Devotees queue up before Sakhigopal temple near Puri on the occasion of Anla Nabami. Picture by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 11: As Goddess Radha transformed into a typical Odia woman on the occasion of Anla Nabami today, devotees across the state thronged temples for a special darshan.

Most of all, the rush was in thousands at the Sakhi Gopinath temple in Sakhigopal.

The temple, situated 19km from Puri, usually attracts devotees for its unique idol of Lord Krishna. Only on the rare occasion of Anla Nabami, devotees throng the shrine to get a glimpse of Goddess Radha’s feet.

“On the Anla Nabami day, Goddess Radha is dressed up in traditional Odia costumes and adornments. Her feet are well decorated on the occasion and it is believed that viewing her feet brings good luck,” said Kishore Chandra Mohapatra, head of the Sakhigopal temple administration.

The auspicious festival of Anla Nabami is observed on the ninth day of the waxing phase of moon in the month of Kartik. It is believed that viewing Radha’s feet and worshipping the Amla tree on this day brings great fortune to the devotees.

Devotees had queued up in front of the Sakhigopal temple since last night and could get their chance by mid day today.

“This is the only day throughout the year, when the feet of the Goddess can be viewed. Goddess Radha looked beautiful in the Kania kachha sari. Her feet are always kept covered. Only on the auspicious day of Anla Nabami, devotees get a chance to view the feet and hence the ritual is known as Radha pada darshan,” said Nivedita Mohapatra, a devotee, who said she had been standing in the queue since 2am.

There was a rush in Puri as devotees observing the rituals of Kartik month visited the Jagannath temple to worship Goddess Radha. Similarly, even Isckon, Lingaraj and other temples of Bhubaneswar also saw a huge footfall of devotees.

“In the scriptures of the Kartik Purana, it is said that Lord Vishnu’s ardent devotee, Brundabati, was transformed into three plants — Malati, Tulasi and Amla. All three are considered extremely sacred, and, therefore, Amla is worshipped throughout the religious Kartik month,” said Jagannath culture expert Surya Narayan Rathasharma.

After Anla Nabami, the last five days of the Kartik month that are together known as Panchuka, will be observed from Wednesday.