A seven-day Shrimad Bhagawat Puran cum Pitristi Mahayagya has successfully got completed on Monday here in Northern Norway.
“We are very excited that we have successfully concluded this exceptionally important event”, Chandra Chhetri said in a skype-conversation with BNS. The Chhetri family in Vadsø, a city in Northern Norway, organized the Mahayagya.
According to the organizers, the ceremony went over seven days and concluded with lighting of one hundred thousands batis (holy-light) on the shoreline of the Barents Sea.
Some of the local online and Norwegian National Broadcasting (NRK) covered the event with detail report, number of photos and videos. The ceremony was a very big and entirely different event in the far North. One local online has even praised the event terming Vadsø as “Hindu Heaven”.
Chhetri claimed that this was the first time such a big Hindu ceremony has ever taken place in the northern-most part of the world. Small city of Vadsø lies at 70° N.
A team of Pundit and Purohits from Denmark made their way to Vadsø already on July 13. Pundit Bhola Nath Adhikari, who headed the team, said that it was important for them to practice the rituals despite changing circumstances.
Pitristi Mahayagya is observed in a belief that deceased souls achieve mokshya (salvation).
Altogether 16 Bhutanese families have made Vadsø their home since resettlement program began.
Scroll down to listen to the full conversation with organizer and purohits.
