Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity in Sambalpur Samaleswari temple in Odisha, remains dressed in red costume round the year except on Mahalaya when it changes to white. Dhabalamukhi Besha 2024 date is October 3. The Dhabalamukhi Besha, also referred to as Ganga Darshan, is followed by Navaratri which goes on for nine days with Goddess Samaleswari taking on several incarnations of Goddess Durga.
Goddess Samaleswari adorns the ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ only for
two and half days in a year while during the rest of the year, she dons her
usual red avatar.
Goddess will remain in ‘Dhabalamukhi Besha’ till the end of Mahalaya Amavasya tithi. Preparation for this ‘Besha’ starts in midnight of Mahalaya and continue till 4 am following which the doors of the temple are opened at 5 am for the devotees for ‘darshan’.
On the first day of Navaratri, the Goddess adorns the
‘Shailaputri Besha’ followed by ‘Brahmacharini’ the next day.
Subsequently, the Goddess assumes the incarnations of Chandraghanta,
Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagouri and finally Raja Rajeswari
Besha. Elaborate arrangements are made for devotees visiting the temple from
across western Odisha during the period.
It is believed that more than 100,000 devotees have darshan
of the Goddess during the Dhabalamukhi Besha.