Bhubaneswar: Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were adorned with Suna Besha (golden attire) on their respective chariots at the Lions’ Gate of Srimandir at Odisha’s Puri town today.

The deities had returned to the Lions’ Gate of the 12th century shrine from Srigundicha temple by riding their chariots on the occasion of Bahuda Jatra on July 15.

Srimandir servitors started decorating the deities with gold ornaments including Sri Hasta (golden hand), Sri Payar (golden feet), Sri Mukuta (golden crown), Sri Mayur Chandrika (golden peacock feather), Sri Kundal (golden earring), Sri Rahurekha (golden aura) and Sri Mala (gold necklace) on their respective chariots soon after the completion of Madhyahna Dhoopa, Mailam and other rituals in the afternoon.

The servitors took more than an hour to decorate the deities with the gold ornaments. They had earlier brought huge quantities of ornaments from a temporary strongroom on Srimandir premises to the chariots amid tight security for the ritual.

publive-image

Notably, the ornaments stored at the outer chamber of Ratna Bhandar were shifted to a temporary strongroom by the shrine authorities on July 14 to carry out repair work at the temple treasury.

Lakhs of devotees from across Odisha and outside congregated at the Holy Town to have a glimpse of the deities’ golden attire. The devotees can witness the Suna Besha ritual of the deities till 11 pm, announced the temple authorities.

As per the tradition, Suna Besha ritual of the deities is conducted five times in a year. The deities are adorned with golden attire four times in a year inside the sanctum sanctorum of Srimandir while the ritual is held once on the chariots during the annual Rath Jatra.

It is believed that Suna Besha ritual of the deities was introduced during the reign of Gajapati King Kapilendra Deb in 1460. Kapilendra Deb had donated huge quantities of gold and silver ornaments to Srimandir after conquering several kingdoms during his rule in Odisha.

It is worth mentioning here that the deities had embarked on their journey towards Srigundicha temple from Srimandir by riding their chariots for nine-day sojourn on the occasion of Rath Jatra on July 7.

After a day’s halt midway, the deities reached Srigundicha temple on July 8. They were taken to the Adapa Mandap of Srigundicha temple the next day.