Chaitra Navratri or Basanti Navratri 2017.

Everyone knows about Navratri festival, but in a year two times Navratri festival comes that is called "Chaitra Navratri" and "Saradiya Navratri". Chaitra Navratri is starting from 28 March 2017(Tuesday) and will be celebrated till 5th April 2017(Wednesday). It will be started with Ghatsthapana puja at the special muhurat time of morning.

Speical devotees wear the pure silk pata saree , dhoti and clean the puja temples in home with purity. On this time devotees will keep busy themselves in diffrent rituals at the time of navratri festival like puja, recite mantras, chat bhajans and keep fasting. At the time of Navratri Goddess durga worship for Nine days.

Happy Navratri Puja.

Ekadashi : Rituals of Ekadashi Vrat

The word Ekadashi festival has been derived from the Sanskrit language, where ekadashi means the eleventh day of Hindu Calendar. There are 24 ekadashis in a year. 

Lord Krishna

Rituals of the day:

1. On the day of Ekadashi, idol of Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu are worshipped. In the morning, devotees wear the pure handloom silk pata clothes and clean the idol with Panchamrit. After the idol is washed with water and dressed in Yellow silk clothes that is called Pata bastra.

2. Flowers, incense sticks, Ghee deepak, Coconut, and various types of fruits offered to Lord Krishna and his various Avatars.

3. Several devotees donate various foodgrains, handfans, clothes, gold and several puja items to the temple on ekadashi vrat.

4. On the day of ekadashi , food items made of rice are not eaten only fruits can be eaten. On the next day items made of rice can be eaten. 

5. Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna mantras are chanted throughout the day and people visit the temple on morning and evening for Aarti.

6. By taking fast in ekadashi vrat helps a person to reach the path of spirituality and takes her /him to the path of salvation.

Ja shree Krishna.

Maa Kalijai Temple, Balugaon, Chilika, Puri.

Maa Kalijai Temple is situated on a Island. It is 18 km away from Balugaon in south east direction. Kalijai Means Kali+Jai, Kali, the goddess kali( an avatar of Goddess durga) and Jai  is a name of a village  girl of Banpur, who was drowned when she visit to parikuda Gada(sasural).

Maa Kalijai

When she visit to her sasural by her traditional boat an accidental storm come with deep cloud and drowned the boat by the hill and vanished. All the boatman and her father was alive but the girl jai was undiscovered.
Since then many boatmen listen some voice in the early evening and she became the Goddess of the Local people. But every odia people respected as maa Goddess kali. Every fisherman worshiping as Goddess kalijai as their "Ista Devi". Ista means who manages all the Good and Bad Times. Every day several tourist come to visit kalijai temple and take the blessing of maa kali.

When you reach temple several people offer coconut, Banana, and khai and Black saree to maa. At the time when you sit on boat people call to Maa Kalijai with loud voice to keep safe journey to reach temple and their destination place. That place is known as chilika. On Winter season the Great poet written comes to write various poet for children and beautiful Migratory birds come. It is a wonderful place full of nature and beauty. Every Year a Huge mela held on Makar sankranti festival. 

Tara Tarini temple of Ganjam, Odisha.

Tara Tarini Temple is one of the sakti peetha , which is loacted in Rajpura, Ganjam District of odisha at a height of 708 feet. Tara tarini temple is one of the oldest and ancient tantra pitha of odisha. Skakti Peetha is a place where Goddess Shakti(goddess of harmony) and also called as Goddess Durga  "goddess of strength"  and Goddess Kali(goddess of evil) worshiped.

Speciality of temple.

Tara Tarini temple is known as main shakti peethas and Tantra Peethas of odisha. The Goddess Tara and Tarini is the presiding deity in every house of south odisha, a statue made of gold and silver ornaments. Two brass heads are placed in between the idols of Goddess tara and Goddess Tarini representing as their Living image. People Believed that Mother Tara Traini is the Living God and she helps them in any obstacle comes. Many devotees comes to the temple for their Well wishes and several devotees gives new silk saree to wear mother sati in any special festival. Due to mythology Lord shiva had dance of "Rudra Tandava" means (destruction) carrying the burning body of goddess sati after goddess sati's self - immolation. 

Maa Tara Tarini Temple

To stop the dance of destruction performed by Lord shiva, Lord vishnu threw his "Sudarshan Chakra" on Maa sati's body which divided her body into 52 parts. Each body parts of Goddess sati fell on different places of earth and on that place Adi Shakti pithas are built. It is believed that the breast of goddess sati fell at the kumari hills where Tara Tarini temple is located.

There are 51 famous sakti peethas in the religous books. But the four major Adi Shakti peethas are:

1. Bimala temple

2. Tara Tarini Temple

3. Kamakhya Temple

4. Kalighat Kali temple

On this temple various types of festival is celebrated in a great way. Like Sankranti mela, Dola purnima, Chaitra Parba, Dusshera, Deepavali, and so many festivals.

Rituals of Dola Purnima Festival in Odisha celebrated before Holi.

Dola Purnima is a Great festival in odisha. On this day Lord Jagannath is worshiped as the name of Dolagovinda in this festival. It falls on full moon day in the month of falguna. People enjoyed this festival with fun and happiness. 

On this special day villagers take the krishna murti in dola and  roaming every house in night, with great procession by the music of drummers, pipers and the sankirtana mandalis, people believed that god comes to their house for taking prasad, so they clean their house front with cow dung and make special alpana to welcome Krishna and offer various types of fruits.

In various Puranas Dola purnima or Madanamohana describe in various way.

Happy Dola Purnima.