Lunar eclipse: Lord Jagannath’s Niladri Bije rituals to be advanced

Bhubaneswar: The Niladri Bije rituals of Lord Jagannath in pilgrim city Puri will be advanced in view of a partial lunar eclipse that will grace the Indian skies at various places including Odisha on July 17.

The Niladri Bije rituals following 9-day sojourn is scheduled to be held on July 15. The deities will be taken to their abode Srimandir in a ceremonial pahandi. Lord Jagannath will enter into the shrine after offering Rasagola to Goddess Lakshmi as part of appeasement for not taking Her to Gundicha Temple with Him during Ratha Jatra.

The devotees used to have Lords’ darshan outside the Srimandir for more days after Bahuda Jatra. However, this time the rituals for return to the Jagannath Temple will be held in advance due to the lunar eclipse.

According to reports, it will be the last lunar eclipse of the year 2019.

The rituals at temples including Srimandir will be suspended from 4.31 pm on July 16 in view of the lunar eclipse. However, the daily rituals of the Lords will be held 8 hours before the eclipse.

As per the Hindu almanac, cooking and intake of food will be restricted after 4.31 pm on July 16 till end of the eclipse. The food can be cooked and temple rituals will resume after 4.30 am on July 17.

The partial lunar eclipse will be visible from the beginning to end from all places in the country excluding extreme northeastern part of Arunachal Pradesh.

As per the reports, the Moon will enter penumbra at around 12:12 am on July 17. Then the Moon will enter umbra at around 1.31 am and the maximum eclipse will be seen at around at 3.00 am.

At around 4.30 am, the partial lunar eclipse will end and the Moon will leave penumbra at around 5.49 am. Total duration of the eclipse will be 2 hr 59 minute. As 65% of the Moon will be covered by the Earth’s shadow, it is called the partial lunar eclipse that will be visible in India. The maximum partial eclipse will take place at 3.01 am.