SAMBALPUR: Lakhs of devotees from all walks of life thronged Samaleswari temple here as well as the temple in Bargarh to have a glimpse of ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ (incarnation) of Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of undivided Sambalpur district, on the occasion of Mahalaya on Friday.
The Goddess remains in red costume round the year except on this occasion when she gives a ‘darshan’ in white.
There was a long queue of devotees since early morning and continued till the report was being filed. While temple authorities had a tough time to regulate the crowd, devotees were let in batches and gates were locked till the sanctum was not free from devotees to facilitate entry of another batch.
Head priest in Samaleswari temple, Ambika Prashad Ray, said preparation for the incarnation of the Goddess started at around 12 am and continued till the temple door was open at 4.30 am for public.
The ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’, also referred to as ‘Ganga Darshan’, follows the Navaratri with Devi Samaleswari dressed in several incarnations of Goddess Durga.
According to temple authorities, the festivities during the month of ‘Aswina’ start with ‘Sohala Puja’ followed by Mahalaya and Navaratri puja. Member of Temple Trust Board, Surendra Mohanty, said the Goddess will remain in ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ for two and a half days before she adorns other ‘Beshas’ as Navaratri proceeds.
On the first day of Navaratri puja, the Goddess adorns ‘Shailaputri Besha’ followed by ‘Brahmacharini’ the next day. Subsequently, the Goddess assumes the incarnations of ‘Chandraghanta’, ‘Kusumanda’, ‘Skandhamata’, ‘Katyayani’, ‘Kalaratri’, ‘Mahagouri’ and finally ‘Raja Rajeswari’ Besha.
Hundreds of people also offered ‘Tila Tarpan’ on the bank of river Mahanadi as the day marks the end of ‘Pitru Pakhya’ and obeisance is offered to forefathers who are believed to be on a visit to earth.