Bhubaneswar: Nearly four lakh people on Saturday turned up in Puri to witness the Raja Rajadhiraj vesha (a golden attire) of Lord Jagannath and his siblings on the Kartik Purnima.

The temple administration made elaborate arrangements for the devotees.

Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra flaunted a wide range of gold ornaments in the sanctum sanctorum.

The deities were adorned with huge golden limbs as well as enormous crowns that required around 25 bhandara mekapa servitors (storekeepers) to bring it to the sanctum sanctorum from the store house. "During suna vesha, one gets to see the god as a human being with his hands and feet. I have never missed the suna vesha in the past 20 years," said Prasahant Mohanty, a retired government employee.

Temple administrator (rituals) Pradeeep Das said: "With the help of sevayats, all the rituals took place on time. The devotees had a smooth darshan."

As the dawn broke, devotees took holy deep in the sea and performed the traditional Boita Bandana rituals. They floated tiny boats made of thermocol and coloured papers while reminiscing the glorious maritime past of the state. Later, they offered prayers to Lord Jagannath in the 12th century shrine.

But, the Boita Bandana at the beach was mired in controversy as BJD workers set off a boita (boat) carrying the idols of Lord Jagannath, along with the photos of chief minister Naveen Patnaik and local MLA and minister Maheswar Mohanty.

As the devotees protested, Mohanty expressed his deep regret over the incident, saying that he was not aware of this move of the party's local unit.