Pujas, feasts and celebrations ahead of India’s moon landing

Bhubaneswar: It was festive mood across Odisha on Wednesday with India's Chandrayaan-3 all set to land on the moon's south pole in a few hours.

Beginning from individuals to organisations and religious bodies, all were busy making preparations for the occasion slated for Wednesday evening.

A group of priests in Lord Jagannath Temple assembled in front of the 12th century shrine’s Lion’s Gate and lit “diyas” seeking divine blessings for the success of the lunar mission.

"As Lord Jagannath is worshiped as the master of the universe, His blessings are most essential for India’s lunar mission. According to Vedas, all the planets revolve around the Sun as per the directions of Maha Vishnu, the Lord Jagannath," said Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher in the Jagannath culture.

Puri Shankaracharaya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, an expert in Vedic mathematics, said many ‘puranas’ have mentioned about the ‘Chanda’ (moon). Our ancient saints were familiar with the ‘Chandra’.

Therefore, space scientists should also take reference from the puranas while going for lunar mission, he said and wished all success for the moon mission.

The excitement was palpable in Bhubaneswar as a large number of people gathered near the Biswakarma temple near Kalinga Stadium here. They performed a yajna and havan for the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Students of KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social Science) performed a yajna at the Jagannath Temple on its campus. Many school across the state also observed the day like a festival.

Scores of Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir schools in the state involved divine blessings by performing pujas.

Reports of pujas being conducted by clubs, societies, cultural organizations were also pouring in from different parts of the state.

"We are really excited about the mission. We pray to the almighty to bless India’s mission for successful landing on the south pole of moon," said Ritarani Swain, the headmistress of Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir at Kaima village in Jajpur district.

Women in Koida area of Sundargarh district also offered prayers to Lord Shiva and put up ‘Subha Kalasha’ at Nilakanteswar temple for the successful landing of lander module Vikram on the moon’s surface.

Students of Sudarshan Sand Art Institute in Puri created a sand art depicting the moon mission Chandrayan-3 on Puri sea beach.

Residents of Mukundapur under Bari block in Kendrapara district organised a grand puja and a vegetarian feast on the occasion as one of the son of the soil, Subhashis Nayak, was one of the technicians involved in making of the Chandrayaan-3.

Special arrangements were also made at the Central Tool Room & Training Centre, Bhubaneswar, where some vital parts of the Chandrayan-3 were manufactured.