Lingaraja Temple, Bhubaneswar – Festivals & Worship Practices

Lingaraja Temple, Bhubaneswar – Festivals & Worship Practices

Festivals:

Shivaratri:

It is the most famous festival that the temple celebrates on a yearly basis during Phalgun month. Apart from a full day of fasting, bel leaves are offered to Lingaraja on this auspicious day. The main celebrations take place at night when devotees pray all night long. The devout usually break their fast after the Mahadipa (a huge lamp) is lit on the spire of the temple. This festival commemorates Lingaraja having slayed a demon.

Sunian Day:

Sunian day is observed from royal times in the month of Bhandra, a day when temple servants, peasants and other holders of temple lands offer loyalty and tribute to Lingaraja.

Chandan Yatra: 

Chandan Yatra (Sandalwood ceremony) is a 22-day festival celebrated in the temple when servants of the temple disport themselves in a specially made barge in Bindusagar tank. The deities and servants of the temples are anointed with sandalwood paste to protect from heat. Dances, communal feasts and merrymaking are arranged by the people associated with the temple.

Ratha Yatra:

Every year the chariot festival (Ratha-Yatra) of Lingaraja is celebrated on Ashokashtami. The deity is taken in a chariot to Rameshwar Deula temple. Thousands of devotees follow and pull brightly decorated chariots containing the idols of Lingaraja and his sister Rukmani.

Bol Bom Pilgrimage:

Thousands of bol bom pilgrims carry water from river Mahanadi and walk all the way to the temple during the month of Shravana every year.

Worship Practices:

The Lingaraja temple is active in worship practices, unlike the other ancient temples of Bhubaneshwar which are not active worship centers. Non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple, but they can view from the viewing platform located outside the temple. The viewing platform and the back of the temple can be reached via a line way located to the right of the main entrance of the temple. Sanctity of the temple is maintained by disallowing dogs, unbathed visitors, menstruating women and families that encountered birth or death in the preceding 12 days. In case of a foreign trespass, the temple follows a purification ritual and dumping of prasad (food offering) in a well.