Devotees get free khichdi, kanika prepared from Arpan Rath rice at Puri Jagannath Temple

Puri: The Supakara servitors of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri prepared khichdi and kanika from the rice collected through Arpan Raths and served it to the devotees free of cost near the temple.

The distribution of khichdi and kanika among the devotees started on Sunday and will continue for some days, officials of the temple administration said.

Around 242 quintals of rice have been provided to the temple by the administration. The rice was collected from devotees across the state through Arpan Raths ahead of the inauguration of the Srimandir Parikrama Project.

Devotees had offered rice and betel nuts which were stored on Gundicha Temple premises.

“Various kinds of rice have been collected from the devotees. Due to the variety, the rice can’t be used for Anna Prasad. Therefore, Khichdi Prasad will be prepared from the rice and distributed among devotees. This apart, some portion of rice will be used for making Pitha (pancake) and drawing Jhoti,” Padmanabha Mahasuar, President of Suar Mahasuar Nijog of the Shree Jagannath Temple, had earlier said.

“Similarly, the Hadap Nayak servitors will receive the betel nuts and use those for preparing Paan for the deities,” he added.