Kullu Dussehra: Daily prayers and rituals honour Lord Raghunath

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Lord Raghunath received four rounds of special prayers daily at his temporary camp in Dhalpur ground during the International Kullu Dussehra festival, as thousands of devotees visited to seek blessings. The rituals included ceremonial bathing, adornment with jewellery and offerings, while the deity’s robes were changed according to a fixed weekly colour schedule.

On Thursday, the deity was dressed in yellow, while pink robes were scheduled for Friday. Deities arriving from different parts of the Kullu valley also paid obeisance at the camp. Women devotees held daily bhajan and kirtan sessions, while devotees received food prepared as an offering to the deity.

Lord Raghunath, considered the presiding deity of the Dussehra festival, was adorned four times a day and seated on a throne alongside Goddess Sita. The traditional colour schedule prescribed white robes for Monday, red for Tuesday, green for Wednesday, yellow for Thursday, pink for Friday, light blue for Saturday and red for Sunday.

The royal family prepared the garments, which they offered to the deity after the prescribed rituals and prayers.

Danavendra Singh, kardar of Lord Raghunath, said chief chharibardar Maheshwar Singh and other priests conducted the morning worship by chanting mantras. The ceremonial bath involved milk, curd, honey, water, Panchamrit, ghee, sugar and tulsi.

The priests then dressed the deity in silk garments and adorned it with sandalwood and vermilion tilaks, along with gold and silver ornaments. Lord Raghunath, Goddess Sita, Lord Narasimha, Shaligram and Hanuman were placed on the throne and worshipped with flowers, incense and lamps.

Other deities’ camps also saw worship rituals as they arrived at Dhalpur ground for the festival.