Bhubaneswar: The first pitcher of holy water drawn from Marichi `Kunda’ (pond) located in Mukteswar Temple, fetched Rs 21,000, in an auction conducted on the eve of Lord Lingaraj’s annual Rukuna Rath Yatra in Bhubaneswar on Friday night.
The auction was conducted by Bodu Nijog, a group of servitors of Shree Lingaraj Temple after the consecration rituals of Rukuna Rath. This event takes place on Shukla Paksha Saptami of Chaitra month as per the Hindu calendar.
A couple — Jitendra Moharana and Jyotshnarani Moharana — from Damodarpur area in Cuttack district offered the highest price and they received the first pitcher of water. It is believed that bathing in the holy water on Ashokastami helps a barren woman to conceive a baby. The water is believed to have medicinal properties due to the presence of Ashoka trees surrounding the tank.
According to Hindu scriptures, Lord Shiva had killed a demon named Maricha at the spot and the demon’s wife Marichi had then asked the Lord how she could become a mother without her husband. Pleased over her prayer, the Lord granted her a boon. She bathed in the water of the tank and was blessed with motherhood. Since then, the tank has been known as Marichi Kunda.
In 2022, a couple of Baramunda area in Bhubaneswar had offered Rs 1.30 lakh for the first pitcher of the holy water. A childless couple won a whopping Rs 2 lakh bid in 2013, while another secured it for Rs 41,000 in 2015. The highest bids in 2023 and 2024 were Rs 30,000 and Rs 24,500 respectively.
