📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Government of Odisha
Religion
Nuakhai 2026: Nabanna Offered to Maa Samaleswari as Western Odisha Celebrates Harvest Festival
✍️ Kanak News Odisha
🗓 16 Sep 2026, 07:20 AM
👁 6
Western Odisha celebrated Nuakhai 2026 with traditional fervour as Nabanna was offered to Maa Samaleswari, marking the region's agrarian harvest festival.
Western Odisha ushered in Nuakhai 2026, the region's cherished agricultural festival, with devotees offering the first harvest, known as Nabanna, to Maa Samaleswari. The offering at the revered Samaleswari temple in Sambalpur marked the ceremonial beginning of the celebrations.
Nuakhai is an ancient harvest festival observed across western Odisha, symbolising gratitude for the new crop. Families prepare traditional dishes using newly harvested rice and seek blessings of their presiding deities and elders.
This year's festivities saw large gatherings at temples and community spaces, with people dressed in traditional attire participating in rituals. The festival remains a cornerstone of the region's cultural identity, reinforcing agrarian roots and community bonds.
Nuakhai is an ancient harvest festival observed across western Odisha, symbolising gratitude for the new crop. Families prepare traditional dishes using newly harvested rice and seek blessings of their presiding deities and elders.
This year's festivities saw large gatherings at temples and community spaces, with people dressed in traditional attire participating in rituals. The festival remains a cornerstone of the region's cultural identity, reinforcing agrarian roots and community bonds.