People rarely worship Bali Chakravarti or Trivikrama (who gave Moksha to Bali Chakravarti) on Bali Padya (day after Deepavali Amavasya) in Hyderabad- Karnataka, but Pandava Puja is offered in many houses in rural areas on Bali Padya day which fell on Wednesday this year.
Women of the family wake up early in the morning and make a model of Hastinavati, the capital city of the Pandavas, with dolls depicting the Pandavas as well as houses, trees and cattle within a boundary wall made of cow dung.
Outside the wall would be the Kaurava army with Duryodhana lying prostate with crackers planted in his stomach.
All the family members offer Puja to the Pandavas and later destroy the army of Kauravas by bursting the crackers.
They also worship cows and celebrate the festival by giving sweets to friends and relatives.
Deve Gowda Tellur, whose family offered Pandava Puja on Wednesday, told Express that rural folk of the region put the model of Duryodhana outside the boundary of Hastinavati and destroy it to caution land grabbers that they too would face the same fate.
Using cow dung to make Hastinavati is a symbol of purity and prosperity.
Pandav Puja is the occasion when family members from different places get together to celebrate the occasion, Deve Gowda Tellur said.