Maha Saptami, the second day of the five-day Sharadiyo Durga Puja, was celebrated on Thursday amid due religious fervor and gaiety.
Temples and makeshift mandaps witnessed huge devotees and visitors as beautifully crafted idols of goddess Durga were installed formally on Maha Shasthi on Wednesday.
Though puja began from Maha Shasthi, devotees started visiting puja pandals and mandaps from Thursday.
Dressed in traditional red and white colour saree and panjabi, huge number of devotees were seen visiting puja pandals across the country in the evening. Temples and mandaps have been illuminated and decorated gorgeously, marking the puja.
Maha Saptami puja was held across the country in the morning as nabapatrika, nine plants including a banana tree tied together and wrapped in a white saree with red borders, were bathed in the water of nearby rivers or ponds and later placed next to lord Ganesha.
Maha Saptami puja was offered later to goddess Durga at temples and makeshift mandaps countrywide followed by offering of Anjali to goddess by devotees who kept fasting till the puja.
Later, prashad was distributed among devotees. Identical rituals were also held at all temples countrywide.
Maha Ashtami, the third day of the Sharadiyo Durgotsab, will be celebrated on Friday.
On Maha Ashtami, different rituals, including offering of Anjali and Kumari Puja, will be held in the morning.
According to the Bangladesh Puja Uthjapon Parishad, puja celebration was offered at 31,461 puja mandaps across the country this year, including 252 in the capital.
Like previous year, special security arrangements have been made across the country this year to celebrate Durga Puja in a peaceful atmosphere.