Post News Network
Cuttack, April 14: Maha Vishuba Sankranti or Pana Sankranti, was celebrated with religious fervour across the silver city. The day, according to beliefs, marks the start of the summer season.
Cuttack residents thronged religious places in the morning to seek divine blessings on the first day of the Oriya New Year. Long queues of devotees were seen at temples at various places in the city since morning. “I don’t think anything else is important other than the darshan of the Lord on the first day of the Oriya New Year,” said Sangeeta Swain, an engineering student.
Maha Vishuba Sankranti also marks a change of position in the sun’s path and is, therefore, observed in mid-April every year. Among the major highlights of the festival is the release of the new Oriya religious almanac for the Hindu year. The almanac or paanji is important for Oriyas as it helps in organising auspicious events or following religious events.
On the occasion, a special drink called Pana is prepared and served. Bela (stone apple) pana prepared from a blend of fruits, horse gram (chhatua) water, cardamom, milk, pulp of bela, curd and sugar, is the most common variety of pana, and is offered to deities and distributed among friends.
Amba Pana that includes mango pulp, is offered to Lord Jagannath to convey New Year wishes.
On this day, there is a ritual of making Sara, a small mud pot with a hole at the bottom filled with Pana, and is hung over the Holy Chaura (Tulsi plant). The Pana pouring from the pot through the hole on the Basil symbolises good rainfall for the upcoming monsoon.
Another significance of the day was Hanuman Jayanti. As it is traditionally believed that Lord Hanuman descended on earth on this day, many devotees visited various Hanuman temples to do puja and offer their prayers. “Special Puja was conducted at all the temples in the city,” said Bhanu Dash, a priest of Khan Nagar Panchamukhi Hanuman Temple.
The Sikh community of the city observed the day as Baisakhi with pomp and grandeur in the city Gurudwaras. The festival is also celebrated as the harvest festival and the beginning of New Year.
“For the last three days, we had been organising akhandapatha of the Guru Granth Sahib. Bhajans and kirtans are going on. Sikh families from different nearby districts also attended the festivities,” said president of the organising committee Kaliaboda Gurudwara, Swaram Singh. “We also organised langar for nearly 1,500 people from all walks of life,” Singh added.
