Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu, who is on a two-day visit to Odisha, offered prayers at Nilamadhaba Temple at Kantilo in Nayagarh district on Monday.
She was accompanied by Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
“The President offered ‘aarti’. She was happy to pray at the Lord Vishnu temple,” a priest told the media, adding that Murmu is the first-ever sitting President to visit the shrine.
The temple is located near to the bank of Mahanadi in Khandapada block. Legends has it that Lord Vishnu was worshiped here as Nilamadhab by Sabar Raja Biswabasu before the idol of Lord Jagannath was created and installed at Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri. The design of this temple and rituals are similar to the 12th-century shrine in Puri.
Later, Murmu went to Kaliapalli, the village of Sabar Raja Biswabasu, and unveiled his statue. She also participated in the concluding rituals of the ‘Vishwashanti Mahayajna’ and attend a public gathering organised by the Biswabasu Shabar Samaj.
According to her schedule, she will return to Bhubaneswar in the evening and make a night halt at Raj Bhawan before flying back to Delhi at 9.20 am on March 25.
