Devotees wait for their turn to enter the Jagannath temple in Puri on Thursday. Picture by Sarat Patra

Puri, June 30: Thousands of devotees poured into this holy town for the naba jauban darshan of the divine trinity — Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra — in their 12th century abode.

The occasion, when the deities recover from their 14-day long sickness, marks the build up to their world famous rath yatra which is scheduled for July 3.

The deities are taken sick after being bathed with nearly 108 pots of water poured on them. They remain confined to the sanctum sanctorum and devotees are refused darshan during this time. After being treated by the sevayats (the servitors) for 14 days, the lords become fit enough to give darshan to the devotees. This is known as naba jauban darshan.

The naba jauban darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings began today at 3.40pm. The local police made elaborate arrangements for the event. The devotees stood in a queue to get a glimpse of the deities. Close circuit cameras kept a strict watch on the movement of the devotees who braved humid conditions to experience the darshan.

Puri superintendent of police (SP) A.N. Sinha said: “There was a huge rush of devotees to catch the first glimpse of the lord after they were taken to ‘anasar ghar’ (sick chamber) for a fortnight.”

Forty-six-year-old Rama Chandra Pathak, a computer software professional, who flew from Mumbai to witness the rare occasion, could not keep his emotion under control after seeing the deities. “It is like meeting God directly. I cannot describe my feelings. It is purely personnel. I will also take part in the rath yatra on Sunday.”

Puri king Gajapti Dibya Singh Deb has expressed his dissatisfaction at the government allegedly failing to accord the deserved priority to affairs of the Puri temple. “A number of ministers, chief ministers and government go there but the temple’s interest is sidelined. Able officers should be hand-picked to manage the affairs of the temple. Headquarters of the revenue divisional commissioner, who is looking after the affairs of the Puri temple, should be shifted to Puri. Instead of being given seven districts to manage, this RDC should be given charge only of the undivided Puri district,” said the king who heads the temple management committee.

However, law minister Bikram Keshari Arukh said: “Whenever the king gives a suggestion, we take it seriously. However, we are yet to act on the suggestion of appointing an additional superintendent of police as one of the administrators of the temple.”

Work on the three chariots is nearing an end. One of the head carpenters, Narasingha Maharana, said “Seventy-five per cent of the work of the chariots is complete. Everything will be ready before the ratha yatra.”