VASCO
The religious rituals of the Akhand Damodar Bhajani Saptah concluded on Thursday afternoon with the conducting of the "Samapti" rituals and immersion of the Shreefal, also known as Kaul and anointed the previous year at the feet of Lord Damodar, in the Arabian Sea.
Thousands of devotees from across Goa arrived at the temple premises to participate in the Samapti on Thursday afternoon.
As per traditional rituals, the commencement of Saptah Festival begins with the placement of Shreefal by the members of the Joshi family and the Samapti ritual begins with the immersion of the previous year's Kaul by the Narvekar family for several years.
Speaking to reporters, Damodar Narvekar said their family has had the privilege to carry out the immersion of Kaul and Samapti rituals ever since the start of Saptah.
"This year, we are carrying out the Samapti on a grand scale as this could not be done in the last two years amid the Covid pandemic,” said Narvekar.
“Since there is a huge crowd for the Dindi this year, we restricted entry of all participants in the temple and only a few performed the final rituals. Part of the procession performed the final Dindi outside the temple," said Narvekar.
At around 12.30 pm on Thursday, a huge crowd of devotees along with Damodar Narvekar began the process of the Samapti. The huge procession performing the Dindi was seen moving towards the Kharewado beach where the previous Kaul was immersed in the sea.
The Dindi procession stopped at the Railway Station circle to perform a Bhajan. The final bhajan was performed at the Kharewado jetty, before the previous year’s Kaul was finally immersed in the sea.
After the immersion, the prasad usually consisting of fruits was distributed among everyone and the procession returned to the temple.
The Samapti ritual concluded when the procession entered the temple premises and danced in a circular pattern around the people singing Bhajans in the temple.
The final Pooja of Lord Damodar was performed and prasad was distributed to all people present in the temple, marking the conclusion of Damodar Bhajani Saptah, which witnessed the 24-hours nonstop Bhajan performances by different groups.
The temple will, however, be open to all devotees to receive the blessing of the Lord Damodar.
The makeshift stalls offering clothes, sweets and traditional furniture will continue to remain around the temple premises for the next seven days and it usually attracts hordes of visitors and devotees from across the State.
