Kendrapara: While Asthami Puja was observed with fervour by devotees all over the state and Saptami rituals solemnized in all pandals Tuesday here in Satabhaya the Panchubarahi Temple remained closed as per traditions.
Asthami Puja will be held Wednesday at the famous place of worship of shakti devotees, the Panchubarahi Temple at the Bagapati Rehabilitation Colony here.
This is the first time the people of Satabhaya are celebrating Dussehra at the Bagapatia Rehabilitation Colony after their deities were shifted from sea-erosion prone Satabhaya to the newly constructed Panchubarahi Temple in the colony.
As the temple was closed Tuesday Asthami Puja is going to be done at the temple Wednesday, said Karunakar Swain, the secretary of Panchaubarahi Temple Trust.
Legend says that to save the people of Satabhaya from the sea, Maa Panchubarahi (the five sisters) observes Mangala Brata every Tuesday. As Maa Panchubarahi is on fast the temple of Panchubarahi also remains closed.
As Panchubarahi observes Mangala Brata, the women of Satabhaya panchayat do not observe Mangala Brata.
Respecting age-old tradition, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple remains closed Tuesday, said Sudarshan Rout, a resident of Satabhaya, who shifted with his family to Bagapatia Rehabilitation Colony.
Wednesday, the Asthami Puja and Sandhi Puja are going to be observed at the Panchubarahi Temple, said Janaki Dalai, the priestess.
The Panchubarahi Temple is a special temple as males are barred from entering the sanctum sanctorum during the deities’ bathing. The women of the tribal Sabar community have exclusive rights to perform the daily rituals of Panchubarahi deities.
At the new temple in Bagapatia Rehabilitation Colony all rituals would be carried out as per traditions.
Earlier, a Brahmin man had been the priest at the Panchubarahi shrine. But for a century male priests are barred, and women from the tribal community have been offering bhogas and bathing the deities in the sanctum sanctorum.
Tradition says that a priest named Sribachha who was engaged to perform priestly duties to the five deities in Panchubarahi had committed a sin while bathing them. On that day the curse of the Goddess turned the priest into a stone.
Later, the deities directed the then king through a dream to arrange a Sabar woman to perform priestly duties at the shrine and directed him not to allow men into the shrine during bathing rituals.
From that day onwards as per the direction of the deities, men are prohibited from entering the shrine, and Sabar women have been performing the daily rites of the Goddess.
PNN