Auspicious timing for Navanna offering at Maa Manikeswari shrine announced

Kalahandi: Amid the announcement of the auspicious timing for Nuakhai at Maa Samaleswari Temple in Sambalpur, the schedule for the traditional Navanna (new harvest offering) at Maa Manikeswari shrine in Kalahandi was announced on Sunday. As per the longstanding tradition, Navanna at the Maa Manikeswari shrine is observed on Dashami, unlike the Nuakhai festival celebrated on Panchami in western Odisha. According to the Rajbati (Kalahandi palace), Navanna will be offered to Maa Manikeswari on September 22, 2026, between 8:20 am and 9:30 am during the auspicious period. Devotees and members of the public will consume the new rice offering between 10 am and 12 noon, the Rajbati said. The ritual holds special significance in the erstwhile princely areas of Kalahandi and is part of the region’s longstanding tradition of offering the first produce of the harvest to the presiding deity before it is consumed by the people. Meanwhile, in Sambalpur, Nabanna will be offered to Maa Samaleswari on September 15, 2026, marking the Nuakhai festival. According to the schedule finalised by the Pandit Mahasabha, the Nabanna offering at Maa Samaleswari Temple will take place between 9:40 am and 9:54 am on September 15. Nuakhai is traditionally observed on Panchami, the fifth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the Odia month of Bhadrab.