TV
The Puri district administration has made elaborate arrangement for the famous ‘Radha Pada darshan’ at the Sakhigopal temple here on the occasion of ‘Anla Navami’ on Sunday.
Preparations have reached the last stage as lakhs of devotees are expected to throng the temple to witness the festival.
As per the age-old tradition, ‘Radha Pada darsha is observed every year on the occasion of ‘Sukla Navami’ in the holy Odia month of ‘Kartika’.
This is the only day when people get a chance to have the darshan of Goddess Radha’s feet which otherwise remains covered throughout the year. Goddess Radha will also give darshan to the devotees in ‘Odiyani’ Besha on the special occasion.
As per the popular Hindu belief, whoever witnesses the holy feet of Goddess Radha gets ‘Moksha’ (salvation).
Moreover, Lord Sakhi Gopinath will give darshan to the devotees in ‘Natabara’ besha.
As per the temple sources, ‘Dwar phita niti’ (opening of doors ritual) of the temple will be done at 1 am. Subsequently, important rituals like ‘Mangala Alati’, ‘Mardana’ and ‘Abakasa’ will be performed. Then the deities will be adorned with the special attires.
Goddess Radharani and Lord Sakhi Gopinath will be adorned with special gold ornaments as part of the attires.
While Lord Sakhi Gopinath temple has been painted on the occasion of the festival, all the places around the temple have also been attractively decorated.
“As per the Odia tradition, Goddess Radharani will be adorned ‘Odiyani’ Besha. We are hopeful that, devotees will be allowed to have darshan before 6 am after completion of all the rituals,” said senior servitor Kishore Mohapatra.
“As many as 20 platoon police forces and three Additional SPs will be deployed at Sakhigopal for the festival. Special arrangement has been made for traffic and parking facilities. We will ensure smooth darshan of the devotees and proper crowd management,” said Puri SP Vinit Agrawal.
