Bhubaneswar: Thousands of individuals gathered at the Chandrabhaga beach in Konark to take a holy dip as part of the Magha Saptami festival on Saturday.
This festival, which marks the birth of the Sun god, is celebrated by congregating at Tirtha Puskarani and taking a dip in the seventh day of the new moon of Magha, with the belief that it will cleanse their sins and cure skin diseases. Additionally, Lord Mahadev is also worshipped on this occasion.
After taking the dip, the devotees offered prayers to Lord Tribenishwar of Madhipur, Lord Ishaneshwar of Santhapur and Lord Dakshineshwar Mahadeb. Special pujas were also offered to the rising sun at Chandrabhaga.
Afterwards, the devotees visited the Sun Temple at Konark. To manage the large crowd, the Puri district administration deployed 30 platoons of police force.
Many devotees came in groups from various parts of Puri and surrounding districts and spent the night under temporary tents on the sand bed. They also cooked dinner in earthen pots on chullas in the sand bed, which is then eaten together on banana leaves.
As per tradition, the cooking pots are broken and thrown into the pond after dinner.
