Dwarka/Dakor: Two of the world famous Lord Krishna temples situated in Gujarat, the Jagat Mandir in Dwarka and Shree Ranchhodraiji Maharaj Mandir in Dakor will see a steep rise of at least 10 folds in the number of visitors from their routine footfall on Janmashtami, tomorrow when at midnight the idols will be decorated at their best with highly expensive ornaments especially used for the occasion.

Deputy Administrator of the Jagat Mandir or the main Dwarkadheesh temple, Harish Patel today said that special ornaments would be used to decorate the idol of the lord for special Krishna Janmotsav darshan from 12 pm to 230 am tomorrow.

‘The routine four aartis (Mangla, Shringar, Sandhya and Shayana) and related decorations of the lord would be held as usual but the main charm will be the darshan of the especially decorated idol of lord Dwarkadheesh. In normal days on an average 10 thousand people visit the temple but on the eve of Jamashtmi it reaches around 50 thousand while on the day itself it becomes 80 thousand to a lakh. A special two day cultural religious event Dwarka Utsav on the bank of Gomati adjacent to the temple is being held on the occasion. Agriculture Minister Chimanbhai Saparia will inaugurate it this evening,’ he said

Mr Patel also said that in the wake of the huge crowd security is tightened up. ‘Apart from entry and exit, at all the sensitive points police and SRP personnel are deputed to check any nefarious design,’ he said.

Meanwhile, an official of the Dakor temple trust said that lord Ranchhodrai ji will be decorated with ancient ornaments including an old crown made up of three to four kg of gold and other precious gems including diamond. ‘Only on three occasion including Janmashtmi the idol of lord is decorated in this manner and with the old crown. The other two occasions are Ashwin and Kartik Poonam (the full moon days of Ashwin and Kartik months of Gujarati calender),’ he said.

‘On normal days the temple which opens with Maglaarti at 630am is closed in the evening after Shayan Aarti (last of the five daily aartis, the other three are Shringar, Rajbhog and Utthapan) at 730 pm but on Jamashtami the temple will remain open for the whole night with special Krishna Janmotsav celebrated post midnight. Prior to it the idol of lord is bathed in a traditional manner called Shodashopachar vidhi.The lord is given bath with different items including Kesar mixed water and Panchamrut,’ he said adding that the number of devotees visiting the temple on Jamashtami remains at least ten times higher than normal days.

DeshGujarat