The Old Town in the temple city of Bhubaneswar and the pilgrim city of Puri have come alive on the occasion of Mahalaya today with people thronging the bank of Bindusagar tank near Lingaraj temple and the northern gate of Srimandir to offer ‘tila tarpan’ and ‘pinda daan’ to their forefathers.
The auspicious occasion of Mahalaya marks the end of the Pitru Paksha, otherwise known as Shradh. Those who couldn’t offer ‘pinda' to their forefathers during the 16 days of the Pitru Paksha, are doing the same today.
As per the tradition, on Mahalaya, ‘pinda daan’ is also offered to three generations of maternal uncle. It is believed that our forefathers attain moksha, if ‘pinda daan’ is offered to them.
The importance of the day lies in the fact that we show our respect to the forefathers even after their deaths.
At the same time, Mahalaya marks the beginning of Devi Paksha, the beginning of Durga Puja celebrations.
“On the occasion of Mahalaya, a person offers ‘pinda’ to his forefathers and the departed souls of his maternal grandfather and others,” observed a priest.
A devotees said, “There are many rituals in the Hindu religion and all the rituals are more or less connected to science. We are here for the first time to offer ‘pinda’ to the departed souls of my uncle’s family. It gives me immense peace of mind.”
On this occasion of Mahalaya, hundreds of devotees are thronging Samaleswari temple in Sambalpur to witness goddess Samaleswari’s Dhabalamukhi Besha.
While the goddess remains dressed in red costumes all round the year, on Mahalaya day she adorns white costume. A fresh coat of traditionally prepared white paint is applied to the deity. The deity remains in Dhabalamukhi Besha for two and a half days. During this period, the priests too wear white costume while worshipping the deity.
The darshan of Dhabalamukhi Besha is also known as ‘Ganga Darshan'. It is believed that the darshan of the goddess’ Dhabalamukhi Besha gives the same benefits that one gets from taking a holy dip in the Ganga.