The four-day Shikhara Pratishtha and 51 Kundiy Shatchandi Mahayagya, along with Laghurudra and Bhairav Mahayagya, commenced with religious rituals at the renowned Nandni Mata Temple in Pawagadh. The event is organized under the guidance of the Sanatan Samaj and Nandni Mata Tirth Vikas Samiti.

The opening ceremony took place on Wednesday, led by Acharya Kishore Shukla and attended by principal yajmans including Ashok Prajapat, Rupeng Solanki, Nitesh Kalal, Dali Patidar, Purushottam Suthar, Dr. Vivekanand Maharaj, Pannalal Suthar, Lalsingh Solanki, and Sureshchandra Suthar among others. Rituals included Hemadri Sankalp, Ganpati Puja, Aarti, and various sacred ceremonies performed at the Vitthal Dev reservoir.

The morning rituals featured cleansing baths, Yajnopavita wearing, Prayaschit Hom, and entry into the mandap. Worship of Ganpati, Matrika, and other deities followed along with the establishment of fire for Navgraha and Rudra pujas. The day concluded with the homa and aarti ceremonies.

Sixty-five Brahmins, including Acharya Kishore Shukla, Upacharya Kapil Vyas, and Pratishtha Acharyas Pankaj Joshi, Rahul Joshi, Hariom Pathak, Lalit Joshi, and Sandeep Pathak, were present to conduct the rituals. On the first day, devotees were offered Mahaprasad by the family of Bhama Shah Deepak Thakur.

On Thursday, the festival will focus on Matrushakti as devotees carry pots filled with Ganga water to the temple’s peak, situated about 1500 feet high. Special teams have been formed for crowd control and convenience. Approximately 3500 kalash will arrive via the highway route, while 1500 to 2000 women will ascend the temple steps from the Chaukhala path carrying kalash.

The newly constructed stone temple has been beautifully decorated with lights and balloons over the past two days by committee members. From the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum, the adornments and the gem-studded idol of Maa Nandni have deeply moved the devotees.

On the inaugural day, the Mata Tripura Sundari Mandal presented a 500-meter-long chunari and a silver umbrella weighing three and a half tolas to Maa Nandni. More than 200 women from the Lakshminarayan Temple, accompanied by traditional drums and decorated plates, took part in a devotional procession to the temple atop the hill.

Chanting devotional slogans, the women climbed the hill to offer the chunari and perform special rituals. The mandal also gifted a portrait of Maa Tripura Sundari and performed a special puja for the silver umbrella. The event was organized under the leadership of Samiti president Jitendra Patidar, who extended a warm welcome to all devotees.