Puri: A new set of gold ornaments will be made for Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra for their Suna Besha. The decision was approved at a meeting of the Sri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee held at the temple office in Puri Saturday.
The Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) will bear the cost of making the new set from its own funds. Devotees and pilgrims, willing to contribute, may also make voluntary donations for the purpose, officials said after the meeting.
The new set will not feature an arbitrary or completely new design. Its design, structure, weight, measurements and religious authenticity will be based on the traditional ornaments preserved in the Ratna Bhandar. The existing ornaments will serve as the reference for preparing the new set.
The new set is intended to provide a complete alternative to the existing Suna Besha ornaments. Once completed, it will be kept securely in the outer Ratna Bhandar so that it can be used for the Suna Besha whenever required.
Temple Chief Administrator Aravinda Padhee said the existing gold ornaments kept in the outer Ratna Bhandar had undergone 3D mapping, videography and photography, leaving detailed digital documentation of their design, measurements and weight.
The new ornaments would be made accordingly.
A technical committee will oversee the process and select an experienced and technically capable agency. Padhee said the agency would be selected through a transparent process and that the entire work would be carried out with the cooperation of all concerned.
The Suna Besha is performed five times a year — on Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi, Vijaya Dashami, Kartika Purnima, Pausha Purnima and Magha Purnima. It is held four times inside the temple and once on the chariots during the Rath Yatra period on Ekadashi.