Manabasa Gurubar (wish-fulfilment Thursday) dedicated to Goddess Lakhsmi is a major festival in Odisha that is celebrated during the lunar month of Margasira. On this day, the puja of Goddess Lakshmi remains incomplete without Jhoti Chita (drawings with rice paste). After cleaning the house, the womenfolk make beautiful designs with rice paste. A piece of cloth tied to a stick is used to create flowers, mostly lotus, and the feet of Goddess Lakshmi. Married women welcome Maha Lakshmi to their houses by making Jhotis on Verandah. The other name of Maa Lakshmi is Padmalaya. Her favourite flower is the lotus. That’s why women draw the feet of the Goddess inside the Lotus flower. As mentioned in Lakshmi Purana, Goddess Lakshmi visited the home of Sriya Chandaluni (a low caste woman), as her home was very clean and for the beautiful Chitas that she drew.
Manabasa Gurubar (wish-fulfilment Thursday) dedicated to Goddess Lakhsmi is a major festival in Odisha that is celebrated during the lunar month of Margasira. On this day, the puja of Goddess Lakshmi remains incomplete without Jhoti Chita (drawings with rice paste). After cleaning the house, the womenfolk make beautiful designs with rice paste. A piece of cloth tied to a stick is used to create flowers, mostly lotus, and the feet of Goddess Lakshmi. Married women welcome Maha Lakshmi to their houses by making Jhotis on Verandah. The other name of Maa Lakshmi is Padmalaya. Her favourite flower is the lotus. That’s why women draw the feet of the Goddess inside the Lotus flower. As mentioned in Lakshmi Purana, Goddess Lakshmi visited the home of Sriya Chandaluni (a low caste woman), as her home was very clean and for the beautiful Chitas that she drew.