Cuttack: Dhabaleswar Temple at Athagarh in Odisha’s Cuttack district was agog with activities as thousands of devotees turned up on the first Monday of holy Kartik month in Odia calendar.
The famous Shaivite shrine, which has remained closed for several reasons for the last three years, came alive as the devotees were allowed offer puja to the deity on Monday. They stood in long queue since morning to pour holy water and milk on Shiv Ling inside the temple.
The priests of the temple performed the first rituals of the day, Mangala Alati, at 4 am after the deity was given a ceremonial bath with 108 pitchers of holy water. After completion of other rituals, the door of the 10th century shrine was opened to the public.
It may be noted that the temple, located on an island inside Mahanadi river, was closed to devotees for two years since 2020 due to COVID pandemic.
The temple was inaccessible to the devotees in 2022 as the district administration closed the temporary bridge for repair in the wake of death of more than 130 people due to collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat in 2022.
However, the devotees did not face any problem this year as a new concrete bridge connecting the temple with the mainland was opened to the public four months back.