BHUBANESWAR: Rasgulla, the favorite dessert of Lord Jagannath, was served to the divine trio during their ‘Niladri Bije’ ceremony by Niladri Yuva and Cultural Sangha at Sailashree Vihar here Sunday.
President of the panel Prakash Chandra Panigrahi offered the delicacy to Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra at the temple. Later, ‘prasad’ was offered to devotees present on the occasion.
One of the servitors said, “Rasgulla is Goddess Laxmi’s favorite dessert. Hence, it is also the favorite sweet of lord of the Universe. As he left for his aunt’s place, Gundicha temple, without his wife Laxmi, she is quite furious on his return. In order to gain her favour and access to the temple, he appeases the Goddess by offering her the delectable. The ritual has been observed since long.”
Members of the trust Batakrushna Panda, Gadadhar Prasad Ratha, Kumar Barik, Sisir Kumar Maharana and Biswajit Patnaik were also present at the event and supervised the distribution of sweets amidst devotees.
The ritual was also conducted at Vishnu Mandir in Saheed Nagar where devotees offered bowls of Rasgullas to appease the deities. Kishore Panda, one of the servitor, said, “The Rasgulla controversy is baseless. The sweet makes me realise that Lord Jagannath lives among us. It shows the human side of God as he too faces the wrath of Goddess Laxmi.”
