Bhubaneswar: Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were offered Adharapana (delicious drink) on their respective chariots at the Lions’ Gate of Srimandir at Odisha’s Puri town today.

Thousands of devotees congregated on the Grand Road of the Holy Town to witness the ritual.

Traditionally, the special drink is offered to the deities in nine cylindrical pots reaching up to their lips on their chariots. That is why the ritual is called Adharapana.

In the past, the special drink used to be offered to the deities in 12 pots—three on Bahuda Dasami, three on Ekadasi, three on Dwadasi, two for Ram and Krushna on Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja chariot and one pot for Madan Mohan on Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosa chariot.

In the recent years, the drink is being offered in nine pots, three pots for each deity, on a single day.

Balabhadra 1

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and authorities of Raghab Das mutt and Badaodia mutt supplied three earthen pots each and the ingredients for the preparation of the sweet drink.

Ingredients like cheese, milk, sugar, banana, camphor, nuts, black pepper and extracts from holy basil plants were churned to prepare the sweet drink.

Mahasuar servitors of the temple prepared the drink by mixing the above said ingredients with the holy water collected from a well in front of Chhauni Mutt near the Lions’ Gate of Srimandir.

Patribadu, Suarbadu and Garabadu servitors performed the puja on the three chariots. The drink was then offered to the deities by Palia Pujapanda servitors.

Subhadra 1

After the Bhog was offered, the pots were broken before the deities and the drink spilled away on the chariots.

It is believed that the spillover drink is for the subsidiary deities placed on the chariots, evil spirits and ghostly bodies. As per tradition, the devotees are forbidden to partake Adharapana.