Kendrapara, Sept. 17 -- Risking their lives, hundreds of married Bengali women today waded into a crocodile-infested tributary of the Mahanadi to worship the Behula-Lakhindar idol, placedon a floating banana raft at Barakolikhola village, on the occasion of Kanya Sankranti.
As part of the ritual, women smeared vermilion on the earthen idol of Behula-Lakhindar, praying for the long life and prosperity of their husbands.
The practice is rooted in Bengali folklore and the epic Manasamangal, which narrates the legendary tale of Behula and her husband Lakhindar.
According to the legend, Lakhindar, son of Chand Saudagar, was bitten by a snake on his wedding night despite being confined in an iron chamber built to avert his foretold death.
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