Sambalpur: Thousands of devotees are thronging the Samaleswari temple in Odisha’s Sambalpur on Sunday to witness the ‘Rajarajeswari Besha’ of Goddess Samaleswari.
On Kumar Purnima, following tradition, the Goddess is decked up in ‘Rajarajeswari Besha’ for ‘darshan’ by the devotees. The temple’s ‘dhwaja’ (customary flag) will also be replaced. Pieces of the old flag are distributed among devotees, who believe that it wards off evil.
On Mahalaya, Goddess Samaleswari adorned the ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’. It is believed that the ‘darshan’ of the Goddess in the ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ brings peace and prosperity to the devotees.
It is believed that ‘darshan’ of the Goddess in the ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ is as good as taking a holy dip in the Ganga. It is also called ‘Ganga Darshan’.
Legend has it that Goddess Samaleswari is regarded as an ‘ansh’ (part) of Goddess Durga or Goddess Parvati, along with six other ‘Shakti Ansh’ of Odisha and Chhattisgarh. It is believed the city derived its name from the Goddess after the first king of Chauhan dynasty, Balaram Dev, found the Goddess on a ‘kud’ (island).
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