Bhubaneswar: Thousands of devotees thronged temples across Odisha on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami, the birthday of Lord Ram being observed on Sunday.
Amid chanting of hymns and bhajans in praise of Lord Ram, devotees queued up in large numbers to have a darshan of the idols of Lord Ram, Laxman and Sita on the occasion.
Since early morning, the devotees made a beeline at the temple as 'Ramcharitmanas’ and hymns, along with ‘aarti’ of lord Rama were performed on the special occasion.
The day being a holiday, thousands devotees thronged the temple throughout the day to worship the deities.
Elaborate arrangements have also been made by Commissionerate Police as large turnout of devotees is also anticipated during evening hours today.
Ram Navami festival also marks the end of the nine days of the Navaratri festival, during which many devotees observe fast to honour the goddess Durga.
According to Hindu legend, Rama was born as an incarnation of Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, to eradicate evil from the earth.
Similar scenes were witnessed at the shrines in Cuttack. The Ram temples at Palamandap, Chandini Chowk, Chahata Ghat and Khannagar Panchamukhi Hanuman temple were thronged by crowds of devotees.
"We are happy over the arrangements as two-layer barricade systems were made for the devotees to ensure smooth Darshan of Sriram," said Gitanjali, a devotee.