Sevayats carry golden attire of the gods for suna besha rituals in Puri. Picture by Sarat Patra

Sparkling in gold from head to toe, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra flaunted a vast range of ornaments atop their respective chariots on the occasion of their suna besha or the golden attire. Lakhs of devotees swarmed the site to get a glimpse of the gold-decked idols.

The deities who adorn a unique form with no defined hands or feet the rest of the year, showcased massive golden limbs as well as enormous crowns that required around 25 bhandara mikapa servitors (store keepers of the deities’ ornaments) to lift them on to the chariots.

The gold ornaments worth over Rs 50 crore weigh 208kg and are adorned with various precious stones. The origin of this special avatar of the Lords, which is held annually on the day after bahuda yatra, is rooted in history.

It was in 1430 AD when King Kapilendra Deb returned victorious from a war with the Deccan rulers. As a token of love for Lord Jagannath, he submitted the gold won in the war to the deity. These were formed into ornaments and the deities adorned them during the suna besha held within the temple. Soon, on the request of the priests, the suna besha was conducted on the chariots, so that devotees, irrespective of caste or religion, could view the rare sight of the idols.

The occasion is much awaited by Jagannath devotees who throng the Grand Road to get a glimpse of the deities in their golden form. On Tuesday, more than 10 lakh people attended the event.

“The event is pulling more and more devotees every year and thus all arrangements were planned well in advance,” said Laksmidhar Pujapanda, PR, Jagannath temple.

While barricades were made to manage the movement of devotees easily, with one side for people going towards the chariots and the other side for their exit, there were tight security arrangements.

Hundreds of armed policemen and temple officials guarded the bhandara ghara (store room of the ornaments). The bhandara mikapa priests then carried the ornaments from here and handed them over to puspalaka daitapati priests. The grand floral decorations around the idols were over by 4.30pm while the decoration of gold ornaments started at around 5pm.

The visitors for the event varied in age from kids to octogenarians who braved all odds to get a glance of the suna besha of the deities.

“It has been a dream come true for me. Watching the Lords with their golden hands and feet was astounding. Although I got a glimpse for just a couple of seconds, it was enough for a lifetime,” said Swaroop Pati, an engineering student.