Priests offering puja before the idols of Triveniswar, Dakhineswar and Aishaneswar at an altar near the holy pond on Chandrabhaga beach on the occasion of Magha Saptami Sunday.
Konark: Around five lakh devotees took a dip in the holy pond on Chndrabhaga beach here on the occasion of Magha Saptami Sunday.
The holy dips began late Saturday night when the devotees carried the idols of Triveniswar of Madhipur, Aishaneswar of Santhapur and Dakhineswar of Bang to the bathing altar near the holy pond. Many devotees and locals offered puja and bhog to the three deities, popularly known as Trishambhu, all along the road leading to the holy pond. Most devotees took the holy dip at 4.20 am after the priests installed the deities on the bathing altar and performed the rituals.
A considerably large number of devotees from across the state gathered on Chandrabhaga beach this year as Magha Saptami coincided with the rare occasion of Baruni Snana, which came after a gap of 25 years. Legend has it that a holy dip in the Chandrabhaga pond on Magha Saptami coinciding with the Baruni Snana can fetch a person as much virtue as he can garner after taking seven dips in the Ganges.
The devotees cooked food stuffs in earthen pots with the help of firewood on the beach as part of the traditional rituals. They also disposed of the broken pots in a pond near the holy pond as part of the elaborate ritual of the holy dip.
Puri district administration had deployed altogether 27 platoons of armed police personnel at Ramchandi, Chandrabhaga, Konark and other places near the fairground to maintain law and order.
Puri collector Aravind Agarwal, superintendent of police Ashis Kumar Singh and additional collector Uddhav Charan Majhi supervised the preparations and security arrangements at the fairground. PNN
