Dusshera begins with religious gaiety and fervour in Odisha
Bhubaneswar: The five-day-long Dusshera festival began with invocation of the Goddess Durga across Odisha last night starting from “Sasthi”. The festival, which is also known as Durga Puja, has taken over the state with much religious fervour and gaiet .
In Odisha, Dusshera festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over ‘buffalo demon’ Mahishasura whose demonic activities had disrupted the daily livelihoods of many on Earth.
Thousands of devotees of all ages have started gathering at different Puja pandals to worship Goddess Durga today.
In Bhubaneswar, large number of people thronged to Puja pandals in Saheed Nagar, Nayapalli, Rasulgarh, Jharpara and other locations. Likewise, millions of people visited several Puja pandals in their respective locations in the state.
Beautifully decorated clay idols of Goddess Durga, Saraswati, and Laxmi, as well as Lord Shiva, Kartik and Ganesh were unveiled to the devotees in the Puja pandals in different places across the state .
The Puja pandals presenting artistic themes, various forms of Goddess Durga, craft-works, and illumination have given a unique dimension altogether Many pandals have arranged with different themes in the capital city.
The Dusshera , which marks the victory of Good over Evil, is usually a five-day event with Sasthi and the subsequent four days Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami.
Police personnel were deployed near the Puja pandals to control the crowd across the state , while CCTVs were installed in many puja pandals to keep vigil on the miscreants.
The festival will come to an end with the immersion of the idols of the Goddess and Gods in rivers and water bodies across the state following Vijaya Dashami.
Ms Kalinga