Bhubaneswar: Lord Vishwakarma, the god of architecture, is worshipped all over India and this festival has always been a very popular festival in Odisha. The grandeur of the puja in the port town of Paradip, Rourkela, Cuttack, Hirakud, Nalco Nagar at Angul and other industrial sites are seen to be believed and held with a lot of religious customs and traditions that last for a full week.
Workers worship the moustachioed Lord to increase their efficiency and productivity in the fields and factories on the occasion which is followed by two days of merriment and revelry.
It generally marks the last day of the month of Bhadrapada, according to the Hindu calendar. Interestingly, this festival is determined as per the Solar calendar while the other festival dates are based on the Lunar calendar.
Odisha connection
Lord Vishwakarma, the son of Brahma, the chief architect of the world, is a divine craftsman who designed Dwarka, which is now submerged in the Arabian Sea and Maya Sabha for the Pandavas. The ancient cities of Indraprastha, Hastinapur and Lanka were designed by him.
Another popular folklore related to Vishwakarma is that he sculpted the Puri Jagannath idols. He is also attributed to have designed and built several weapons for Gods like Shiva’s Trishul, Vishnu’s Sudarshan Chakra, Ravana’s Pushpak Viman and Indra’s Vajra (thunderbolt).
