Priests ask devotees to perform rituals at home

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 1

Continuing with the spirit of the ongoing lockdown to ensure social distancing to beat Covid-19, priests of all shrines across J&K on Wednesday directed devotees to break the centuries-old religious traditions and perform “kanjak pujan” and “saakh immersion” within the premises of their home.

On the auspicious occasion of Durga Asthami, which marks the conclusion of Navratras, the priests through video messages on Wednesday asked people to ‘break’ the set customs and rituals to perform all religious functions.

In J&K, the Navratras usually culminates with “kanjak pujan” and immersion of “saakh” in rivers across the region. As the immersion of saakh in rivers will defeat the spirit of lockdown and social distancing so it is better to perform these rituals within the premises your houses without inviting any neighbour or relative, priests advised the devotees.

During the Navratras, a holy norm is followed by the devotees across J&K, called “khetri beejan”. A small bed of mud and sand along with barley or wheat is prepared on the first day of Navratra. This is called khetri (barley or wheat grown in mud pot). At the end of the festival, the shoots are about 3 to 5 inches in length. This is a sign of prosperity and abundance. At the end, the khetri, known as saakh in local dialect, is immersed in the rivers amid chanting of religious hymns.