The nine days of puja and festivities known as Navratri has come to an end on Navmi on Thursday. The temples of the goddess kept on sparkling in devotion and joy for the nine auspicious days on which the goddess is worshiped in her nine manifestations.
While red is the dominant colour for the Navratri, the temple located near Alaknanda ghat on Laltarao bridge offers a difference. Here the goddess Makarvahini is adorned with vegetables and fruits of multiple colours. The temple was founded by the Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram a few decades ago and every year on Ashtami night and also in the morning of Navmi, the goddess is decorated with seasonal fruits, vegetables and dry fruits in tune with the tradition continuing since the time it was founded.
On entering the temple, one cannot miss makhanas (lotus seeds). The coconuts on strings are found hanging in bandhanvar from the ceiling. This year pineapples have also been used to adorn the ‘Dwar’ of the goddess.
On Navmi, the devotees throng the temple to offer the goddess veggies while the garlands have been stitched with ladyfingers, brinjals, laukis (bottle gourd), peas, celery and the like.
Speaking to The Pioneer, the south Indian priest Gopal Krishan said, “We start decorating the deity in the afternoon and after 6 pm the temple is open for darshan for the devotees and it continues till Navmi day.”
On one side of the temple, five workers were seen busy threading the vegetables in the ashram premises. “Once one steps in one feels as if one is in a vegetable market. But in reality, it is the devi’s shringar,” says another priest. One after the other, banana, jackfruit, bottle gourd are sewn by the skilled hands of those engaged for the purpose.
Things went on swift as the time of opening the gate for the throng of devotees drew near.
Mythology goes that in Treta Yuga, there was a famine and the starving people invoked the holy trinity-Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshawara- with prayers offered. At the time the goddess appeared before them in the form of Shakumbhari (the deity of vegetables) and produced variety of vegetables from different parts of her body.
The people were, thus, saved from starvation. Since then, the people worship the goddess in the form of Shakumbhari and decorate her with vegetables on Ashtami (eighth day of NavratrI).