Special ‘Shodasha Upachar Puja’ begins at Puri Srimandir

With Durga Puja around the corner, the special ‘Shodasha Upachar Puja’ started at Maa Bimala Temple on Friday on the premises of Srimandir.  

On the occasion of this special ritual, Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb welcomed 21 Srotriya Brahmins from 16 ‘sashanas’, or villages inhabited by Brahmins in the palace. One among them is a priest from Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar. 

As per the tradition, Gajapati Maharaja entrusts these Brahmins to perform the Sodasha Upachar Puja of Devi Bimala inside the shrine. 

Biswanath Mishra, working president of Mukti Mandap in Puri said, “If the goddess is worshipped as per the tradition, it would be good for the entire world and all the threats can be avoided. So the ‘Shodasha Upachara Puja’ is performed with ‘Chandi Patha’ at Bimala peeth.”

“We hope we could appease the goddess and consequently there would be no threats of natural calamities, or famine to the world and there would be prosperity everywhere,” he added.