BERHAMPUR/TALCHER: The much-awaited 28-day Budhi Thakurani yatra began in Berhampur on Tuesday amid much fanfare and religious fervour. Considered the biggest yatra of Southern Odisha, the city has geared up to celebrate the deity’s visit to her parental home in a grand way after Covid lull for two years.
Being the presiding deity of Berhampur, Maa Budhi Thakurani festival is celebrated by lakhs of people belonging to south Odisha and neighbouring north Andhra Pradesh districts. The city wears a festive look, particularly the Desibehera Sahi, which is the parental abode of the Goddess. As per sources, the deity will reach her parent’s home on Tuesday night and give darshan to people at the temporary mandap put up in the area.
All preparations by the district administration have been completed to maintain law and order. People from different areas, age groups and social backgrounds throng the mandap to offer prayers to Maa Budhi Thakurani. As per rituals, every evening, during the 28-day period, the goddess leaves the temporary mandap and visits devotees in a procession. Nine sacred ‘Kalashas’ or sanctified pots, representing the goddess and her eight sisters are taken around in a procession through the streets of Old Berhampur.
To mark the beginning of the festival, on the day, the organiser of the yatra Durga Prasad Desibehera accompanied by several eminent persons of the city reached the Thakurani temple on Tuesday morning to invite the goddess as per the tradition. The goddess will leave her temple at midnight for the yatra.
In Talcher too, the nine-day Maa Hingula yatra began on Tuesday amid a gathering of thousands of people at Gopal Prasad, 25 km from here. Goddess Hingula, during the yatra, manifests in the form of fire and people worship her as the goddess of fire.
Devotees from far and wide congregated Gopal Prasad to offer puja to the goddess even as the day time temperature remained high. The yatra began with mangala arati and other rituals by the priest.
Elaborate arrangements have been put in place for smooth movement of traffic and parking of vehicles. Under the direct supervision of SP Sudhanshu Bhusan Mishra, two additional SPs, a DSP and other senior police officials including 10 platoons of police have been deployed to maintain law and order.
Devotees started making a beeline to the ‘peetha’ right from 3 am to offer sarees, coconut, gur, banana and other items to Maa Hingula. Chief priest of Hingula temple Kishore Chandra Dehury said, “Nine days before the commencement of the yatra, the goddess appears near the temple in the form of fire after a special puja is offered.. This year Maa Hingula gave darshan near the main Hingula temple in the form of fire where the embers are kept surrounded with heaps of coal till the yatra gets over.”