Today, Goddess Mother Taratareni, the revered deity of Ganjam district, will undergo a grand ceremonial bath. The ritual will begin with the Sebayat family members, including the mothers and sisters, gathering near the Punyatoyya Rushikulya River. They will perform various rituals by the river before filling 108 gara containers with water.
Carrying the water, they will climb 999 steps to reach the temple, where they will bathe the goddess. Alongside this, they will carry out other traditional worship rituals for Maa.
However, on the 6th of this month, thieves broke into the temple, stealing lakhs of rupees and jewellery from the deity’s hundi. The worshipers have since reported that the goddess had been touched by the thieves.