In Rayagada: E-hundi started at Maa Majighariani deity
Dr.Bdal Tah,
Associate editor,Odishabarta
Rayagada, February 3: To keep pace with the digital India, E-hundi(E-Donation Box) has recently been started at Maa Majighariani altar. Now devoutees can donate at their finger tips conveniently through UPI mode at the temple and even from their homes.Maa Majighariani is one of the most important Shakti Peeths of South Odisha. Every day, thousands of devotees visit Rayagada to have physical darshan of the Mother. They offer their prayers with donations in the form of golden & silver ornaments alongwith monetary contributions in the hundis(donation boxes) kept inside the temple premises. Quarterly counting of the donation runs to crores of rupees, which reflects the ascetic faith of the people on the deity. It is believed that Mother’s mercy is showered on the devotees when they pray here. Therefore, devotees flock to Rayagada in thousands to seek the blessings of the Mother in all auspicious works. Mundan(head tonsuring) is also performed every day, which brings economic development of the barbers and to the temple itself by selling the tonsured hair.
Devotees from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand gather at the shrine. Foreign currency as donation to the Mother is also seen as part of devotion. As it is the era of mobile and e-payment, temple administration, of late, has made arrangements accordingly by installing E-hundi scanners inside the temple for the devotees even from outside India. After installation of this system, waves of joy have spread among all the devotees.
However, while mobile phone entry is prohibited inside the temple, it is necessary to make arrangements to display this e-Hundi scanner outside the temple premises. Similarly, since crores of rupees are collected from the Mother’s hundi annually, there is a need to open a YouTube channel of the Mother and arrange for live broadcast of the morning and evening prayers every day for the benefit of devotees in different parts of the world. When the administration of various famous temples in the country has opened special channels, it seems necessary to live stream the Mother’s prayers at least through YouTube. Many elderly people and devotees who are unable to come to the temple for various reasons could benefit from this. There is a need to publish books related to the history of the Mother, prepare authentic short films, videos and prepare hymns. If any visitor comes from outside, they cannot find any books related to the Mother.
It is alleged that the temple administration is not making any efforts on the points prementioned. On the other hand, in the mornings & evenings, while the hymns of other deities are played in the Mother’s temple, the hymns dedicated to the Mother are not being performed, which is really painful to the devotees. Devotees have suggested the temple administration to nurture a generous attitude in budging to these genuine demands. Intellectuals have expressed the opinion that the administration under the aegis of Endowment Board of Govt of Odisha needs to take immediate remedial measures to revamp the structure of the temple. Rs 37 crores has been sanctioned for the improvement and beautification of Maa Majighariani Temple. This is declared by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi during his recent visit to Rayagada. It is hoped that the temple will create a niche in religious tourism map of India.
