Deities get fruit treat during Anasara

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Kakatpur: The authorities of Vishwamitra Ashram and Deuli mutt here Tuesday sent a variety of fruits to Srimandir for the Anasara ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
As per Srimandir tradition, the presiding deities suffer from fever immediately after the completion of Snanapurnima (bathing) rituals. The deities keep themselves confined to Anasara Gruha (asylum for the sick) for 15 days where they undergo medication.
“The servitors usually offer fruits to the deities during the medication. The authorities of Deuli mutt and Vishwamitra Ashram collected a variety of fruits from devotees and sent them to Srimandir,” said Trilochan Mishra, a devotee.
According to Mishra, many devotees and farmers donated fruits like banana, wood apple, jackfruit, green coconut, pineapple, date, mango, apple, grapes, cucumber, kendu and pomegranate for Srimandir deities.
According to scholars, the Prachi river valley in Kakatpur was covered with deep forests in the past. The villagers and the authorities of some mutts used to collect fruits from the forest and send them to Srimandir for Anasara ritual.
“Prachi river valley and Mangala temple have a special relation with Srimandir. Daitapati servitors worship Goddess Mangala and seek her assistance to find suitable neem trees (Daru) for the construction of idols during Nabakalebara festival. Lord Madhabananda of Madhab village in Kakatpur is considered the maternal uncle of Lord Jagannath,” said a scholar.