<p>Kalaburagi: The two-day Datta Jayanti celebration, which falls on Shuddha Chaturdasi of Margashira Masa, began on a grand note at the Lord Dattatreya Temple at Deval Ganagapur village of Afzalpur taluk on Saturday. The cradle ceremony of Lord Dattatreya marked the beginning of the events.</p><p>Pooja was performed to Dattatreya idol and his <em>paduke</em> with religious fervour after <em>kakada arati</em>. The entire temple was adorned with flowers. Special decorations with fruits and flowers were made for the Bal Datt idol in the temple's sanctum where special prayers and rituals were held since morning. The priests led by Chaitanya Pujari performed the cradle ceremony amidst chants and cheers at noon. </p><p>Due to the large flow devotees for Datta Jayanti, the Religious Endowment Department installed LED screens outside the temple for devotees to view the cradle ceremony. As the Bal Datta idol was placed in the cradle, devotees chanted 'Datta Maharaj Ki Jai' and offered flowers and fruits at the temple.</p><p><strong>Holy bath</strong></p><p>The devotees arrived from various parts of the country and took blessings by offering flowers and fruits. Thousands of devotees also took a holy bath in Bhima river adjacent to the temple and performed pooja at Datta Mandir, Sangameshwar Swami temple and Kalmeshwar temple. The devotees waited in long queues stretching up to one km to take blessings. They sought special arrangements for physically challenged and elderly people to take Darshan. </p><p>Food was served to the devotees after the cradle ceremony. Traffic was paralysed despite providing adequate parking facilities on 25 acres of land on the outskirts of Ganagapur. Police officials faced a tough time in streamlining vehicular movement. The temple committee said that the Rath Yatra of Lord Dattatreya will be held on Sunday.</p><p>Due to inadequate parking facilities and a small bus stand, buses stopped on the road to pick up passengers, causing traffic disruptions. The vendors set up stalls on the temple street, causing inconvenience to devotees, while the police officials remained mute spectators.</p><p>Devotees from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, and various districts of Karnataka arrived in large numbers to take the darshan. Former minister Malikayya Guttedar, KPCC member Arun Kumar Patil, other leaders Jyoti Patil, Mahadev Guttedar, temple executive officer Shivakantamma, Dattu Nimbaragi and Satish Rajput attended the Jayanti celebrations.</p>
<p>Kalaburagi: The two-day Datta Jayanti celebration, which falls on Shuddha Chaturdasi of Margashira Masa, began on a grand note at the Lord Dattatreya Temple at Deval Ganagapur village of Afzalpur taluk on Saturday. The cradle ceremony of Lord Dattatreya marked the beginning of the events.</p><p>Pooja was performed to Dattatreya idol and his <em>paduke</em> with religious fervour after <em>kakada arati</em>. The entire temple was adorned with flowers. Special decorations with fruits and flowers were made for the Bal Datt idol in the temple's sanctum where special prayers and rituals were held since morning. The priests led by Chaitanya Pujari performed the cradle ceremony amidst chants and cheers at noon. </p><p>Due to the large flow devotees for Datta Jayanti, the Religious Endowment Department installed LED screens outside the temple for devotees to view the cradle ceremony. As the Bal Datta idol was placed in the cradle, devotees chanted 'Datta Maharaj Ki Jai' and offered flowers and fruits at the temple.</p><p><strong>Holy bath</strong></p><p>The devotees arrived from various parts of the country and took blessings by offering flowers and fruits. Thousands of devotees also took a holy bath in Bhima river adjacent to the temple and performed pooja at Datta Mandir, Sangameshwar Swami temple and Kalmeshwar temple. The devotees waited in long queues stretching up to one km to take blessings. They sought special arrangements for physically challenged and elderly people to take Darshan. </p><p>Food was served to the devotees after the cradle ceremony. Traffic was paralysed despite providing adequate parking facilities on 25 acres of land on the outskirts of Ganagapur. Police officials faced a tough time in streamlining vehicular movement. The temple committee said that the Rath Yatra of Lord Dattatreya will be held on Sunday.</p><p>Due to inadequate parking facilities and a small bus stand, buses stopped on the road to pick up passengers, causing traffic disruptions. The vendors set up stalls on the temple street, causing inconvenience to devotees, while the police officials remained mute spectators.</p><p>Devotees from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, and various districts of Karnataka arrived in large numbers to take the darshan. Former minister Malikayya Guttedar, KPCC member Arun Kumar Patil, other leaders Jyoti Patil, Mahadev Guttedar, temple executive officer Shivakantamma, Dattu Nimbaragi and Satish Rajput attended the Jayanti celebrations.</p>
