Durga puja spirit soars high across Odisha on Maha Saptami

Bhubaneswar: Durga puja spirit soared high across Odisha on Tuesday which marked Maha Saptami -- day two of the Puja -- as thousands of revellers, adorned up in their best, stepped out for pandal-hopping.

While the 'Sasthi puja' was conducted last night, pandals with the idol of Maa Durga were all decked up on the occasion at various places. Ahead of the Maha saptami puja to be held today evening, devotees made a beeline outside the pandals.

All the puja committees have made extensive arrangements and have left no stone unturned to ensure that devotees get hassle free darshan of the deity.

Especially in twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, puja pandals with unique themes have been set up across many places.

According to Hindu mythology, the festivities and prayers begin with the symbolic arrival of the goddess on earth on the sixth day of the first quarter of the moon and ends on Dashami or the 10th day, which is celebrated across the country as Dussehra.

Traditionally, every pandal has an idol of Goddess Durga depicting her as slaying the demon Mahishasur. She is shown astride a lion and wielding an array of weapons in her arms.

(With IANS inputs)