Bhubaneswar: Vishwakarma Puja, dedicated to the Hindu god of architecture and engineering, was celebrated with a lot of devotion at manufacturing units, technical institutions and industrial houses across the state Tuesday.
Early in the morning, residents owning any machines in the capital town were seen preparing for the ‘puja’.
Similarly, vehicle owners with their washed two, three and four wheelers were seen waiting in queues at different temples to get their vehicles sanctified by priests.
A long queue of four wheelers and two wheelers was seen at the Vishwakarma temple here to get the ‘puja’ performed on their vehicles.
Some auto rickshaw owner associations, at different locations, have put up their own pandals and got the ‘puja’ performed on their vehicles there. At engineering workshops and garages, employees and officers performed ‘puja’ on machines and tools.
The festival is usually celebrated with fervor in the port town of Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district, Nalco nagar in Angul district, Rourkela in Sundargarh district and Joda and Barbil area in Keonjhar district.
With the weather god seemingly happy Tuesday, worshippers’ happiness knew no bounds. At some places, cultural programmes lika ‘Bhajan sandhya’ and ‘melodies’ are scheduled for evening.
The deity is regarded as the ace architecture, who has a mention in ‘puranas’. Odia legends associated with the Jagannath temple also do have mention of lord Vishwakarma. It is widely believed that it is none else than lord Vishwakarma who has sculpted idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
PNN