Purushottampur: The annual Chaitra Mangalabar Jatra of Maa Tara Tarini, the presiding deity of Ganjam district, began Tuesday with religious fervour at the hilltop shrine.
The temple premises witnessed a huge gathering of devotees from midnight, with the air resonating with chants, women’s ululation and Vedic hymns recited by priests. The entire Ratnagiri hill reverberated with spiritual fervour as rituals began early in the morning.
The temple doors were opened at about 1.30am, following which traditional rituals such as Mangala Alati, Singara, Abakash and Panchasutra Abhishek were performed as per temple customs. The twin goddesses, Maa Tara and Maa Tarini, were adorned in Mahakali attire and offered darshan to devotees.
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The ‘Sahana Mela’ for public darshan began at about 4.30am. Ganjam Collector V. Keerthi Vasan, along with his wife, visited the shrine at around 4am and offered prayers. The collector also carried the sacred Panchamruta pot and circumambulated the temple, praying for the well-being of the district’s residents.
The first Tuesday of the Chaitra month witnessed a large infl ux of devotees. Many pilgrims from distant places visited the shrine, while several parents performed the traditional head tonsuring ceremony of their children to seek the goddess’ blessings. Devotees reached the hilltop temple through special buses, ropeway facilities and the flight of steps.
The administration made elaborate arrangements for devotees, including the opening of the ‘Ananda Bazaar’ for distribution of prasad and setting up four centres for head tonsuring. Sub-collector Shubhashish Baral, temple executive officer and tehsildar Binod Kumar Behera, BDO Sarat Kumar Patra and other officials supervised the arrangements.
PNN