Mahaprasad being sold outside the temple. Picture by Sarat Patra

Puri, khichdi, kanika, dalma, saga, rasabali, pithapuli, jhili are back on the plates of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra.

These are just some of the delicacies savoured daily by the presiding deities at the Jagannath temple. But all these mouth-watering dishes were out of bounds for the deities following their illness after having a heavy bath on the occasion of snan purnima (bathing ceremony) on June 26. Since the lord was “undergoing” a 15-day treatment at the sick room (anasara ghar), the restriction on the sumptuous bhog was in effect till July 11.“Just as human beings face certain restrictions on food when they fall sick, the presiding deities of Jagannath temple too followed the diet regulation. Only fruits and pana (a liquid mixture of milk cream, cheese and condensed milk) was given to the deities at the sick room. Cooked food was not prescribed for them,” said Ram Dasmohapatra, a priest.

Unlike the common and festive days, the deities relished only twice a day (during evening and night) during the fortnight, sources said.

On a normal day, the deities are offered with 56 offerings of bhog (various types of cakes, cooked food and sweets) for at least six times.

On dwadasi (the 12th day from Snana Poornima or bathing ceremony), the deities were offered ayurveda medicines prepared from 10 herbs like sala parni, krushna parni, aga bathu and labin koli.

“We collect herbs from different parts in the state. The medicines were prepared in powder form. As per tradition, the deities consumed the medicine to recuperate from illness,” said a temple vaidya.

Only a particular group of priests, called daitapatis served the lord during the fortnight. Nearly one hundred priests took care of the deities during the sick time everyday.

As darshan of the original deities was restricted during this period, their representative idols, made up of painting canvas, were worshipped at the temple.

“Most of the services were done in secret inside the sick room. The rituals usually start during the evening till night. The original deities were not disturbed during this time,” said Premananda Dasmohapatra, a priest.

“The sibling deities also wore only one ‘white cloth’ each and lived an austere life. Unlike normal days, the deities were not decorated with colourful dresses and fragrant flowers. The deities were festooned with ‘white flowers’ only during the fifteen days,” he said.