Devotees witness ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ of Maa Samaleswari
SAMBALPUR: Thousands of devotees thronged the Samaleswari temple in Sambalpur city to witness the rare and sacred ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ of Goddess Samaleswari on the occasion of Mahalaya on Wednesday.
The Goddess adorns the ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ for only two-and-a-half days in a year while for the rest of the year, the deity is seen in her usual red avatar. This year, Maa Samaleswari will remain in Dhabalamukhi Besha, also known as ‘Ganga Darshan’ till 3 pm on Friday.
Preparation for the same starts the night before and takes an hour. After the rituals, the temple gates are thrown open for the devotees to have a glimpse of the sacred avatar of the deity.
President of Samaleswari Temple Trust Board, Sanjaya Baboo said the temple gates were opened for devotees at 5 am on the day.
“Prior to that, all the priests performed the special rituals related to the Besha. During the rituals, the priests and members of the temple trust board wore white costumes,” he added.
He further cited that following redevelopment of the temple and growing devotion for the Goddess, there has been a surge in devotees at the shrine this year.
“Adequate arrangements have been made to ensure everyone gets darshan of the deity. The devotees have been entering the temple through gate no 4 and passing through the queue management system in an organised manner. Elaborate arrangements like fan, drinking water and chairs for senior citizens have been made by the temple authorities for devotees coming from across western Odisha and the neighbouring states,” Baboo said.
