decoration throughout the country including 221 in the capital city.
