UP: Devotees seek blessings of lord Banke Bihari on Hariyali Teej
"A large number of devotees are visiting the Shri Banke Bihari Temple today. Banke Bihari jee Maharaj, in a green attire, gave darshan to devotees on a 'Hindola' made of gold and silver along with Radha Rani," temple Sewayat Gyanendra Kishor Goswami said.
Elaborating on the significance of the day, he said that apart from a religious point of view, this ritual has a connection with India's independence as the tradition started on August 15, 1947, the day of India's independence.
"Earlier, Hindola darshans were available only in the evening, but after a Supreme Court order in 2016, Hindola darshan is now available both in the morning and evening darshans. Ghewar and Pheni are two special additions made to Thakur ji's prashad today," Goswami said.
"The swing was crafted by two goldsmiths of Varanasi in Vrindavan with 1 lakh tola of silver and 10,000 tola of gold, some 79 years ago," temple Sewayat and scholar Prahlad Vallabh Goswami said.
Hariyali Teej is also celebrated in 'Sapt Devalaya' of Vrindavan.
In Radharaman temple , the day marks the beginning of the 485-year-old festival, which culminates on Rakshabandhan.
"Radharaman is wearing green clothes with a 'pagrhi' while giving darshans in a golden swing kept at the temple. The deity will give darshans in the golden swing for the next two days, followed by darshans in silver swing for the subsequent three days and in other types of swings thereafter," temple Sewayat Dinesh Chandra Goswami said.
A special prasad called 'Sinhare', which includes Ghewar and Pheni, is offered to the deity on the occasion. However, a sweet puri called 'pua' is offered during the Sawan month, he said.
In the Dwarkadheesh temple in Mathura city, two silver and one gold swings are put in the temple's courtyard, from the beginning of the Sawan, and they will remain there till Nandotsav, Rakesh Tiwari, media in-charge of Dwarkadheesh temple, said.
The swings are decorated with fruits and flowers, and the temple is also decorated with different colours of cloth, each of which is associated with Lord Krishna's different Leelas, Rakesh Tiwari said.
Mathura District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh, in an appeal to devotees, asked them to celebrate this festival without plastic and maintain cleanliness.
"Adequate arrangements are in place to ensure smooth darshan of Shri Bankey Bihari ji without compromising the safety of the devotees. Sector magistrates are instructed to maintain continuity in movement of devotees," Singh said.
Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said, "The area is divided into four zones and 22 sectors and is supervised by magistrates and police officers. A traffic plan is in place to prevent traffic jams.
Holding areas and parking places are identified to regulate the crowd."
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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