Puri: Servitors of Srimandir and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) have received appreciations for early performance of important rituals during the just concluded Rath Yatra.
Srimandir sources said the Pahuda ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhdra was performed after the timely completion of Niladri Bije ritual July 6. “This was the only occasion in last 50 years when servitors managed to perform the Pahuda ritual of deities after the culmination of Rath Yatra,” said Srimandir public relations officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda.
Sources said servitors had completed many routine rituals of deities on their chariots ahead of their original schedules to speed up the Niladri Bije ritual, in which the deities are reinstalled at the sanctum sanctorum.
“Deities were placed at the sanctum sanctorum by 10 pm July 6. The Pahuda ritual was performed at 5.20 am July 7 after the completion of other routine rituals,” said a servitor.
Servitors had also completed several rituals of the deities ahead of their schedules on the occasion of Bahuda Yatra July 3. The three chariots were pulled to the Lions’ Gate of Srimandir by the evening. The Suna Besha ritual was performed at least one and half hour ahead of the schedule July 4.
“All the servitors worked in a disciplined manner to make the festival a huge success,” SJTA chief administrator PK Jena said.
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