Puri: Devotees thronged Gopinath Temple at Sakhigopal in Odisha’s Puri district on Sunday for Radha Pada Darshan on the occasion of Anla Navami.
Anla Navami, also known as Akshaya Navami, marks the ninth day of ‘Shukla Paksha’ in the Kartika month, according to the Hindu calendar. On the auspicious occasion, Goddess Radha is adorned in a special attire called Odiani Besha while Lord Krishna is dressed in Natabar Besha. She wears a typical Kachha costume and the ritual is known as Radha Pada Darshan.
The temple opened its doors at 1 am, and the Mangala Alati was performed at 1.30 am. The Radha Pada Darshan for the public will continue until 11 pm. This is the only day when people get a chance to have the darshan of Goddess Radha’s feet which otherwise remains covered throughout the year.
As per the popular Hindu belief, whoever witnesses the holy feet of Goddess Radha gets ‘Moksha’ (salvation).
The Puri district administration has made extensive arrangements to ensure smooth darshan of the deities. Barricades have been set up to regulate the flow of people, and amenities such as drinking water and parking facilities are also being provided. A total of 20 platoons of police and three Additional SPs have been deployed for crowd management and maintaining law and order.
Special arrangement has been made for parking.
People also worship Anla (Indian gooseberry) tree and Goddess Lakshmi to seek blessings on this day. The occasion is celebrated nine days after Diwali. It is considered to be one of the most important rituals in the Hindu religion.