Balangir: The ‘Lagna’ (auspicious time) for ‘Nabanaa’ (Nuakhai-offering of new crop), an agrarian festival of western Odisha, was finalised in Balangir on Saturday after a traditional puja at Shailashree Palace household office.
According to sources, the ‘Nabanna’ will be offered to Goddess Pataneswari, the presiding deity of Balangir, between 10.28 am and 10.41 am, on September 20. “The date and time of the lagna is finalised taking into account the zodiac and naxatra of Maa Pataneswari and the king of Patanagarh. I request all the devotees in Balangir to offer prasad to their respective presiding deities between the prescribed time,” Rajpurohit of Shailashree Palace told the media.
One the Maharaja approves the ‘Lagna’, around 20,000 declaration letters are published and distributed among prominent people of the districts and others, he added.
The festival is celebrated on ‘Panchami tithi’ of the Odia month of Bhadraba.
Though Nuakhai is basically an agrarian festival, which is celebrated with offering made from new crop as on obligation to Mother Earth, it has assumed the shape of mass celebration in recent times. In villages, ‘Nuakhai Bhet Bhat’ (community meeting) is organised and younger people take blessings of the elders by wishing ‘Nuakhai Juhar’ (obeisance). Either a community feast is organised or people exchange the food prepared at their homes.
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