Bhubaneswar: The lifting of ‘Mahadeep’ atop Lingaraj Temple in the Odisha capital was delayed by more than 2 hours on Saturday.
While it was decided at a preparatory meeting that the rituals on the day would be completed in time and the Mahadeep will be placed on ‘Dhadhinauti’ (temple crown) of the temple at 10 pm, the rituals were not completed by 11 pm.
According to sources, the rituals were being performed over 2 hours behind the schedule. Only half of the puja process of the deity had been completed and the rest half would take at around 3 hours. The Mahadeep will be lifted after the completion of all rituals, they added.
Following the inordinate delay, Minister Ashok Panda along with officials of the temple administration held a discussion with the sevayats (servitors). The sevayats have reportedly agreed to complete the rituals as soon as possible.
It may be noted that the Mahadeep was lifted atop Lingaraj Temple in time last year. It was completed around half an hour before the schedule time of 10 pm the previous despite COVID related restrictions.
Meanwhile, thousands of devotees congregated at the temple and sat down along with their lamps as part of Jagar during Shivratri. The temple and its surrounding areas were lit up with decorative lights for the occasion.
The areas around the temple were cleaned up and decorated for the devotees to sit with lamps while observing fast. A Bhajan Samaroh was organised near the temple with singers including Babul Supriyo and Anuradha Paudwal singing devotional songs.
