Odapada: Sweet potato grown in Ekagharia village under Odapada block in Dhenkanal district will soon be used as an ingredient in the Mahaprasad of the Puri Srimandir of Trinity, according to reports.
The tuber will be added to various delicacies known as ‘Mahaprasad’ and cooked at the ‘Roshashala’ of the Trinity at Puri Srimandir.
The villagers were elated over the fact that the vegetable grown by them will henceforth be used in the preparation of Puri Mahaprasad.
A team of villagers from Ekagharia left for Puri carrying the stocks of sweet potatoes as well as other vegetables like pumpkin, jackfruit, brinjal, coconut and yam for the Lord Sunday.
Basil leaves (Tulsi) and the ‘Dayana’, said to be favourites of the Trinity, were also
carried.
A vehicle carrying the villagers left Ekagharia (also known as Saran Srikhetra) for Srikhetra (Puri) to cries of ‘Haribol’ and ‘Jai Jagannath’ renting the air. A sense of devotion pervaded the area in the morning.
The village was named as Saran Srikhetra in ancient times after Bhaktakabi Dinakrushna Das, an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath, took refuge here after he was driven out of Srikhetra as he was afflicted by leprosy.
The villagers displayed their magnanimity and gave shelter to the ostracised poet in the village.
The villagers after reaching Puri handed over the vegetable stocks to the Srimandir authorities.
They vowed that they will continue their work and keep on sending vegetables grown by them to Puri Srimandir. The villagers are currently building a large temple for Lord Jagannth and a Mandap in memory of the poet.
They have also created a Tulsi garden from where they regularly collect the leaves and send it to Puri Srimandir every month. PNN