Durga Puja — History, Date & Significance

Durga Puja celebrates the goddess Durga’s victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura — the triumph of good over evil. According to the Ramayana tradition, Lord Rama performed an untimely autumn invocation of the goddess (akalbodhan) before his battle with Ravana, which is why the great puja is held in the month of Ashwin. Community celebrations in Bengal date back to the late eighteenth century, when the first barowari (public) puja was organized, transforming a household ritual into the region’s grandest festival.

In Bangladesh, Durga Puja is the largest festival of the Hindu community, centered on the historic Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka and thousands of pandals across the country. The festival spans five days — Shashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, and Vijaya Dashami — and the public holiday falls on the final day, when the idols are carried in processions and immersed in rivers.