Gulbarga, October 18, 2013: All roads seem to be leading to the famous Amba Bhavani temple in Tuljapur in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra. When the doors of the temple open at midnight (12 a.m.) on Friday, the fifth day after Vijayadashami festival, devotees will get a glimpse of the goddess Amba Bhavani.

Pilgrims from all over Maharashtra and northern areas of Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh throng the temple on this all-important day.

Rush

Though the Maharashtra Road Transport Corporation and the North Eastern Road Transport Corporation are operating special buses to Tuljapur from different places, there was a mad rush for seats in the Wadi-Solapur passenger train on Thursday.

Unmindful of the risk involved, hundreds of pilgrims who could not get seats in the train, climbed atop it for the entire journey.

While a section of pilgrims preferred to travel by buses, cars and trains, the majority chose to reach the temple on foot from their villages, towns and cities.

The roads leading to Tuljapur were crowded with pilgrims on foot. Highway police patrolling the area had a tough time regulating traffic and the pilgrimson the roads, particularly on the national highway connecting Hyderabad and Mumbai.

People travelling by train also disembark at Solapur Railway Station and cover the 50-km distance to Tuljapur on foot.

Auspicious

The pilgrims consider it auspicious to have the darshan of Amba Bhavani five days after the full moon day, when the main door of the temple is thrown open.

The temple authorities close the door on the intervening midnight of Ayudha Puja, which is also known as ‘Khande Pooja’ locally.

The idol of Amba Bhavani is kept in a cradle and the doors of the sanctum sanctorum and all others, including the main door of the sprawling temple complex is locked.

The doors are opened only on the full moon day, when the idol of the goddess is lifted from the cradle and placed on the main pedestal for the darshan of pilgrims.

Source: The Hindu, October 18, 2013