Pralakhemundi: With Durga Puja festivities gripping Odisha, a small Devi shrine at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district is now attracting a large number of devotees to seek the blessings of the goddess.
However, there is a difference in celebrations at Danda Maa Peetha at Parlakhemundi. The temple opens for the devotees only for nine days in a year during Navratri celebrations. The devotees get an opportunity to offer puja only during the Navratri as the shrine remains shut for the rest of the year, sources said.
People from different parts of Odisha and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh throng the temple, situated near Dolabandha in the town, during the Navratri period to have a glimpse of the deity, known as Dandu Maa.
The door of the temple is opened on the first day of the Navratri with rituals and a yagna. The rituals continue till midnight of the last day of Navratri. Thereafter, the door of the shrine is closed till next year. This has been the practice since the inception of the temple.
Neither the deity is offered puja nor the devotees visit the temple. But its premises come alive during Navratri when it is opened for puja as well as for the visit of the devotees.
According to the main priest of the temple, the practice of keeping its doors closed is strictly followed.
The door of the temple opens only in Aswina month of Odia calendar every year. The deity is worshipped, yajna performed and prasad offered from the beginning of Navratri, he said.
During these nine days, the devotees also have darshan of the deity, offer puja and perform yajna on the temple premises.
The temple’s doors are closed again after completing Devi’s puja on Dasami and performing the final rituals. As per the practice, the deity remains confined to the closed temple from second Tuesday after Dasami, he said.
Before closing the doors of the temple, a coconut is kept in an earthen pot as an offering to the deity. When the doors are opened after one year, the coconut remains as fresh as it was kept and is distributed among the devotees during Navratri.
