Deba Dipabali at Puri Jagannath Temple from today

Puri: The annual three-day Deba Dipabali ritual will be celebrated at the Jagannath Temple in Puri from today. During the three days, Lord Jagannath will perform ‘shraadha’ to all His ancestors.

The auspicious Deba Dipabali is held for three days on Krushna Paksha Chaturdashi, Amabasya, and Pratipada in the month of Margasira as per the Hindu almanac.

On the first day, Lord Jagannath will offer ‘pinda’ to seer Kashyap and Aditi, to whom He was born as Baman in Satya Yug.

On the second day, the Lord of the Universe will offer ‘pinda’ to King Dasarath and Queen Kaushalya, who were parents to Lord Ram in Treteya Yug.

On the concluding day, the Lord will offer ‘pinda’ to Basudev and Devaki, who were the parents in His incarnation in Dwapar Yug, His foster parents Nanda and Jashoda, King Indradyumna and Queen Gundicha Devi, who installed Chaturdhamurti at Srimandir and asked for a boon to end his dynasty so that his successors could not claim ownership of the temple. The Lord had granted it and promised to offer the ‘pinda’ to His ardent devotee.

During the three days, the deities will give darshan to devotees in ‘Shraadha Besha’. They will adorn white clothes and gold jeweleries for ‘shraadha’. The Puja Panda servitors will perform all the rituals on behalf of Lord Jagannath.

After completion of rituals, Mahadeepa will be lifted and placed atop the Srimandir late in the evening.

During the period, the locals in Puri will lit diyas at their homes to celebrate Deba Dipabali.

According to reports, one lakh diyas will be lit on the Bada Danda (Grand Road) tomorrow by the members of Odisha International Centre and Chhatisha Nijog.