Processions mark Ram Navami celebration in Bihar
2 min readPatna: All the temples in the city were reverberating with ‘Ram naam’ amid sounds of bells and ‘aarti’ since Tuesday morning as a large number of devotees were seen celebrating Ram Navami with religious fervour and gaiety. All the offices, schools and colleges remained closed.
Since it was the last day of Chaiti Navaratra, devotees thronged the temples of Lord Ram, Lord Hanuman and various avatars of Goddess Durga since morning to pay obeisance and perform ‘havan’, ‘sankirtans’, ‘mahabhishek’ and participate in ‘mangla aarti’, ‘shringaar aarti’ and ‘bhog’.
International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) organized Sri Ram Navami festival at their Budh Marg temple which was decorated with lights and flowers. They organized ‘mahabhishek’ of Goddess Sita and Lord Ram with milk, honey, curd, ghee, juices and fresh flowers. ‘Aarti’, ‘kirtan’ and a lecture on Lord Ram’s birth followed before the devotees getting mahaprasad.
At Hanuman temple near Patna Junction, one of its doors was opened for the devotees at 2am. There were separate queues for men and women. Around 8am, the front gate was also opened but only for ‘darshan’ as offering ‘prasad’ was not allowed from this gate. ‘Dhwajpujan’ was performed between 11am and 12.30pm. The ‘Naivedyam’ (prasad) counter of the temple was also shifted outside the premises.
Vehicles were not allowed on approach roads to the Mahavir temple to avoid any untoward incidence. After ‘darshan’, devotees were seen hopping from one food stall to another. Apart from temple’s ‘prasad’ counter, many other temporary shops were opened nearby, selling threads, rings, pendant and other items.
Several organizations and akharas took out processions in different parts of the city with beautifully dressed boys and girls posing as Lord Rama, Lakshman, Mata Sita and Hanuman seated on chariots. The temple management and devotees there welcomed these processions with followers and various offerings.
Courtesy: TNN
