Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Lakhs witness Chhatra Yatra of Manikeswari

The Pioneer, Sept 30, 2009
Bikash Khemka | Bhawanipatna

The famous Chhatra Yatra of Goddess Manikeswari of Bhawanipatna here, a very famous and popular ceremony, was held on Saturday amidst traditional rites and rituals.

More than two lakh devotees from the district as well as from other parts of the State congregated here to take part in the celebrations.

After performing the traditional sandhi puja on mahastami night at the Manikeswari temple, rituals were performed on mahanavami morning at Jenakhal.

The ceremonial Chhatra of goddess Manikeswari was taken from Jenakhal to Manikeswari temple covering about three kilometres which took five hours to reach the temple.

The deity was accompanied with dancers performing Ghumura and other tribal dances. Devotees followed the deity and sacrificed around 20,000 goats and hens to fulfill their wishes.

However, devotees were upset as police failed to check severe traffic congestion during the procession.

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