NEW DELHI: On the occasion of Vijayadashami, several devotees offered prayers in temples across the country. In Jammu and Kashmir, devotees queued up at the Mata Vaishno Devi temple in Katra as they offered prayers and were seen chanting ‘Jai Mata Di.’
Veena Sharma, a devotee who had come to Katra to offer prayers said that it was her long-awaited wish to come here. “I have come here from Faridabad and it was my long awaited wish to come here and offer prayers at the Mata Vaishno Devi temple. I am very happy I came here and can’t wait to go inside the temple,” she said.
Kaushal Gupta, another devotee said that he was very happy that he could offer prayers on the occasion. “We had started climbing yesterday night and offered prayers in the morning. We are very happy we could come here. Since both Ram Navmi and Dusshera fall on the same day, we are very lucky we could offer our prayers here,” he said.
“We really wanted to offer prayers to Mata and came here for the same. I am very happy I came and I hope all my prayers are fulfilled,” said another devotee.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, an aarti was performed in the Chattarpur temple to mark the last day of Navratri. In the North West, visuals emerged from Ayodhya showing devotees offering prayers at the Deokaali temple, while in Prayagraj, a traditional ‘sajawat chauki’ Ram Leela procession was taken out in the morning.
Down south in Kottayam in Kerala, the ‘Kanyaka Puja’ and ‘Matha Puja’ were held which are two significant rituals celebrated on the occasion of Navratri and Durga Puja. The traditions involve worshipping young girls and mothers and are performed on Ashtami or Navami Tithi. Prasadam is prepared by the ladies on this occasion and distributed among devotees.
“The Matha Puja and the Kanyaka Puja are very old traditions which are celebrated in a grand manner by us”, said a devotee. (ANI)