TULJAPUR - BHAVANI

The daily worship takes place in four separate sel'slops. The first is in the early morning when the Nvipc the face and the feet of the goddess with a wet cloth. Then this cloth is squeezed and the drops of water that conic out of it are distributed as tirth to those present. Immediatelv after this wash the devi is served with a break- fast consisting of bread and some vegetables. The afternoon worship is the main puja and is of sixteen upacharas including 'pancharnrita snana'. I or this snana pots full Of curds, milk and other substances constituting the panchamrita are emptied on the image. Then the image is washed with clean water. Sandal-paste is applied on the forehead, Kumkum and halad follow. The arati and naivedya follow this. In the evening, arati with incense is the main feature, and the We evening worship is known a Prakshalana-puja. After every worship the goddess is decked out in new clothes and ornaments. This routine is altered on certain days of the year when the alamkaTa-mahapuja is performed. The Gudi Padva (Chaitra), Shiral-shashthi (Shravan), Lalita-panchmi (Ashvin), Bali-pratipada (Kartika), Makara-samkrant (Pausha), and Ratha-saptami (Magha) are some of the days that occasion the alamkara-maha puja. On these days the best of the garments of the goddess and numerous ornaments are placed on the image. The whole make up is most artistically arranged. The ornaments that the shrine has are of numerous varieties and as such each occasion of such an alamkara-mahapuja is worth seeing. If any visitor to the shrine wishes to witness this alamkara- mahapuja on days other than those mentioned above, he has to pay extra charges. The rates for these pujas begin with one rupee and go up to ten and there are five types of pujas which are normally exhibited for the visitor. Many of these ornaments have been presented to the deity by the Bhosales and the Peshwas.

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