Sambalpur, Sept. 15 (UDN): The spirit of Nuakhai has enveloped western Odisha as thousands of families celebrate the region’s biggest agrarian festival on Tuesday. In Sambalpur, devotees and temple authorities have completed elaborate preparations for the sacred Nabanna offering to Maa Samaleswari, the presiding deity of the city.
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The ceremonial offering of the season’s first harvested rice will be performed during the auspicious window from 9:40 am to 9:54 am. Once the ritual is completed at the temple, households across the region will observe the cherished tradition of sharing the new harvest with family members.
Temple preparations begin before sunrise
The festival’s rituals began long before dawn at the homes of the Samaleswari Temple priests. Family members were awake from around 3 am, preparing Nabanna, cooking festive offerings and performing traditional religious ceremonies.
According to temple priests, preparations had actually started the previous night. Women from priest families cleaned and ground the newly harvested Saria Dhan (paddy), carefully preserving it for the sacred offering.
The priests will carry the prepared Nabanna to the temple’s Garbha Gruha shortly before the designated lagna. The blowing of conch shells will signal the completion of the offering to the Goddess, marking one of the festival’s most significant moments.
Rituals continue after the Nabanna offering
Following the main offering to Maa Samaleswari, Nabanna will also be presented to other deities within the temple complex.
The temple will then conduct Mangala Alati, followed by the offering of Anna Bhog. These rituals will conclude before devotees are allowed to enter for darshan, which is expected to begin after 12 noon.
A celebration rooted in gratitude
Beyond the temple premises, Nuakhai is being celebrated in homes across Sambalpur and other districts of western Odisha with traditional cuisine, family gatherings and prayers expressing gratitude for a successful harvest.
The festival, one of Odisha’s most cherished cultural traditions, symbolises the bond between farming communities, faith and family. By partaking in the newly harvested rice only after it has been offered to the Goddess, devotees continue a centuries-old custom that remains at the heart of Nuakhai celebrations.
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