The annual festival of Manasa Devi, generally held on a floating raft in the Mahanadi river on the auspicious day of Kanya Sankranti as per the Bengali almanac, was observed on Saturday at the seaside Barakolikhola village.
The Bengali community in several villages under Mahakalapada block and its adjoining areas on Saturday visited in thousands to the Mahanadi river bank to worship the Goddess Manasa Devi (deity of reptile Nagamata) on a floated raft made up of banana log. This is a tradition followed here over last 41 years.
They garlanded the deity with flowers and currency notes, with the hope that the goddess would be pleased and bless them. Goddess Manasa Devi is the presiding deity of Bengali fishermen community.
The fisher folks pray the deity to save their lives from the poisonous snake bites and also from all mishaps during fishing in sea.
While all presiding deities have one sanctum sanctorum, the rites related to the Devi puja here are performed at two places on the particular day. One is at the temple altar and the other on a banana stem raft. Five persons stand on the raft and pray Manasa Devi whose earthen idol is placed on the raft floating in the Mahanadi river.
“It is perhaps the only floating sanctum sanctorum anywhere in the world,” Mahakalpada Police Station IIC Biranchi Bag.
Scores of married women of Bengali community on Saturday congregated to worship the earthen-made idol of Behula-laxmidhar that was installed in a raft at seaside Barakolikhola village on the auspicious Kanya Sankranti day as per Bengali almanac. The Bengali women being driven by the myth of Manasa Mangal worship Manasa deity on the banana raft and also Behula-lakhindar idol.
Keeping in mind huge the rush of devotees, strict police arrangements were made to avert any law and order situation. A platoon of police was deployed in the puja venue, informed IIC Bag.