Varanasi: A golden glimpse of Maa Annapurna, a treasury brimming with symbolic wealth and an unending stream of devotees — Varanasi witnessed a spectacular Dhanteras celebration on Friday, with more than two lakh people offering prayers at the temple.The darshan of Maa Annapurna’s golden idol, which began on Dhanteras, will continue until Nov 10. After the ritual filling of Baba Vishwanath’s treasury, blessings and symbolic wealth were distributed among devotees.Long queues stretched from Bansphatak to Godowlia and Gate No. 4 of Vishwanath Dham, with devotees waiting for nearly two to three hours for darshan.Darshan continued for around 18 and a half hours, from 5 am to 11.30 pm.As part of the Dhanteras rituals, five quintals of puffed paddy, 10 lakh coins and silver coins were distributed from Maa Annapurna’s treasury. The temple premises echoed with chants of the goddess late into the night.Special worship of the goddess’s golden form began early morning. Under the guidance of 11 priests, Mahant Shankar Puri performed rituals for nearly two hours, followed by aarti. He prayed for the nation’s prosperity and a world where no one sleeps hungry.Security personnel, volunteers and medical teams were deployed to manage the crowds and provide emergency assistance. A control room was also set up to monitor security arrangements. Senior officials and public representatives, including Commissioner S Rajalingam, DM Satyendra Kumar, Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal and MLA Neelkanth Tiwari, visited the temple.Darshan of Maa Annapurna’s golden form will remain open daily from November 7 to 10, between 4 am and 11.15 pm. The Annakoot decoration will be held on Nov 10. After the Mahaarati at 11.30 pm, the doors of the golden shrine will be closed for the year.On Annakoot, 150 quintals of raw and cooked offerings will be presented to the goddess. Prasad will be distributed on November 12, from 4 am to 11.15 pm, to devotees holding receipts under the prescribed arrangement.Dhanteras celebrations were also held at several other temples in Varanasi, including Mani Mandir at Dharmasangh in Durgakund, Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Machodari and Badi Sheetla Temple near Dashashwamedh Ghat, where devotees offered prayers and received symbolic treasure.
