Ajmer: The ancient Mata Vaibhav Lakshmi Temple in Rajasthan's Ajmer district celebrate Deepavali for five days, from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj. People gather here on these days praying to Goddess Lakshmi for happiness, peace and prosperity.
On the day of Diwali, devotees start arriving at the temple from 5 am onwards to lit lamps and offer home-made kheer to the Goddess while on Dhanteras, brooms are offered to the deity.
Idols of Dhan Kuber, Ganesh and Saraswati along with Lakshmi: The Vaibhav Lakshmi Mata Temple, located at Agra Gate in Ajmer, has been the centre of people's faith for years. Every Friday, the temple registers a constant turnout of devotees, majority of whom are women. Also, businessmen observe fast for prosperity in business and offer perfume and white food items to the Goddess. Along with Vaibhav Lakshmi, idols of Dhan Kuber, Lord Ganesha and Saraswati are installed at the temple.
A fair-like atmosphere till Bhai Dooj: It is believed that by lighting a ghee lamp in the temple and offering kheer to the Goddess for five days, one gets the desired result. Thus, a fair-like atmosphere prevails in the temple from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj. On Deepavali when devotees start coming to the temple from 5 am, earthen lamps are lit throughout the day and kheer is offered to the deity. Many devotees also offer white coloured sweets to the Goddess along with coconut, lotus and garland of lotus seeds.
Brooms offered on Dhanteras: Priest of the temple, Pandit Prakash Sharma, said many devotees buy brooms on Dhanteras and offer a pair in the temple. After which, they take home one of the brooms with them. It is believed that bringing home a new broom drives away poverty in the form of 'Alakshmi' and ushers arrival of Goddess Lakshmi.
Sharma said celebrating 'Deep Utsav' in the Mata Vaibhav Lakshmi Temple is an old tradition. This temple was set up during the Maratha period and the fifth generation of his family is performing puja here, Sharma added.
"In those days, Ajmer used to serve as a fort and a dense forest surrounded it. An artisan had carved out a statue of Mata Vaibhav Lakshmi at this place from red stone, which was installed by our ancestors," he said.
Devotees observe a fast on Friday: Sharma said that according to the religious beliefs, fasting should be observed for Mata Vaibhav Lakshmi on Fridays. The women here are on fast every Friday and worship the Goddess. On fulfillment of their wishes, these women come to the temple and offer kheer to the Goddess. The kheer is also distributed as 'prasad' to other women who visit the temple. The fast is ended by distributing booklets of Mata Vaibhav Lakshmi to other devotees and applying tilak.
Wish is fulfilled only if one has faith: Anita Goyal, a devotee who has been a regular visitor for the last 30 years, said that earlier the temple was very small but with time, it has expanded. On Diwali, devotees come here from far and wide to seek blessings of Mata Vaibhav Lakshmi, she said. "Whoever has faith in Mata Vaibhav Lakshmi, will have their wishes fulfilled," she added.
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