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Huge crowds throng to temples to seek blessings, mark New Year. Watch
Temples in Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and other states witnessed long queues of devotees on the ocassion of New Year.
Huge crowds of devotees thronged to temples to mark New Year and seek blessings. Temples in Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and other states witnessed long queues of devotees. People also prayed to the Sun God as they witnessed the first sunrise of 2023.
Maharashtra
Devotees gathered at Mumbai's iconic Siddhivinayak Temple on Sunday, the first day of 2023, to watch the morning aarti and offer special prayers to Lord Ganesha for his blessings. The temple holds a special place in the hearts of Mumbai locals.
Watch | Massive crowd, packed streets as Bengaluru marks New Year
Madhya Pradesh
Devotees flocked to Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple to witness morning aarti on Sunday. On the occasion of the New Year, Lord Shiva's 'Bhasma aarti' was performed in the early morning hours at the temple. The Arti is said to be performed only at this temple to awaken Shiva.
Uttar Pradesh
A huge crowd of devotees were seen waiting in queue to offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi dedicated to Lor Shiva. 'Ganga aarti' was performed early in the morning near Varanasi's Assi Ghat.
Odisha
Devotees visited the Puri Jagannath Temple to offer prayers, where people also witnessed the year's first sunrise and prayed to the Sun God. According to ANI, to welcome the New Year, renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created an 8-foot-high and 15-foot-long sand sculpture of Lord Jagannatha at Puri beach. Pattnaik reportedly used 10 tonnes of sand to create the deities of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra. He adorned the sculpture with flowers and inscribed "Jai Jagannath" on it.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is said to have a large number of temples. On Sunday, a large crowd of devotees thronged to pray to Lord Murugan at the Vadapalani Murugan Temple in Chennai. Many Tamilians also flocked to the Anna Nagar's Church in Chennai and prayed to the baby Jesus Church in Coimbatore.
West Bengal, Punjab & Delhi
A large crowd also gathered to pray at the famous Dakhineswar Kali temple in Kolkata. As people celebrated the first day of 2023, a large crowd of devotees also offered prayers at Delhi's Jhandewalan temple, which houses a 108-foot statue of Lord Hanuman. A crowd of devotees also waited in long lines to pray at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab.
(With ANI inputs)
