Preparations started on Saturday morning for the installation of an idol of the deity Brajeshwari Devi made of 1,600kg of clarified butter at the Brajeshwari Devi temple in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, officials said.

The idol, being shaped from ‘desi ghee’ after purification with holy water 101 times by temple priests, will be open for the public early on Sunday morning, temple official Pawan Badyal told IANS.

He said the butter idol would later be given out as edible offerings among devotees.

It is believed that the idol butter cures chronic skin ailments and pain in the joints.

According to a legend, when the deity was injured during a battle with demons, her wounds were treated with butter by Hindu deities.

One of the busiest shrines in north India, Brajeshwari Devi temple draws a large number of pilgrims from Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Every year the preparations for installing the butter idol begin on Makar Sankranti, which is celebrated as a week-long festival at the temple.

source: GULF NEWS