like every year, the police personnel offered prayer called the ‘Shastra Puja’ on the special occasion of Vijayadashami in the district here on Saturday.
In the district armoury unit, no earthen idol of deity Durga was installed. On the other hand, the police worshipped weapons like riffles, revolvers, AK-47s, pistols, cartridges, magazines, bayonets and other sophisticated ammunition.
They cleaned the weapons and lined them up in the puja place. The priest sprinkled holy water on the weapons and later, smeared sandalwood and turmeric pastes on them, besides offering them flowers. The puja was performed in strict adherence to a set of rituals amid recitation of Sanskrit slokas, said a senior police officer.
Apart from the weapons, all the implements that are part of police personnel’s occupation such as machines, vehicles and tools etc were also worshipped. The worship was an expression of gratitude to the divine force for helping to provide safety to life. It is also a prayer for successful execution of duties in the coming year, stated Reserve Inspector Arun Kumar Pradhan.
As per a legend, Goddess Durga fought with demon Mahishasura and killed him with her weapons she received from various other Gods. Hence, the weapons were considered sacred and as a result, they were worshipped. The tradition of weapon worship started from there.
This was a rare occasion when a large cache of arms and ammunition were taken out of the armoury only for worship in the town here.
However, weapon worship is not limited to the district here. It is a festival observed all over the county in different forms and traditions. Many worship the tools with which they make a living. The Khandayats in Odisha and Rajputs also worship swords on the Dussehra.