Shimla
Finally, the moment has come, for which thousands of people were waiting for 40 years. On the second day of Dalgaon’s Bhunda Mahayagna, on Friday, first, after the immersion of Ras Mandal, the ritual of circumambulation around the village was completed, and finally the Shikha Pujan was done on the roof of the historic temple of Deity Bakralu. On Saturday, the ritual of Bedha will be performed. During this, Surat Ram will cross the ditch with a 100-meter-long rope of faith. This time, a crowd of thousands of people is witnessing the religious ceremony in this ritual of the Bakralu temple. The whole day, Dalgaon echoed with the chants of God, the tunes of drums, and plays.
The guests who have come from outside are staying in different tents along with the Deity Bondra, Deity Mohrish, and Deity Maheshwar villages, along with the thousands of Khunds (Devalus). Before the rituals began on Friday, the worship of the deities began at around 9 am. After the completion of the worship, the deities reached the courtyard of the host deity Bakralu’s temple, dancing and singing along with the palanquins of the deities Bondra and Maheshwar. During this time, the Raas Mandal was being written in the temple. The Raas Mandal is written by learned Pandits according to the Vedic tradition. Until it is ready and the process of worship is completed, some selected people kept circling around the Raas Mandal. If someone tries to break it while writing the Mandal, it is considered a hindrance in the ritual. After the worship of the Raas Mandal, the deity Bondra and the deity Maheshwar broke it by touching it with their heads. Parshuram deities Khashkandi, Gumma, and Andrevathi also participated in this ritual.
Arrows were shot in all four directions to stop the demonic powers.
The ritual of Fer was performed from around 11:30 am to 4:15 pm. In Fer, the people of Rantari village, armed with weapons and sticks, along with the palanquin of deity Moharish, danced and circumambulated the entire Dalgaon and reached the temple. After the ritual of Fer was completed, Shikha pujan was started on the roof of the temple. During this, the four directions were worshiped by chanting mantras by pandits on the roof of the temple. The Vedic process was completed to stop the invisible demonic powers by releasing arrows in all four directions. Motmin Raghnath Jhamta of the temple said that after Shikha pujan, Beda has a special importance in the Bhunda ritual. He said that Shikha and Fer are worshipped only as per the Vedic tradition.
