Gorakhpur: On the occasion of Navami, the ninth day of Chaitra Navratri, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performed ‘Kanya Pujan’ and offered prayers to ‘Matri Shakti’ (mother power) by washing the feet of maidens in Gorakhpur.
He worshipped nine girls, symbolizing nine manifestations of the goddess Durga. As part of the ritual, girls were made to stand on a metallic plate as Yogi washed their feet, applied tilak on their foreheads, and performed their ‘Aarti’ amid chanting of mantras.
The CM also served food to the girls and gave them ‘Dakshina’ (donations) and gifts while seeking their blessings during the Kanya Pujan program organized in the Anna Kshetra (Naveen Bhandara Bhawan) of Gorakhnath Temple. Following the tradition, the Chief Minister also performed Batuk Puja. Batuks are manifestation of Kal Bhairav.
After worshiping the nine girls, he also performed ‘aarti’ of about three hundred maiden girls and ‘batuks present there. Yogi Kamal Nath, the head priest of the temple, applied ‘Tilak’ to all. Along with ‘chunri’ and ‘gamchha’, everyone was also provided ‘dakshina’. After pujan, Yogi served these girls fresh food cooked in the temple kitchen with his hands. Apart from the girls, the ‘Batuks’ who arrived in large numbers were also fed and given gifts and ‘dakshina’.
Before this, CM Yogi offered prayers to Maa Siddhidatri in the Shaktipeeth of the temple.
