Puri: Adhara Pana ritual of deities held on chariots

Puri: The Adhara Pana ritual of Lord Jagannath and His siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra was held on their respective chariots in front of the Srimandir here, today.

Lakhs of devotees thronged the pilgrim town of Puri to witness the ritual and have darshan of the deities.

As per tradition, a sweetened drink (pana) made of milk, sugar, cheese, banana, camphor, nutmeg and black pepper among others was offered to the Lords by the servitors in nine huge earthen pitchers measuring over a metre each in height to touch the lips (adhara) of the deities.

Three such pitchers with the drink were placed on each of the three chariots in front of the deities which were later smashed by the servitors after it was offered to the Lords on completion of the Sodasha Upachara Puja.

The pana which spills over the chariots after the breaking of the pitchers by the servitors is not meant for devotees. Rather, it’s an offering for the parswa devatas (subsidiary deities) on the chariot and spirits that had accompanied the Lords on the chariots during their nine-day-long sojourn.

The annual festival of Ratha Jatra will come to an end tomorrow as the Lords will return to their seats on the ‘Ratna Singhasana’ inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in a ritual called ‘Niladri Bije’.