Dhaka, May 1 -- Buddha Purnima, the most sacred and largest religious festival of Buddhists community, is being celebrated today across the country with traditional enthusiasm and due religious fervour.

The United Nations declared Buddha Purnima as International Vesak Day in 2000.

The day commemorates three key events in the life of Gautama Buddha - the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, his attainment of supreme enlightenment, and his entry into Nirvana, the sublime cessation of all longing. The occasion holds profound significance for Buddhists worldwide.

The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh.

The festival is also known as Ashwini Purnima, marking the conclusion of the three-month-long seclusion of monks inside monasteries for self-ed...