Devotees throng Chattogram temples for Prabarana Purnima, sky lanterns to light up the evening

Some carried lotus flowers, others fruit and various offerings. Some offered flowers before the Buddha statue in deep reverence, while others lit lamps in quiet prayer. From Sunday morning (25 October), Buddhist temples across Chattogram city were packed with devotees of all ages.

The occasion is Shubha Prabarana Purnima, one of the principal religious festivals of Buddhists. After a day of religious rituals, devotees and visitors are waiting for the evening release of colourful sky lanterns. Organisers have prepared to light up the night sky with lanterns while spreading the Buddha's message of non-violence, peace and friendship.

From dawn, devotees immersed themselves in the festival at temples including the century-old Nandankanan Buddhist temple. Men and women, children and teenagers from Chattogram city and surrounding areas joined the celebrations.

At Nandankanan in the morning, devotees in new clothes began arriving in the temple grounds as daylight broke. They carried trays of lamps, marigolds and lotus flowers and all kinds of fruit. The formal worship began with flower offerings and lamp lighting at the feet of the Buddha statue and the Bodhi tree. Devotees then received the Panchashila and Ashtashila precepts from monks.

Special sermons and collective prayers for world peace continued through the day in different rooms of the temple. Sanghadan, Buddha puja and pindadan were also part of the religious programme.

Devotee Tripti Barua said Prabarana Purnima is for them not only a religious festival but also a day of self-purification and correcting one's own mistakes. She comes to the temple with family members every year. Her prayer is that hatred and malice leave the world and everyone's life becomes peaceful.

Another devotee, Debashish Barua, recalling memories of the lantern festival, said he has watched Prabarana lanterns being flown since childhood. They wait a whole year for this special day. When many lanterns rise into the sky together in the evening, it creates a different kind of joy. It is also part of their heritage and culture.

After the day's rituals, the most attractive part of Prabarana Purnima — the lantern festival — will begin as evening falls. Final preparations for flying the lanterns are now under way at Nandankanan Buddhist temple and its surrounding areas.

Beyond traditional lanterns, members of various religious and youth organisations have made ornate lanterns in the shapes of elephants, peacocks, fish, pillows and pitchers. The Buddha's message of non-violence, images and timeless messages of human welfare have been depicted on them.

Organisers say preparations for this single day run for months. Making the lanterns, building bamboo frames, pasting paper, painting and preparing wax — members of the organisations are involved in every task. This year more than 30 large lanterns have been made, alongside preparations to fly more lanterns in various shapes. Some organisers spoke of participation by about 70 organisations. One organiser said they do not merely fly lanterns; through them they wish well for everyone, try to spread the Buddha's message of non-violence, peace and friendship through each lantern, and celebrate the festival together regardless of religion or caste.

Buddhists celebrate Prabarana Purnima at the end of the three-month rainy-season retreat, for self-purification, restraint and seeking mutual forgiveness. Its core philosophy is to admit past mistakes, ask forgiveness of others and begin life anew. According to religious belief, lanterns flown on the Prabarana evening reach the Buddha's hair-relic chetiya in the sky as an offering of devotion. By receiving the Panchashila and Ashtashila, devotees vow to abstain from killing, stealing, lying and other immoral acts. Building a society free of hatred, malice and conflict, and hoping for world peace, are also among the festival's central messages.

Besides Nandankanan, the Prabarana festival is also being observed at the historic Katalganj Nabapandit temple, the Patharghata Jetaban Shantikunja temple, the Chandgaon Sarbojanin Buddhist temple and the Mogaltuli Shakyamuni Buddhist temple in the city. To handle the large gatherings of visitors around Cheragi Pahar and Momin Road and to ensure overall security, additional law-enforcement personnel including plainclothes police have been deployed. Kotwali police officer-in-charge Md Zahedul Kabir said huge crowds gather for the lantern festival on Prabarana Purnima, so there has been no compromise on security and surveillance; members of the law-enforcement agencies, including plainclothes police, are on duty, and he sees no risk of security being disrupted.