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Devotees throng temples on last day of Sharadiya Navratra
Long queues of devotees were seen outside famous temples including Kalyani Devi temple, Alopidevi, and Lalita Devi, which is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths of the country. Smaller temples too witnessed a heavy rush of devotees the entire day.
Thousands of devotees thronged various temples of Goddesses in Sangam city on Navami (the ninth day of the Sharadiya Navratra), on Tuesday. Chanting slogans of ‘Jai Mata Di’, the devotees carried coconuts, bangles and red chunari as offerings.
The day also marked the conclusion of the nine days of fasting by devotees. Long queues of devotees were seen outside famous temples including Kalyani Devi temple, Alopidevi, and Lalita Devi, which is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths of the country. Smaller temples too witnessed a heavy rush of devotees the entire day. The idols of the deity in these temples were all decked up with colourful flowers.
At Baghambari Gaddi Math, Mahant Balbeer Giri performed the ‘mahayagya’ which was being held at the Math for the past nine days. Balbeer Giri, who heads the Math after the demise of his guru and mentor Mahant Narendra Giri last year, also performed Kanya Pujan. Divisional commissioner Vijay Vishvas Pant also attended the ritual along with his family.
“Tuesday marked the conclusion of the nine days of religious rituals performed during Sharadiya Navratri and today I also performed the bhumi pujan of the temple of my guru, Mahant Narendra Giri, which would be constructed at the site of his Samadhi Sthal,” said Balbeer Giri.
“I went to the Kalyani Devi temple with my family to get blessings from Mata and offered prayers, coconuts and a chunari,” said Manoj Jaiswal, a resident of Civil Lines.
“My daughter planted grains of barley in a pot as part of the rituals and the entire family worshipped the deity throughout the nine days. This custom is indicative of fertility and is known as Khetri,” he added.
Meanwhile, restaurants and sweet shops across the city also did brisk business during the festival, as Navratri thalis are very popular among the devotees who observe fast.
“A Navratri thali usually consists of kuttu ki roti/puri, fried potatoes, swang ke chawal, saboodana ki tikki or khichdi, kheer, saboodana papad and pakodas,” said Pramila Mishra, a local.
The festivities of Navami were also witnessed in different Durga puja pandals of the city wherein large number of devotees turned out to watch the attractive pandals and to pay their obeisance to the deity.
Meanwhile, Jal police in Prayagraj is on alert to prevent any untoward incident during immersion of idols which will take place on Wednesday. Officials have asked Jal police to keep strict vigil during immersion of idols and ensure arrangement of divers and life jackets to counter any emergency situation.
It is worth mentioning that administration has constructed ponds for immersion of idols at Andawa and Phaphamau. Besides, similar arrangements have been made in rural areas like Manda town area, Puramufti, Bharatganj and at other places. The step has been taken in compliance with orders of the court restricting immersion of idols in rivers in view of controlling pollution.
Jal police in-charge Kadedeen Yadav said adequate arrangements of divers, life jackets have been made at ponds at Andawa and Phaphamau. PAC companies have been deployed at the ponds and motorboats have also been roped in to counter any emergency situation, he added.
