New Delhi : Devotees thronged temples across the country to offer prayers and seek blessings as the nine-day Sharadiya Navratri festival commenced. Devotees stood in long queues waiting to offer 'Pooja' and 'Prasad' to Hindu goddess Durga.
Hundreds of devotees visited several temples in the country since early morning to pay their obeisance to Goddess Durga or Shakti. During the nine days of Navratri, the devotees worship nine forms of Goddess Durga, known as Navadurga.
In Madhya Pradesh, devotees offered prayers at Kali Temple in Bhopal on the first day of Sharadiya Navratri. In Uttarakhand, devotees offered prayers at Mata Vaishno Devi Gufa Mandir, located on the premises of the Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple, in Dehradun.
In Rajasthan, devotees offered prayers at Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Mandir in Jaipur. In West Bengal, devotees offered prayers at Nimtala Ghat Mata Temple in Kolkata.
In Uttar Pradesh, devotees offered prayers at Kali Bari Temple in Lucknow, Mansa Devi Temple in Haridwar, Alopi Sankari Devi Shakti Peeth Temple in Prayagraj, Ashta Bhuji Temple in Shivpur, Alopi Sankari Devi Shakti Peeth Temple in Prayagraj and Badi Devkali Devi Temple in Ayodhya.
In Delhi, devotees offered prayers at Shri Kalka Ji temple. BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj offered prayers at Jhandewala Devi Mandir on the occasion of the first day of Sharadiya Navratri.
Aarti was also performed at Shri Adhya Katyayani Shaktipith Mandir in Chhatarpur and Jandewalan Mata temple on the occasion of the first day of Sharadiya Navratri
In Punjab, devotees offer prayers at Durgiana Temple in Amritsar.
In Assam, devotees offered prayers at Maa Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati. Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya also visited and offered prayers at Kamakhya Temple.
In Haryana, devotees gathered in huge numbers at the Shri Mata Mansa Devi Temple in Panchkula and Shree Mata Bheemeshvari Devi Mandir (Beri Wali Mata) in Jhajjar to offer prayers and seek blessings. BJP MP Anurag Thakur offered prayers at Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
In Chhattisgarh, devotees offered prayers at Maa Mahamaya Temple in Raipur and at Shaktipeeth Danteshwari Temple in Dantewada. In Himachal Pradesh, devotees offered prayers at Kali Bari Temple in Shimla. In Jammu and Kashmir, devotees thronged Shri Mata Vaishno Devi temple in Katra to offer prayer and seek blessing.
In Karnataka, devotees gathered in huge numbers at the Sri Durga Parameshwari Temple in Bengaluru to offer prayers and seek blessings. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings to people on the first day of Sharadiya Navratri.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, "I wish all my countrymen a very Happy Navratri. May this holy festival dedicated to Shakti Vandana prove to be auspicious for everyone. Jai Mata Di!"
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai also extended his wishes to the people of Chhattisgarh.
Chief Minister Sai said, "Today is the first day of Sharadiya Navratri., I congratulate and extend best wishes to all the people of Chhattisgarh. May the blessings of God remain on the people of Chhattisgarh. Today four buses are being run free of cost by Kali Mata Annadata Samiti which will take the devotees to Dongargarh to visit Maa Bamleshwari, all the devotees will be able to have darshan for free, I congratulate them."