File picture of servitors following the ritual of hera panchami in Puri

Lakhs of people visit the divine trinity during their annual sojourn at Gundicha temple. But on Sunday, Lord Jagannath had an angry visitor — His wife Goddess Mahalaxmi. The goddess fought with Him for leaving Her behind at the temple, much to the amusement of devotees.

The Goddess broke a part of the Lord’s mount, Nandighosha, to express anger before prodding Him and His siblings to return to their 12th century abode. The enactment was part of the hera panchami rituals conducted today outside the Gundicha temple.

The significant rituals are observed on the fifth day of rath yatra, which began on July 10. As the term hera signifies ‘meeting of the eyes’ or simply ‘to see’, the occasion is of great significance because for the first time Mahalaxmi and Jagannath are placed opposite each other in the sanctum of Gundicha temple and they look at each other.

The Pati Mohapatra sevayat conducts the special rituals to represent the request of the goddess to the Lord beckoning Him to His abode.

“Heeding the pleas of His wife, Jagannath gives an agyan mala (a garland of consent) to the Goddess, who takes it and returns to Her temple,” said Jagannath culture expert Surya Narayan Rathasharma. It is believed that devotees, who get a glimpse of the divine couple seated opposite each other in the sanctum, are blessed for life.

Earlier in the day, Subarna Mahalaxmi, the representative deity of Goddess Mahalaxmi, is ferried to the Gundicha temple on a palanquin. The ceremony is observed with great enthusiasm. The sevayats sing and dance around the palanquin till it reaches Gundicha temple where she is received with great devotion and taken to the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord.

As the rituals were completed, the chariots that were facing Gundicha are turned towards the Sri Mandir (main temple) indicating that the deities are all set for the return journey or Bahuda yatra, which falls on July 18.

During Goddess Mahalaxmi’s return journey from Gundicha temple, one of Her sevayats carrying Her breaks a section of the Nandighosha on her command. The practice is called as the Ratha Bhanga Neeti.