J-K: Devotees flock to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi during third day of Navratri

J-K: Devotees flock to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi during third day of Navratri (image: ANI)

Katra (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 24 (ANI): The festive season is being celebrated with devotion at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, as devotees continue to visit the cave shrine on the third day of Navratri despite the long queues.

The atmosphere remains devotional, with devotees chanting bhajans. The Shrine Board and local administration have made special arrangements to manage the increasing footfall, ensuring smooth darshan and facilities for the yatris during the nine-day-long Shardiya Navratri celebrations.

Navratri, also known as Shardiya Navratri, is a vibrant Hindu festival observed across India. The nine-night festival, held during the lunar month of Ashwin, is dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine avatars, each symbolising distinct qualities such as power, wisdom, and compassion.

The celebrations are marked by daily prayers, fasting, devotional songs, and energetic traditional dance forms such as Garba and Dandiya Raas.

The Vaishno Devi pilgrimage has resumed after being suspended for 22 days due to heavy rainfall and landslides. Pilgrims from across the country have begun arriving, expressing happiness that their long wait has finally come to an end and that they will now be able to seek blessings at the holy shrine.

The Yatra was suspended after a landslide on August 26 that killed 34 people and injured several. The disaster struck in the afternoon, around 3 pm, when heavy rains triggered a massive landslide near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkuwari, about halfway along the 12-kilometre trek from Katra to the shrine. (ANI)